News, 'Surge' makes the banned-words list. (university, school, educational, good)

[JD59]

Surge' is thrown 'under the bus' on the annual list of banned words and phrases

Resist the urge to say you will "wordsmith" your list of New Year's resolutions rather than write one. And don't utter, "It is what it is" when you fail to meet your first goal.

Those are two of the 19 words or phrases that appear in Lake Superior State University's annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness. The school in Michigan's Upper Peninsula released its 33rd list Monday, selecting from about 2,000 nominations.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/82552 (broken link)

[KevK]

That is going to be news to the KC zoo! They has an ape named Surge in their when I was a kid. Might still be there.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by KevK

That is going to be news to the KC zoo! They has an ape named Surge in their when I was a kid. Might still be there.

I meant in THERE. Still hung over from last night!

[notjustamom]

To me the whole list is "uselessness". LOL Don't they have anything better to do with their time?

[Adrian71]

Originally Posted by notjustamom

To me the whole list is "uselessness". LOL Don't they have anything better to do with their time?

Defending good language should be part of any well-rounded educational curriculum. Besides, somebody needs to call this stuff out. Not everything is a "perfect storm." "X is the new Y" ... enough, already.

The only one on the list I disagree with is "decimate." That hasn't been limited to its original meaning for almost as long as it's been part of the English language. It's a perfectly useful synonym for "damage" or "destroy."