Banished words

Lake Superior State University released its 34th annual List of Words to be Banished from the Queen's English last week. This list has apparently been around almost as long as I have, but I've only become aware of its existence this year. The 2008 list includes words/phrases such as "maverick," "Wall Street/Main Street" and "carbon footprint" that have either been overused or have somehow worn out their welcome in our fair language. Or, in the case of "staycation," they never should have become words in the first place.

I'm working on my own list of banished words, which I'm sure I'll expand later:

"Deana's List of Words to be Banished from the Vocabularies of Decent Human Beings Everywhere"

1) “Hoot” as in “That was a hoot!” It just sounds so hick and backwoods to me. Maybe because it’s part of “hootenanny.” Which I also never say.

2) No matter how tired I am, I never, never say “I’m pooped!” And I don’t think you should say it, either. Poop is excrement. It’s not something you are.

3) I don’t call shirts “tops.” I call them shirts. Not sure why.

4) Naturally, I never say “$%^#.” Oh, wait a second. Sometimes I do. So never mind.

5) I try to avoid “polar bear.” I had to go to speech therapy as a kid to work on my “R” sound, and “polar bear” still trips me up sometimes. When I do have to say it, I slow down and concentrate on saying it right so I don’t make a fool of myself.

6) I don’t like the word “discreet.” It makes me think of tampon commercials.

That's my list so far. I'll add more words as they get on my nerves.