Don’t use these words
January 20, 2010 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Communication, HR Tech, In this week's e-newsletter - Tech, Latest News & Views
Tired of hearing people talk about “tweeting” and “friending”? You aren’t alone.
Those words, along with others, appeared in Lake Superior University’s 2010 List of Banished Words.
The university has been publishing the list since 1976. The first version included the terms “detente” and “at this point in time.”
This year’s group of overused words and phrases includes a lot of neologisms centered around the latest tech fads, as well as terms spawned by the economic recession.
The list includes:
- Friend (as a verb)
- Tweet
- Shovel-ready
- App (short for “application”)
- Sexting
- In these economic times
- Stimulus
Got any buzzwords you’d like to add? Let us know in the comments section below.
January 20th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
One phrase that I am seeing more and more is “long tail.” It’s a lazy phrase, denoting the minority(ies) in any collection of entities. For example, the Democrats and Republicans are the majority political parties, but Independents and many other groups are in the long tail. The phrase is usually used to invoke a warning not to ignore the lesser groups. I really hope this phrase goes into early retirement.
January 21st, 2010 at 2:27 pm
I’d have to add “in the grand scheme of things” and “to make a long story short.” These tired, old phrases make me feel tired and old.
January 22nd, 2010 at 8:59 am
“moving forward”
Egad.
January 25th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Interupting someone by saying “not to interupt”… I don’t know how that makes it ok to interupt someone.
January 26th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
“Now more than ever…” is all over commercials and slogans and company statements.
January 26th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
I’ve never even heard of “long tail” or “shovel ready.” What does “shovel ready” mean???
I say we start smacking people who say, “I know, right?” Or just, “Riiiight?”
January 26th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
“I will ‘reach out’ to him/her” — don’t ‘reach out,’ just contact the person!!
January 27th, 2010 at 8:40 am
“Shovel Ready” is a term our Governor used to illustrate the many state road and bridge improvement projects that are sitting stagnant ready to start or “Shovel Ready”. In her case she made mention to several road and bridge projects that were shovel ready and waiting on stimulus money to start but the media blasted her when they exposed the many environmental impact studies that had to be completed and evaluated before any project could start. Those studies can take months or years before they are completed. Then you have to go through the bid process and select a contractor before a project starts adding even more delays. Shovel Ready was quickly dropped from her vocabulary.
January 27th, 2010 at 8:53 am
I thought we were “over” the phrases “it is what it is” and “plug-n-play” but they seem to have “a life of their own”.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:25 am
“Random”
People (including myself) say that word constantly! “Some random guy talked to me yesterday….” or “that’s so random!”
I get tired of hearing it sometimes…frankly, I get tired of saying it! Let’s come up with a new phrase, shall we?