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2011’s banished words

‘Viral’ and ‘epic fail’ among 2011’s banished words ‘Viral’, ‘epic fail’ and ‘Mama Grizzly’ are among a list of ‘banished’ words and phrases for 2011.

Lake Superior State University in Michigan, USA, released its annual list of overused and misused words and terms that should be banned for the year ahead. ‘Viral’ is often used to describe the rapid spreading of videos or other content over the internet, leads the list for 2011.

“This linguistic disease of a term must be quarantined,” Kuahmel Allah of Los Angeles said in making a nomination.

Runners-up included ‘epic’ and ‘fail,’ often twinned to describe a blunder of monumental proportions.

A total of 14 words and terms were on the list, including: ‘wow factor,’ ‘aha moment,’ ‘back story’ and ‘BFF’ (Best Friends Forever). The use of Facebook and Google as verbs as made the list.

Voters suggested the banning of ‘Mama Grizzlies,’ used to describe right-wing female politicians in the mold of Sarah Palin, and ‘man up,’ famously used by Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharon Angle in a testy debate with Democrat Harry Reid and a favourite Palin expression as well.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .