Lake State taking submissions for banished words list

Courtesy:  Lake Superior State University

SAULT STE. MARE — Lake Superior State University reminds the public that it’s time to start thinking of getting rid of those words and phrases that have been abused and mis-used during the past year.

For every New Year’s Eve since 1976, the university has issued an annual “List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-Use, Over-Use or General Uselessness.”  Between now and December 22, LSSU will accept nominations sent from all over the world, covering all manner of word or phraseology which some consider to be worthy of exile.

The effort dates back to Dec. 31, 1975, when former LSSU Public Relations Director Bill Rabe and some colleagues cooked up the whimsical idea to banish overused words and phrases from the language.  They issued the first list on New Year’s Day 1976. Much to the delight of word enthusiasts everywhere, the list has stayed the course into a fourth decade.

Over the years, LSSU has received tens of thousands of nominations for the list.  Hundreds of words from the fields of academia, advertising, business, the military, sports, and politics have found their way onto the banishment list.

Words and phrases outlawed in previous years include: superfood (’13), bromance (’10), sales event (’05), 24/7 (`00), alcohol-related drunk driving (`89), free gift (`88), live audience (`83, `87, `90), and large-size petites (‘90).

Last year’s list gyrated upon “twerking/twerking,” deflated “on steroids,” and went viral over “hashtag” and “twittersphere.”

Nominations for this year’s list, along with compelling reasons for banishment, may be submitted online by running a Web search on “LSSU banished” and following the link to submit a word.

The 2015 list will be released on December 31, 2014, in time to welcome the new year.