Words That Ought to be Banned

maven -- starting about 5 years ago, suddenly this word is everywhere. I despise all words that become trendy because writers in newspapers and magazines decide they need a new term to replace parts of their vocabulary that are overused. I especially despise these crummy fashionable words when they become tired from overuse almost as soon as they arrive: "maven" is almost always preceded by "style," and probably a good 60% of the time it's used to describe Martha Stewart. Enough already.

canoodling -- exactly the same as above. With the added insistence that if you don't use a word in your own day-to-day speech, you shouldn't use it in your writing. I've never been told by a friend that anyone was caught canoodling at a nightclub. Ever.

nosh -- see canoodling. Unless you speak Yiddish and actually attend the odd seder. If you don't understand the relationship between "goyim" and "goy," you don't ever "nosh." So just say "eat," please.

pundit -- see canoodling; particularly annoying because it's most often used by journalists trying to sound smart while describing subjects who are quoted to give an interview some heft. It strikes me as, "Look at me using smart words and talking to smart people! We're all so smart." And that sounds to me like whitewash.

world-class -- if you have to say it, it ain't true. Not to mention that even if it's true in some regard, you've failed to define the specifics. If something is as big as, or expensive as, or as effective as the benchmark-setter in the world, give me that specific comparison instead of the vague "world-class" label.

Comments

[Rob]

I should have mentioned in the post that Lake Superior State University releases a list of banned words each year. Find it here: http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php

[Monica M]

Right up there with "world-class" is "classy". As soon as I hear anything described as "classy" it immediately sounds Las Vegas, glitsy and tryin' way too hard to be what you ain't. Without exception I find when someone uses that term they don't sound very...um, "classy". Please ban this, too.