Lake Superior State University has released its annual list of “banished words”; words they consider trite, overused, annoying, or a combination of all three. Following below is the list, with my comments in italics:
SHOVEL-READY
“Apparently, the generally accepted definition of this phrase is to imply that a project has been completely designed and all that [...]
Tag Archive 'Rants'
This morning, I read an interesting blog post by Paula Reed. Her entry was based on a quote she’d received by email:
“The Left: People who demonize those with whom they disagree.”
My first thought was to think of how so many neocons today are masters at the art of projection: they take what is commonly [...]
Appealing to People’s Base Instincts
Posted in Life, News, Politics, Rants, opinion on Nov 17th, 2009
The other day while out driving, I was monitoring the Neal Boortz show, looking for ranty blogging fodder. And, as is almost always the case, I found what I was looking for.
Because it was Veteran’s Day, he was relating anecdotes with that theme in mind. He told a story about a man attacked by four [...]
While out driving on Halloween, I drove through a neighborhood in full trick or treat mode. Though a minority of older kids walked from house to house, most kids were driven by their parents to each house, getting in and out of the vehicle (mostly ubiquitous minivans) ever 25 feet or so.
This meant that the [...]
It seems as if I have a homing device to attract the religious of all stripes. I don’t know what it is; perhaps it’s my air of disrepute that attracts them like moths to a flame.
Recently, they hired a new guy at my place of employment, a squeaky-clean, straight arrow kind of person. I didn’t [...]
Malpractice Insurance and Health Care Reform
Posted in Life, Politics, Rants, Social Issues, opinion on Oct 19th, 2009
Last night I was listening to the radio and came upon yet another right wing talk show. I didn’t recognize the woman’s voice; all I knew was that it wasn’t Ann Coulter, as I’ve heard her voice, ad nauseum, on several different shows, on both radio and TV.
This unknown woman had the unpleasant quality of [...]
I haven’t done a language rant in awhile, so here goes.
The offense of the day is:
“Alot”
This spelling abomination is used by people to mean “a lot”. It’s a mistake I didn’t see years ago, even by people with generally atrocious spelling and grammar. It apparently is a fairly “new” mistake, that I’m seeing [...]
I’ve not picked on the advertising industry in awhile, so here goes.
I’ve been hearing different ads lately that talk about “that guy”. “That guy” is usually a bumbling, figure of universal scorn; someone who isn’t quite all man, somehow. Naturally, use of the product being advertised will save the men from the shame of being [...]
I live in a small city, which has two Wal Mart 24-hour supercenters. There’s one in the affluent part of town and the other is in a neighborhood that could kindly be described as down at the heels.
Recently, I visited the one on the north end of town to find that they were in the [...]
I’ve recently come up on an expression that instantly earned its way into my list of language peeves:
Re-home
This expression, used most often in reference to pets, means to find it a new home when its current owners can or will no longer care for it.
Though not yet listed as a bona-fide word (I checked), it [...]
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