KEY POINTS:
Each year Lake Superior State University in Marie, Michigan, comes up with a list of banished words, which are cited for misuse, overuse and general uselessness. Here are the highlights of its 2008 list:
ORGANIC - Overused and misused to describe anything natural. The possibility of a food item being inorganic, ie not composed of carbon atoms, is nil.
POST 9/11 - "Our post-9/11 world," is used now, and probably used more, than AD, BC or Y2K time references.
GIVE BACK - As one's life progresses, one accumulates a sort of deficit balance with society which must be neutralised by charitable works or financial outlays.
X IS THE NEW Y - Orange is the new black. 50 is the new 30. Chocolate is the new sex.
BACK IN THE DAY - Back in the day we used back in the day to mean something really historical. Now you hear ridiculous statements such as, "Back in the day, people used Blackberries without bluetooth."
RANDOM - Outrageous misuse and overuse, mostly by teenagers, ie "This random guy, singing this random song. It was so random." Grrrrr.
SWEET - Blame South Park. Youth lingo overuse, similar to awesome.
DECIMATE - It simply means a 10 per cent reduction - no more, no less. People use it when they should be saying annihilate. It's so bad that now there are two definitions, the real one and the one that has taken over like a weed.
POP - Overused in decorating shows: "The addition of the red really makes it POP."
IT IS WHAT IT IS - How to avoid answering a question in a way that might require genuine thought or insight. Listen to an interview with some coach or athlete in big-time sports and you'll inevitably hear it.
(Source: Full list at www.lssu.edu/banished)
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Robert Narev of Orakei was somewhat bemused by Joshua's suggestion that the suburban newspaper reporter was a bit dim for asking a heart transplant patient whether her donor would join her in a race. "Some time ago my wife and I were at a function attended by a heart transplant recipient and the donor of his new heart. It was explained that the latter had to undergo a concurrent heart and lung transplant, which left his old heart available for use by the other person. Both operations were successful, as evidenced by the presence of donor and recipient. Joshua's mother was obviously interviewed by a well-informed reporter!"
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Inspired by the pet rock phenomenon of the 1980s, My Pet Fat is an anatomically correct realistic replica of body fat which you carry around to put you off your food. Available in 220 calorie, 3500 calorie and 17,500 calorie lumps. (Source: MyPetFat.com)
