New Words, Already Banned

Learn a new word.  Find out it's trite.

Don't you just hate it when you learn the definition of a word for the first time, and it's from an article about words that should be banned because they have become too trendy?

I saw the words "bling-bling" embroidered on the seat of a young woman's pants some months back, and I've been wondering what the heck those words meant.  Well, you probably already knew, and now I do too.  But, it's too late. 

A committee at Lake Superior State University, Michigan, took in over 5,000 nominations of words and phrases from around the world, and they singled out 17 they say are trendy, trite, euphemistic or just plain inaccurate.  Link.

Here's the complete list:

The 2004 list of words that should be banished for "misuse, overuse and general uselessness," according to Lake Superior State University:

--Metrosexual: An urban male who pays a great deal of attention to appearance. Critics say we don't need another word for this.

--X: As in X-files, Xtreme, Windows XP and X-Box.

--Punked: To dupe, popularized by the MTV show "Punk'd."

--Place Stamp Here: Printed on return envelopes.

--Companion animals: Also known as pets.

--Bling or Bling-Bling: Flashy jewelry.

--LOL: E-mail speak for "laugh out loud."

--Embedded Journalist.

--Smoking Gun.

--Shock and Awe.  [ Someone who nominated this one said "I'm just waiting on 'Shock and Awe Laundry Soap' or maybe 'Shock and Awe Pool Cleaner'"]

--Captured Alive.

--Shots Rang Out.

--Ripped From the Headlines: TV shows loosely based on current events are described this way.

--Sweat Like a Pig: The problem is pigs don't sweat.

--In Harm's Way.

--Hand-Crafted Latte.

--Sanitary Landfill: Also known as a dump.

So, there we have it.  Lots of new words and phrases we can't use.  Dang.