LSSU bans apps

This is the continuation of a SooToday.com article about the newest group of irritating words and phrases banished by Lake Superior State University.

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"Must we b sbjct to yt another abrv? Why does the English language have to fit on a two-inch screen? I hate the sound of it. I think I'll listen to a symph on the rad."

- Edward R. Bolt, Grand Rapids, MI

"Is there an 'app' for making this annoying word go away? Why can't we just call them 'programs' again?"

- Kuahmel Allah, Los Angeles, CA

Sexting

Sending sexually explicit pictures and text messages through the cell phone.

"Any dangerous new trend that also happens to have a clever mash-up of words, involves teens, and gets television talk show hosts interested must be banished."

- Ishmael Daro, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Friend as a verb

Came into popularity through social networking websites.

You add someone to your network by "friending" them, or remove them by "unfriending" them.

"I'm certainly as much of a Facebook addict as the next person, but I'm getting a little weary of 'friending' people and being 'friended' by them. My daughter talks of 'sending friend requests,' which doesn't rankle me as much, so maybe we should all take her lead."

- John Wetterholt, Crystal Lake, ILL

"'Befriend' is much more pleasant to the human ear and a perfectly useful word in the dictionary."

- Kevin K., Morris, OK

Teachable moment

What might otherwise be known as "a lesson."

"It's a condescending substitute for 'opportunity to make a point,'" says Eric Rosenquist of College Station, TX.

"If everything's a 'teachable moment,' we should all have teaching credentials, including the guy at the bar who likes to fight after one shot too many."

- Kuahmel Allah, Los Angeles, CA

"This phrase is used to describe everything from potty-training to politics. It's time to vote it out!"

- Jodi, Youngstown, OH

In these economic times...

Nominations concerning the economy started rolling in as the 2009 list was being put together last year, i.e. "bailout."

They kept coming this year, in these troubled economic times.

"South Park" warned us about what would happen if we angered The Economy.

"Overused and redundant. Aren't all times 'these economic times'?"

- Barb Stutesman, Three Rivers, MI

"In this economy, we can't afford to be wasteful... In this economy, we all need some security... In this economy, frogs could start falling from the sky... In this economy, blah blah blah... Overused for everything from trying to market products as inexpensive to simply explaining any and all behavior during the recession."

- Mark, Milwaukee, WI

"When someone prefaces a statement with 'in this economic climate,' it starts to sound like a sales pitch, or just an excuse on which to blame every problem. And if a letter or e-mail message from your employer starts with this phrase, usually it means you're not getting a raise this year."

- Dominic, Seattle, WA

Stimulus

"Everything in the news is about the stimulus packages... it is no longer a grant, it's stimulus money, stimulus checks, etc. I think it is just being over-used."

- Teri Heikkila, Rudyard, MI

"Overused by companies to advertise a promotion."

- David Willis, Houston, TX

"What next, can I go down to the local bar and down a few drinks and call it a stimulus package?"

- Richard Brown, Portland, OR

Toxic assets

We think we're going to be sick.

"Whatever happened to simply 'bad stocks,' 'debts,' or 'loans'?"

- Monty Heidenreich, Homewood, ILL

"What a wretched term!"

- Lee Freedman, Sault Ste. Marie, MI

Too big to fail

"Just for the record, nothing's too big to fail unless the government lets it."

- Claire Shefchik, Brooklyn, NY

"Does such a thing exist? We'll never know if a company is too big to fail, unless somehow it does fail, and then it will no longer be too big to fail. Make it stop!"

- Holli, Raleigh, NC

Bromance

"Have we really reached the point where being friends has to be described in a pseudo-romantic context? Just stop it already!"

- Greg Zagorski, Washington, DC

"I am sick of combined words the media creates to make them sound catchier. Frenemies? Bromances? Blogorrhea? I'm going to scream!"

- Kaylynn, AB, Canada

Chillaxin'

Nominated for several years.

We couldn't chill about it anymore.

"Heard everywhere from MTV to ESPN to CNN. A bothersome term that seeks to combine chillin' with relaxin' makes me want to be 'axin' this word."

- Tammy, Sault Ste. Marie, MI

"A made-up word used by annoying Gen-Yers."

- Chris Jensen, Fond du Lac, WI

"Horrifying overuse, even in face-to-face conversation... It should receive bonus points for its ability to exhort the opposite reaction from the receiver."

- Bret Bledsoe, Cincinnati, OH

Obama - prefix or roots?

The LSSU Word Banishment Committee held out hope that folks would want to Obama-ban Obama-structions, but were surprised that no one Obama-nominated any, such as these compiled by the Oxford Dictionary in 2009: Obamanomics, Obamanation, Obamafication, Obamacare, Obamalicious, Obamaland...

We say Obamanough already.

About LSSU

Lake Superior State University is located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, along the U.S./ Canada international border.

With an enrollment of about 3,000 students, LSSU offers an undergraduate experience that features small classes, individual attention and faculty/student research opportunities that are not always readily available at larger schools.

LSSU students choose from a blend of liberal and technical studies in more than 40 areas.

Find out more here.

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