Lake Superior State University puts together a yearly list of words that should be banned from the language forever. Its 2013 list is pretty good, and includes such ear-grating entries as “YOLO” and “passionate” and phrases like “kick the can down the road.”
Abominations, every one.
Not to be left out, the Financial Times’s Edward Luce has his own list of words and phrases that need to be incinerated. Topping it is “disruptor”:
Much of the blame for the cult of the disrupter should go to the media, which likes to celebrate political bomb throwers. In the past few months, dozens of US media organisations have drawn up their pet lists of top disrupters. MSNBC, the liberal cable news channel, has its “disrupter of the week”, which often means little more than having made the news. Vanity Fair came up with its top 50 media “disruptors” (the word’s variable spelling is also disruptive). Forbes had its top 12 business disrupters. And from sea to shining sea, conferences have been awash with disruptive tedium.
Luce wants to see disruptor “guillotined,” because much of what passes for disruption is nothing of the sort and, he contends, the real advances made in the private and public sectors come from the quiet, competent legions of folks toiling behind the scenes and far removed from any publicist.
I’m sure there are those who will disagree with Luce (Pete Snyder, call your office). But let’s expand the list a bit to include words and phrases that should never be used again in Virginia politics.
Here’s a start:
* “Moving Virginia forward” (an oldie that refuses to die)
* “Radical centrist” (a Mark Warner creation which means nothing, expect during election years).
* “The Macker,” “TMac” (that’s Gov. McAuliffe to you)
* “Giftgate” (a sad and empty phrase masking old-fashioned graft)
* “Dedicated, sustainable revenue” (applied like seven layers of lacquer to this year’s transportation bill)
You get the idea. Add your own words and phrased to be guillotined in the comments.
