annual List of Banished Words

from World Wide Words

 

 

The long-established annual List of Banished Words published by Lake Superior State University came out in January.

    

As every year, the public voted for their most-disliked words and phrases, a wonderful opportunity for grumblers about the declining state of the language to vent some spleen, and for the University to obtain much-needed publicity.

 

This year, the overall winner was VIRAL, in the online sense of passing news of something from person to person; this has become a term of art in marketing and is solidly established in the language.

 

Other words and phrases in the list that voters particularly hated include EPIC, FAIL (and EPIC FAIL), WOW FACTOR, MAN UP, REFUDIATE and YOUR CALL IS IMPORTANT TO US.