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Don’t Take a Selfie While Twerking: 2014 List of Banished Words

OMG, viral communication has made a mess of our language. Not to worry. Lake Superior State University offers its annual list of words we shouldn't say.

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Beth Dalbey, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge

When the ball drops at midnight, the folks at Lake Superior State University wish it would fall on “selfie,” “twerk,” and any word ending in “-aggedon.”

They’re all included on LSSU’s annual list of locutions they’d like to banish from conversation.

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DISCUSS: What words would you like to see banished in 2014? Tell us below in the comments.

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Say it isn’t so: Here are the 13 entries included on the 2014 List of Banished Words – officially called “Words to be Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness”:

  • Selfie
  • Twerk/Twerking
  • Hashtag
  • Twittersphere
  • Mister Mom
  • T-bone (the automobile accident, not the cut of beef)
  • (Insert word here) on steroids
  • Anything ending in -ageddon and -pocalypse
  • Intellectually/morally bankrupt
  • Obamacare
  • Adversity
  • Fan base
Click here to read a list of all words that have been banished since the list was developed in 1975 as a publicity ploy for the little-known university, located in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. A public relations flak, W.T. (Bill) Rabe and his pals came up with the list at a New Year’s Eve party in 1975  – it’s too bad they didn’t take a selfie – and it has since become an annual tradition.

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