A group of language scolds has released its annual list of words and phrases to be exorcised from the English language, and … Spoiler alert! “Spoiler alert†is among them.
The 38th annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Useless, released on Monday by Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., also included “fiscal cliff,†“trending,†“double down,†“bucket list,†“job creators,†“superfood,†“guru,†“YOLO†(you only live once), “kick the can down the road†and, perhaps most puzzlingly, “boneless wings,†which might seem like more of a culinary problem than a linguistic one. “Can we just call them chicken pieces?†asked John McNamara of Lansing, Mich., one of hundreds of people to submit nominations via the university's Facebook page.
Previous lists have failed to quash terms like “man cave,†“closure,†and “random†(used to mean strange or funny), but there may still be time to stop this year's most-reviled words. According to a quick database search, “spoiler alert†occurred some 39 times in The New York Times in 2012, up from 31 in 2011, while “double down†occurred 59 times, up from 39. “YOLO†occurred three times, including on a list of “Words of the Year†proposed by Graham Barrett of the American Dialect Society. There were no sightings of boneless chicken wings, though the dish did receive a lengthy dissection in this 2009 news article.
