Michigan university banishes worn-out words, phrases of 2006 such as "gone missing"

DETROIT– If the media's habit of combining celebrity names didn't cause word watchers enough heartburn in 2006, the past year had plenty of other words and phrases that language purists wish had "gone missing."

Lake Superior State University on Sunday released its annual "List of Words and Phrases Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness."

The university in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., has been compiling the list since 1976. A university committee selected the 16 words or phrases on this year's list from more than 4,500 nominations.

The list reads like a lexicon of popular culture.

Take "ask your doctor," the mantra of pharmaceutical commercials. The university called it "the chewable vitamin morphine of marketing."

Critics piled on the media's practice of combined names like "TomKat" or "Brangelina." One said, "It's so annoying, idiotic and so lame and pathetic, it's 'lamethetic.'?"

Real-estate listings were targeted for overuse of "boast." As in "master bedroom boasts his-and-her fireplaces — never 'bathroom apologizes for cracked linoleum,' or 'kitchen laments pathetic placement of electrical outlets,'?" noted contributor Morris Conklin.

It wasn't hard to find the phrase "gone/went missing" in 2006. "It makes 'missing' sound like a place you can visit, such as the Poconos," said Robin Dennis of Texas.

The university's word watchers had no use for "truthiness," the word popularized by Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert. It was selected as the word that best summed up 2006 in an online survey by dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.

Contributor Joy Wiltzius of Fort Collins, Colo., wanted to correct the "sounds healthy" comment in reference to a nutritious lunch, such as a fish sandwich. "If my lunch were healthy, it would still be swimming somewhere. Grilled and nestled in salad greens, it's 'healthful.'?"

The list, which has included such gems as "show me the money," "erectile dysfunction" and "holiday tree," is closing in on its 1,000th banishment. Despite the university's vigilance, spokesman Tom Pink said he's not aware any dictionaries have followed its advice.

"Sometimes people write us and tell us, 'This isn't working,'?" Pink said. "I tell them we need an enforcement division."