Archives: Banished Words 1978

Memo - As in "I'll memo this proposal." And its geometric progression (triple) banishee honor: "See how it impacts when it is referentially memoed."

Very Unique Redundancy Repetitive Award - To W. Glenn Roberts of Nashville, Tenn. who persuaded a local TV station (through a series of nagging letters) to stop using such phrases as "completely destroyed," "true facts," and "most unique."

Nuk-U-Lar - What some people are reading on broadcast when they see "nuclear."

Medication - We can no longer afford this. It is too expensive. We must return to the less expensive "medicine."

Perform Surgery - As above, instead of operate.

Situation & Process- As in "wet pavement situation" which generally means "pavements are wet" or "it is raining." There is also a mild vogue in the use of "the eating process." These are Dress up words.

Prioritize, Parenting, Orientating - Fancy Dan Words.

Yuh Know - This phrase received twice the nominations of any other word this year (and in subsequent years). The Unicorn Hunters admit there is little they can do about it. "Yuh know" is a chronic, probably terminal, disease of the English Language.

You'd Better Believe - Has an element of unseemly coercion.

I Know Where I'm Coming From But I Don't Know Where You Are Coming From - "This seems to have its root in an argument between two motorists whose cars have collided," according to Tom Labelle of The Grand Rapids Press. "It quickly found its way into encounter sessions and in the parlance of bureaucrats and politicians."

Six Month Embargo - These are not evil in themselves but have been soiled by association.

Unique - As in "very unique," "most unique" and even "uniquely unique."

Hopefully - Widely used to mean "it is to be hoped," rather than its proper meaning, "in a hopeful manner."