79-07-B8
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Banned Words[edit]
Transcript[edit]It's been about three months since an organization called The Unicorn Hunters proposed banning a list of "overused, misused or pompous" words and phrases, and, guess what? People are still using them. The Unicorn Hunters, 2,000 members strong, is made up of writers, poets and college professors interested in linguistics. The words to be banned came from nominations submitted by the members. According to the New York TIMES, W. T. Rabe of Lake Superior State College in Michigan, who distributed the list of words and is secretary of The Unicorn Hunters, did acknowledge "that people are not speaking -- or writing -- much better than before." But he said, "It's not as bad as last year, when I got in my car, turned on the radio and heard: 'This parade is uniquely original'." As Mr. Rabe points out, "Something is either unique or original, not both." One of the banished phrases this year is "you know", which is usually pronounced "y'know". The Unicorn Hunters described the phrase as "a terminal condition of the English language." They were so concerned about the phrase "y'know" that they appointed a commission to find a solution. But, alas, in its final report, the commission used the phrase 68 times! Another phrase banished by The Unicorn Hunters was "social security". They say "It's neither social nor secure". And, they have decreed that the phrase "somewhere down the road" is to be banished, too. They describe it as being like the phrase "light at the end of the tunnel". We don't know how long the tunnel is. If you want the entire list of banned words and phrases you'll have to send for it. Mr. Rabe is quoted as saying, "Anybody who wants the list has to send me an envelope on which he or she has written his or her address and to which he or she has affixed a stamp. We banned 'self-addressed' some time ago because that implies that the envelope wrote an address on itself." I have a hunch that Mr. Rabe and The Unicorn Hunters are swimming upstream on this, right? Really. I mean, y'know? This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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