It's That Time of Year Again: Banned Words for 2009

1. cooties
   December 31st, 2008 at 12:44 pm

   same as last year - 'going forward' or 'on a go forward basis'

   One of our favourite morning shows (Q107 in Toronto) is sponsored by a hot tub company that used 'staycation' in its ad campaign ALL SUMMER AND FALL.

2. chad
   December 31st, 2008 at 12:48 pm

   suggested additions to the list:

   Joe (anything)
   youbetcha
   gotcha-journalism

3. Gauldar
   December 31st, 2008 at 12:55 pm

   snowmagedon.

   war on christmas.

   I can't think of anymore, luckily my memory is horrible to keep this garbaged trapped in my head.

4. batchild
   December 31st, 2008 at 12:57 pm

   Maverick is my actual middle name so I can't drop it. First I had to deal with Tom Cruise ruining it and then the McCain campaign. Thanks a lot.

5. CoolHead Chris
   December 31st, 2008 at 1:04 pm

   And I just had Maverick put on my business cards.

6. sybann
   December 31st, 2008 at 1:16 pm

   Bush. 'Nuff said?

7. All Mi T
   December 31st, 2008 at 1:17 pm

   depression is Nipping at our Nose

8. kevin
   December 31st, 2008 at 1:18 pm

   Staycation is really high on my personal list of words hated. It's right under relicious which means really delicious but I have only known a four year old to use it.

9. Dixon
   December 31st, 2008 at 1:20 pm

   Credit Crunch

10. roxi618
    December 31st, 2008 at 1:22 pm

    closure...
    change
    giving back (to the community or whomever)

    All 3 are way over-used.

11. Alex
    December 31st, 2008 at 1:29 pm

    Fail. It's way past its prime now ...

12. fiona b
    December 31st, 2008 at 1:38 pm

    Yes "credit crunch". On this side of the Atlantic its been the most overused term to describe, not a new kind of cereal, but a recession Goddamn it why don't they just call it that?

13. Patrick B
    December 31st, 2008 at 1:41 pm

    Meh
    Whatever

    And on a personal note the one word I would most like to not hear is one I will hear for at least four more years. Obama

14. slickhead
    December 31st, 2008 at 1:42 pm

    Really? (as a sentence)

15. ~Emma
    December 31st, 2008 at 1:48 pm

    Before turning the gun on himself.

16. nyahyah
    December 31st, 2008 at 1:49 pm

    czar (as a suffix)

17. George
    December 31st, 2008 at 1:51 pm

    "WTF" - It's lewd, rude and crude!!!

18. jay
    December 31st, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    It's that time of year again for green carbon offsetting staycations; not so much for Maverick monkey, winner of five nominations for his desperate search for a game-changing bailout from Wall Street to Main Street.
    <3 First Dude

19. Sandra Curtis
    December 31st, 2008 at 2:20 pm

    "With all due respect..."

20. Michael Smith
    December 31st, 2008 at 2:27 pm

    (anything) 2.0

21. just a guy
    December 31st, 2008 at 2:35 pm

    I've always hated "bad" as a noun. as in "my bad". but that's not very '2008' specific.

    Then again, a lot of these aren't.

22. erick
    December 31st, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    Great, Maverick is my FIRST name. I feel that the republican campaign has soiled my name. I use to get compliments for my name, now all name discussions redirect somehow to mccain. I'm accepting name suggestions

23. The Manticore
    December 31st, 2008 at 2:45 pm

    </3

24. Skull Thuggery
    December 31st, 2008 at 3:08 pm

    Using <3 to mean 'heart' or 'love' used to annoy me. Now I just turn my head the other way and read it as 'teabag' and it's hilarious.

    Whenever I see 'I <3 my dog', I read it as 'I teabag my dog'. I hope your dog's not a pitbull, pal.

25. dutchboy
    December 31st, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    I myself suffer from "green fatigue"

26. brighteyes0309
    December 31st, 2008 at 3:11 pm

    i absolutely can't stand "recessionista"

    and adding the "right" onto the end of "I know" popped out of nowhere and is so annoying! (i.e. "I know, RIGHT?")

27. Joe Miller
    December 31st, 2008 at 3:24 pm

    resolute (overused for about 7 years now)

28. Shen
    December 31st, 2008 at 3:49 pm

    guy 1: look how green it is--
    guy 2: NO YOU FOOL!! ITS EMERALD! EMERALD!!!

29. Sigilum
    December 31st, 2008 at 4:33 pm

    "my bad" I want to shoot whoever uses this phrase in the face...thats how much I hate it.

30. Bruno
    December 31st, 2008 at 5:20 pm

    My votes:
    "Global Warming"
    "Think Global Act Local"
    and finally, the most hated suffix I can think of; "Neo-(Anything)"

31. ike
    December 31st, 2008 at 5:28 pm

    redneck zen: "it is what it is."

32. buddz
    December 31st, 2008 at 5:30 pm

    Please ban: Amazing. It's used to describe everything from pastry to mothers. And way too often, actors use it to describe other people in their movies and it makes them sound so very wise to recognize the trait and know the (aforementioned adjective) person.

    (However, you may allow Randi to continue to use it -- and a select few others, pending discussion.)

33. Chic
    December 31st, 2008 at 5:44 pm

    "czar" like the suffix "gate" is way over used. When properly used it means supreme ruler. Also used as a synonym for "king".

    drug czar (drug king)
    war czar (war king)
    terrorism czar (terrorism king)
    cybersecurity czar (cybersecurity king)
    climate czar (the person in charge of climate?)
    copyright czar (the person in charge of copyrights?)

34. Skookum
    December 31st, 2008 at 5:57 pm

    "...and how's that workin' out for ya...", snidely put.

35. JRob
    December 31st, 2008 at 6:28 pm

    "Phenomenal." That word is every-frickin-where.

36. SenorMysterioso
    December 31st, 2008 at 6:35 pm

    I <3 this post. Thank you blog-monkey

37. Micky
    December 31st, 2008 at 8:39 pm

    I definitely think "epic" should be on this list.

38. Josh
    December 31st, 2008 at 9:32 pm

    Where is "Change"?

39. Carbonfish
    January 1st, 2009 at 12:05 am

    "Shovel-ready"

    First off, how many public works projects actually require a shovel, and secondly, if all a project really needs to be implemented is money, just say so dammit!

40. liphttam1
    January 1st, 2009 at 2:32 am

    I like green <3 . It distracts me from the bailout and our carbon footprints. I can't believe its that time of the year again to ban words. And now neatoramas on a deperate search for words to ban. I hope useing all thes words dosn't make me a maverick. I think not so much about what I say though.

41. erin
    January 1st, 2009 at 2:49 am

    ABSOLUTLEY!!!!!!!!!

42. robert
    January 1st, 2009 at 3:45 am

    epic (as a noun)
    twilight

43. Evilbeagle
    January 1st, 2009 at 5:53 am

    Green
    Staycation
    Meh

    Three words that chap my hide.

44. Judi
    January 1st, 2009 at 4:42 pm

    Random
    Change

45. artbot
    January 1st, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    Wow, my last name is "Green". What'll I do now?

    And "wow" should be banned, if only from my own overuse.

46. Thebes
    January 1st, 2009 at 7:48 pm

    "Climate change" - egads, please just call it what its supposed to be, anthropogenic global warming.

47. bml
    January 2nd, 2009 at 4:22 am

    team of rivals

48. Chris Johnston
    January 2nd, 2009 at 7:05 am

    Y'know, I was pretty indifferent to <3 until I saw somebody actually write out "less than three" instead!

49. williams
    January 2nd, 2009 at 9:03 am

    We here in England are suffering a severe outbreak of You know, particularly among formerly erudite people, strangely, you know.

    And as for the effect of the olympics - we have new verbs "To medal" "To Podium", as in "He podiumed three times" (yecch) joining other awful verb converts like "dialoguing" and "main-streaming"

50. Agitationist
    January 2nd, 2009 at 1:42 pm

    Loads more here:
    http://agitationist.com/101-web-business-cliches-that-must-die-in-2009

51. rachelmmm
    January 12th, 2009 at 4:19 am

    Like is way to used. Like it is totally... Like he's sooo hot..... Like this is so boring. and so on!

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