Lake Superior State University in Michigan has just published its 2009 List of Banished Words [1], aka the “34th annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness”.
The list started in 1976 and is based on submissions by the general public.
Among this year’s list are:
- “green” anything
- carbon footprint and carbon offset
- maverick
- bailout
- Wall Street vs. Main Street (I suppose the Canadian equivalent “Bay Street vs. Main Street” would also qualify)
- iconic
- game changer
- it’s that time of the year again (for making lists?)
The previous lists [2] are archived on the university website.