Archives: Banished Words 1998
Build to a Crescendo
- “The word is a musical term which means ‘gradually
increase the volume.’ It is not possible to build to
a crescendo as the crescendo is the process of building.”
Paul Kinney, Westland, Mich.
Da Bomb - (to
mean ‘the greatest’) “Sounds stupid and
makes no sense.” Chad Johnson, Port Hope School,
Port Hope, Mich. “Is it going to explode?” Adam
Trupish, St. Anne’s H.S., Tecumseh, Ont.
Ever -
Michele Mooney, Los Angeles, sent many examples of the
overuse of “ever” clipped from newspapers and
magazines: “…drew its largest audience ever.”
“…the best film adaptation of a John Grisham
novel ever!” “It will be the first public
display ever for the staff.” “The first-ever
DNA extracted from Neanderthal bone…” “It
was the largest gay and lesbian event ever in Alabama
history.”
Gaming - “Used
to seduce people into thinking they’re not really
gambling.” Gene Quinn, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Generation X
- “This group needs a real name now. Unfortunately
there aren’t any ‘x’ words that would do
the job. How about generation XOXO?” Michelle
Batterbee Fox, Ellsworth Community Schools, Ellsworth,
Mich.
Giving 110 Percent
- When considering the salaries paid to professional
athletes many folks may start to expect that extra 10
percent. Mark Terwilliger, LSSU math professor.
Is Dead Tonight -
“Whenever a well-known person dies, television news
reporters tell the story: ‘Joe Blow is dead tonight
at the age of 85.’ Do they expect his condition to
change by morning? I have heard of one such case, but
even that took three days.” David Downing, St. Paul,
Minn.
My Bad -
“Students and adults sound infantile when using this
to apologize for a mistake.” Elizabeth Philips,
English Dept., Cardinal Mooney Catholic H.S., Marine City,
Mich. and many others.
Norming -
“A planerese’ word. These folks do not give up.
It supposedly means to make normal… ‘In a
systems evolution concept of storming, forming, and
norming…’” Huon Newburg, New Ulm, Minn.
Show Me the Money -
“It was a funny movie; now people use it everywhere.”
Mandy Denick, Thornapple Kellogg H.S., Middleville, Mich.
Nominated by others, including The Flint [Mich.] Journal’s
Jeff Karoub, who says “It’s destined to be the
‘Where’s the beef?’ of the 90s.”
Talk to the Hand -
and variations of the expression used when someone doesn’t
want to listen to what is being presented to him or her:
“Talk to the hand, ‘cuz the face don’t
want to hear it.” “Talk to the left (hand),
because you know I’m right.” “Talk to the
back, because you’re not good enough for the front.”
– Christine Tankersley, St. Mary’s Cathedral H.S.,
Gaylord, Mich. Nominated by many others in Canada and the
U.S.
Take it to the Next Level -
“As in, ‘If we increase our focus and intensity,
we can take it to the next level.’ This has seeped
out of the mouths of coaches and athletes and crept into
the parlance of too many sportscasters and writers.”
Jeff Karoub, Flint, Mich.
Whatsup? -
Sometimes shortened to ‘sup? “Everyone uses it
just to start up a conversation.” – Carali
McCall, Seaforth District H.S., Seaforth, Ont. “Just
say hello.” – Tim Nelson, Mackinaw City H.S.,
Mackinaw City, Mich. “It’s passé.” –
Greg Arceri, Northville, Mich. Nominated by many others.
Yadda Yadda Yadda -
“An annoying way of making a long story short,”
Richard Young, Nicolet H.S., Glendale, Wisc. “Used
instead of ‘and so on.’” R. Forrest, Tempe,
Ariz.
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