‘Banned’ terms for 2012—do you agree?

I’ve always thought that banned-book lists were silly. You can’t control what someone reads, right? And why would you? They’re not hurting anyone by reading “Catcher in the Rye” for the 27th time.

But I may be changing my tune. I just caught wind of a list of banned words and phrases that are no longer to be uttered in the new year. Huzzah! (That’s not one of the banned words, just my getting behind this effort.)

Lake Superior State University in Michigan announced the list just before New Year’s Eve.

Now as a native Ohioan, I have sworn to love my state and hate everything from Michigan. (I believe it’s in the small print when you sign to get your license or something.) So you can imagine my surprise when I read an article from a university in Michigan and said, “Wow, they got that right!”

Each year the school proclaims its List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse. (They’re in America, so I’m not sure which queen they’re referring to—maybe Latifah?)