Exiled English

Lake Superior State University recently came out with its 2009 list of banished words and phrases, suggesting several expressions that should be immediately stricken from the popular lexicon. Among them are:

Green (as a substitute for “environmental,” such as “green business,” “going green,” “green solutions,” etc.)
Bailout
First Dude
Maverick
Carbon footprint
Game changer
Staycation
Desperate search
Not so much
Winner of five nominations
It’s that time of year again
Monkey (when used as an adjective)
The Wall Street/Main Street comparison

The university has compiled this list since 1976, but its efforts to exile certain expressions to Tower of Babel oblivion have met with mixed results. Rhode Islanders will note, for example, that the word “awesome” – a common Rhody expression of praise, heightened by adding a “wicked” before it – has appeared twice on the list (1984, 2007) but is still in popular use. (List-makers so far have not cast a disparaging eye at journalism’s favorite measuring-stick phrase, the “size of Rhode Island.”)

A look back reveals certain themes within the overall list. Many, like “first dude” and “maverick,” are prompted by political or presidential campaign fatigue. Past examples include “chad” (2001), “enemy combatant” (2005), “battleground state” (2005), “Blue State/Red State” (2005), “grass roots” (1993), “mandate” (1985) and “spin doctor” (1989.)

Some are annoying pop cultural references. Among them: “bling” or “bling-bling” (2004), “consumer confidence” (1995, the last time we had any), “da bomb” (1998), “dawg” (2006), “designer breed” (2006), “e-anything” (2000), “i-anything” (2007), “mc-anything” (1986), “metrosexual” (2004), “must-see TV” (2003), “perfect storm” (2008), “person of interest” (2006) and “truthiness” (2007).

Some are just bad English: “Capture alive” (2004), “clearly ambiguous” (1994), “close proximity” (1980), “definite possibilities” (1993), “final destination” (2001), “funeralized” (1998), “most complete” (1993), “near miss” (1985), “new innovation” (1990), “same difference” (1987), “totally unique” (2002) and “trained professional” (1993).

In anticipation of the 2010 banished words list: What words or phrases should just go away?

Some possibilities:
Starter wife
Exit strategy
-challenged (as in “height-challenged, weight-challenged, math-challenged”).
Any scandal ending in “-gate”
Any big event ending in “-stock” or “-palooza”
In these economic times (contributed by Rob Clark, occasional Half Shell reader and friend since the days of gym class and “brown-bagging it” at hot lunch).