LSSU Banished Word List Nears 1,000 With Additions of 'Selfie' 'Twerking' and 'Obamacare'
ByLake Superior State University (LSSU) has added "selfie," "Obamacare" and "twerking" to its ever-growing list of banished words.
According to list released on their website, LSSU have added 13 words, phrases and suffixes to its "List of Words to be Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness."
Every year, the school accepts nominations for words to be banished from use on campus. The new entries are revealed every year on New Year's Eve and the tradition has reached its 39th year. According to LSSU's website, the master list is approaching 1,000 entries.
Oxford Dictionaries' word of the year headlined those banished by LSSU. "Selfie" was joined by "twerk/twerking," "hashtag," "twittersphere," "mister mom," "t-bone" "adversity" (in relation to sports) and "Obamacare" as banished words.
Also joining the list were the suffixes "-ageddon" and "-pocalypse" and the phrases "on steroids," "fan base" and "intellectually/morally bankrupt."
"[Selfie is] a lame word. It's all about me, me, me," wrote David, a person who nominated the word. "Put the smartphone away. Nobody cares about you."
The list's editors take nominations made through the school's website and consider several factors in their decision. First, the editors will consider overused, misused and useless words found in everyday speech. They will also consider media coverage surrounding the word as well as news people's use of the word. Also considered is the word's use in education, technology, advertising, politics and other fields.
Aside from pet peeves in everyday language, or made up words that gain official recognition, the list also serves a social purpose. For example, a person named Chad nominated "Mr. Mom" because be believes stay-at-home moms are a thing of the past and people no longer find dads who stay home to care for children to be weird.
"Society is changing and no longer is it odd for a man to take care of his children," Chad wrote. "Even the Wall Street Journal has declared, 'Mr. Mom is dead' (Jan. 22, 2013). I think it is time to banish it."