Overused/misused words A-L(reposted for Sunlion)

Over-used or misused words/phrases.

I've been keeping a list, drawn from many sources, of the most over-used or misused words and phrases. It's a long list, and the editing is VERY sloppy and breaks many "rules," but might be food for thought.

Some are personal peeves, others are ones I'm not REALLY convinced are over-used, but which are worth watching. Some come from Carlin rants, others from university web sites that warn you of severe punishment for even THINKING about using some of these. It's a mess, but might be useful to someone somewhere along the line. It's a work in progress... Comments? Criticisms? Additions?.

Use a familiar phrase if it expresses your meaning clearly, but not simply because it is familiar!!!!!!!

9 Numbers zero through ten are spelled out, except in dates, addresses, etc. Beyond that, use numbers unless it begins a sentence, in which case it's to be spelled out in most instances. Do not begin sentences with a year number: �1997 is the year when I was a terrible writer.� This is offensive to the eye and scares readers and editors alike.

911 Last year, we had Y2K and 24-7. This year, we have 9-11. This new digital language (digitalk?) should be banned no later than 1-1-Y2K-2�Do we refer to the Chicago Fire as 10-8 because it occurred on Oct. 8, 1871? How about the sinking of the Titanic - it is not called 4-14. Let�s 187 or at least deep 6 this one.

1990s Be sure not to use an apostrophe between a year and its "S" or you'll look like a moron. If you abbreviate it as the `90s, note that the "apostrophe" is not an apostrophe.

Abbreviations for states: In articles, do not used postal codes for state abbreviations. For example, write �Tenn.� not �TN� and �N.J.� not �NJ�.

Actually Actually, this usually serves no purpose when simply added to the start of a sentence as a signal that simply says "there is a sentence coming."

Adverbs: adverbs should be used sparingly, especially ones that end in �-ly.�

Aegis Refers to protection, sponsorship, patronage, guidance, direction, etc. Much too useful a word, overused.

Affinity is by definition mutual not held by only one party/object.

Aficionado overused.

Alibi Means the person really was somewhere else, not when they falsely claim to have been elsewhere.

All in all Don't you dare use this if you're a grown-up.

All right versus alright.

Amid, not amidst.

Among, not amongst.

Among or between? Contrary to popular myth, between is not limited to two parties. It is appropriate when the relationship is essentially reciprocal

and/or Avoid this if possible.

Anticipate means to take action in expectation of; it is not synonymous with "expect."

Apropos Some people LOATHE this word.

Arguably Often used in instances where there is no argument about it.

As good or better than. Break this up, don�t use verbatim.

As of yet Huh?

As to whether. Just use �whether.�

Auspices

Awesome A most hated word among writers.

Basically Basically, don't use this because, basically, it's over-used. Basically.

Begs The Question "Beg the question� refers to a specific logical fallacy called �petitio principii� in which the premise contains or implies the conclusion. To "beg the question" is to base a conclusion upon an assumption that is as much in need of proof as the conclusion itself It does not mean that it �raises the question� of something. If you aren't totally familiar with petitio principii, do not even attempt to use this phrase. Or Else.

Been There, Done That Overused STILL.

Bereft This word does NOT mean simply "without." It means, "once had, has no longer."

Bevy Princeton University has banned this word, and will deliver punishment to offenders.

Bid. Past tense is �bade� as in �they bade us good night.�

Bill Should be capitalized when it's referring to a piece of proposed legislation.

BI-PARTISANSHIP -- "Bipartisanship, to most politicians, only seems to happen when one side gets its way and the other goes along with it. I didn't vote for my guy to submit to the will of the opposing party. I want lots of partisanship!"

Books Use quotations for book titles (including textbooks), unless they�re reference books such as almanacs and dictionaries. Use italics (or underlining) for titles of books that are collections of works or proceedings (including journals). Use quotations for book chapters or individual selections.

BRING THEM TO JUSTICE or BRING THE EVIL-DOERS TO JUSTICE Overused, sounds like you've morphed into that moron in the White House.

BRAINSTORM/BRAINSTORMING - "Bureaucrats and bosses often use it to sound hip instead of dry. True brainstorming is a different approach to problem-solving, not just normal intensive thinking/planning.

Bourgeois Only used by people who have been brainwashed by dangerous violent cults.

Bureaucracy Unoriginal, death to you should you use it following an adjective.

Capitalization: President when referring to a specific president (�the President denied all charges�; �a president may be impeached by the House�); University when used to mean Princeton University or a specific school (�the University raised tuition�; �universities generally cost too much�); never capitalize an entire word for emphasis � use italics.

CAR-JACKING - The forcible taking of an auto from the driver is called armed robbery."

Case. Often an unnecessary word.

catalog In IT documentation, it's not catalogue.

Catch-22 is not just any problem or dilemma; it is when A is a precondition for B, but B negates A.

Caveat (use it only if it�s a warning, not just an exception or reservation)

Celebrate. By all means, celebrate holidays and events, but there's been way too much �celebration� of qualities, heritages, histories and diversity itself.

centers around use the word "on" or "upon" instead of "around"

Certainly. Don�t over-use. Usually adds nothing of value to a sentence.

Character. Often simply redundant. e.g. �... acts of a hostile character...�

Claim, vb.

�Compare to� versus �compare with.�

Clever. Its use usually isn't.

Co-ed Ancient sexist term used to insult female students to put them back in what was once their place.

Come up with: Try suggest, originate or produce.

communications and telecommunications Use plural unless it's singular in an organization's name.

comprise Remember it means "is composed of"

Connoisseur

Consider. Be careful that you're not asking the reader to consider something. After all, they're reading your words, they are obviously considering it.

Contemporary: Of the same period, though often wrongly used to mean modern. A performance of Shakespeare in contemporary dress would involve Elizabethan costume, not 21st-century clothes.

Contractions: The rash of contractions such as aren't, can't, couldn't, hasn't, don't, I'm, it's, there's and what's has reached epidemic proportions. While they might make a piece more informal or easier to read, they can be an irritant and a distraction, and make a serious article sound frivolous. Avoid them in news articles; they are often acceptable in political rants, humor articles, etc.

Cornucopia

Crescendo (the way up in volume, not the top volume itself)

Dearth

Defining moment Overused

DELAY DUE TO AN EARLIER ACCIDENT - "Now in standard use�As distinguished from the delay caused by an accident yet to occur."

Dependable. reliable, trustworthy are usually better.

dial-up As adjective, use dial-up (separate with hyphen) as in "dial-up connection."

Dictionary Intro: Papers that begin "Webster's defines X as..." Don't dare do this as an adult.

dilemma: This is not just any problem. It is a choice between alternatives, each with equally nasty consequences. Avoid logical fallacy False Dilemna, which is when you pretend that there are only two options available (e.g. "You're either with us, or you're against us." -George W. Bush)

DISENFRANCHISE Negative-positive abomination. What's next? 'Disenable'

Disinterested means impartial; uninterested means bored.

Diverse Use of this word is officially prohibited in many colleges and universities.

DOPPLER-anything. Now 'doppler-fication' has become a badge of excellence with local newscasts, regardless of whether it involves weather

Dot Coms - Overused as if all .com companies are the same, when in actuality they're not all corporate yuppie scum.

double click, double-click Use two words for the noun, and the hyphenated form for the verb. (You will go through a series of double clicks, or, Double-click the icon to begin the installation.)

Dude. Dude. It's over-used.

Due to. Incorrectly used for through, because of, or owing to.

E-anything - Maybe e-commerce is the future, but e-tailers, e-trade and e-communication are all E- grade clich�s. What a bunch of E-tards. Also, email should have a hyphen between the E and M, but I refuse to do it. Sue me.

EDGY - "Supposedly referring to creative work that is provocative and interesting, the word now has become a signal that someone is trying to 'market' yet another piece of contrivedly offensive hack work.

Effect versus affect.

Enormity: Something monstrous or wicked, not synonymous with large.

Etc. Don�t use when referring to persons.

Ex- Be careful with this one: a Congress ex-member has lost his seat; an ex-Congress member has lost his party.

Fact. Don�t use in matters of judgment- even in cases where by �everyone�s� judgment it�s true.

FACTOID � Lame-assed come-on for trivia.

Factor. Hackneyed.

Faith-Based Often used to describe theocratic endeavors in a term less offensive to those with sense.

Fatwa: An edict, not necessarily a death sentence, unless you're a writer who questions Islam.

Feature. Hackneyed.

FINAL DESTINATION - Aren't all destinations final?

First person, second person: Do not use the first or second person, excepting articles that are narratives or editorials. In those instances, use sparingly.

Fix. Only slang when it means arrange, prepare, mend. Avoid unintended slang use.

FORESEEABLE FUTURE - Just how long is foreseeable? "What about the unforeseeable future?"

FOREWARN - "But if not, then warn after the fact."

Forego, forgo: Forego means to go before; forgo means to go without.

Forte Pronounced "fort" not "fortay" unless you're speaking of "forte" in musical composition.

Free Gift Usually corporatespeak for the type of gift you'll end up paying dearly for.

Frequented

FRIG and FRIGGING - A sneaky way of getting a version of the dreaded 'F' word and it�s friggin lame cuz everyone knows what you mean anyways. Be bold. Take a stand. It's a great word.

Fruition Too many things are said to come to this.

FUNCTIONALITY - "The word is used in the computer field when people don't seem to know how to explain a software feature. It's used as a crutch, and it's used way too much!" "Used all too frequently in the information technology industry to describe attributes and capabilities � Product 'upgrades' are said to feature 'enhanced functionality,' whatever that is."

"Gendered" Language: Guys, get over it. I'm not trying to be Mr. "Politically Correct" here, but it irks me to always see the singular pronoun as "he" or "his." You smirk, but wait until you write a cover letter one day--I dare you to begin with "Dear Sirs." Since the world has changed, here is how to avoid gendering your work: make things plural whenever you can. "Students should research their options before choosing a college or university" works just as well, and is more inclusive than "A student should research his options before choosing a college or university." If you cannot figure out a clever way to do this, rewrite the sentence.

GOING FORWARD - Most people travel backwards in time?

Grow (this intransitive verb refuses take a direct object outside agriculture and such)

Guru OK to use if you're speaking of a personal spiritual teacher in matters of Hinduism & Tibetan Buddhism. Otherwise, don't make a lamer of yourself by using this over-used word.

H Words starting with H "A" or "an" before h? Use an only if the h is silent. It once sounded hip and trendy to say "an historic occasion" but now it simply sounds arrogant and stupid.

HAVE A GOOD ONE! - A modification of the 1970s' 'Have a nice day!' "I went into a store to buy some feminine hygiene products... As I paid, the young clerk bid me farewell by saying 'Have a good one!' A good period, I suppose."

He is a man who... Redundant.

HERO - "The word 'hero' has no meaning anymore. Today's society has applied it many people not deserving of the appellation.

Holy Grail overused

Hopefully

However. Do not start a sentence with it.

Hyphens: Not the same as a dash, or em-dash. A hyphen is small and is the connector in X-Ray, while an emdash- a longer one- is used in a manner similar to parenthesis.

I think not. If you use this phrase, it's tellingly true.

Ideally Avoid: �Ideally, we�ll have a proofreader soon.� (used to mean �It would be ideal if�)

i.e. (it does not mean �for example�)

implement, implementation Overused in tech writing.

IN THE WAKE OF� - "What was ever wrong with the word 'after?'"

In conclusion Just conclude the goddamn thing. NEVER use.

index, indexes, indices Use the plural indices only when referring to mathematical subscripts.

INFOMMERCIAL - "Is everyone else as tired of this as I am? If a commercial lasts for 30 minutes, it's a PROGRAM. It's also boring!"

Ink pen. All pens use ink, that's why we call them "pens." If it's an inkless pen, it becomes a weapon.

Inner-city A term used by people who must be from the Outer Limits.

Interesting. Not descriptive enough to be.

Ironic Almost always misused; probably the only word on this list that will always get you a failing grade if you ever use it, even correctly. English professors have been known to violently strike anyone who uses this word in any form.

Irregardless (still not a real word, if you're going to invent words, be more creative than this)

Issues � If you over-use this one, you have serious issues, friend. It�s terribly unspecific.

It's All Good -- Fine as a bumper sticker on the back of a microbus at a Grateful Dead show, but is over-used in the real world.

Joe Sixpack, Joe Blow, Joe Schmoe etc. Joe doesn�t like it.

Kewl I think it's time to go back to "cool" but I suppose we must first go through a generation with it spelled "kuhl."

Kind of. �Rather� is better.

Less versus fewer. Fewer and fewer people get this right.

LEVERAGE An over-used and often mis-used term in the business world. False verbification� "Leverage this...leverage that...It makes me want to puke. I don't really know the new definition of this word, but I've caught on (empirically) by hearing it a dozen million times from those suit-wearing marketing bozos."

Line, along these lines.

Literal, literally. Often incorrectly use to support exaggeration. If exaggeration is needed, support it some other way.

login, logout Log in and log out are verbs; login and logout are nouns or adjectives. Say log in (or log out) using the login (or logout) procedure. Log on and log off are standard for IBM VM computers.

Lose out. Meant to be more emphatic than lose, but actually less so, because of its commonness. The same holds true of try out, win out, sign up, register up. With a number of verbs, out and up form idiomatic combinations: find out, run out, turn out, cheer up, dry up, make up, and others, each distinguishable in meaning from the simple verb. Lose out is not.

Lowest common denominator (as in, �daytime t.v. appeals to the...�)

c

 

That is the least helpful thing ever.

 

You should either become an editor or you should only read work that has been proofed by one...as you are annoyed by grammar...sin as misplaced syntax killed creativity

 

and you offer no solutions. I'm with you on the ironic stance. It's a peeve of mine when people over use ironic when they should use coincidental or shit even consequently in some cases of horrid miss use but I would never correct them. That is in poor taste and makes you come off as a scholarly 'wanna be' as most who write for a living only need worry about content.

 

FINAL DESTINATION - Aren't all destinations final?
-no, that's why the steward differentiates between a layover desitination and offeres connecting flights as oppossed to your final desitination...
your list is pissing me off at least get your shit straight first...

 

I believe your obsession with the correct usage of words is far above the accepted level in the common social circle.

It's always good to be accurate in terms of the labelling of subdivisions of concepts, but considering that language is your forte, it would be wise to remember that the potential friendships you may lose because of the aformentioned obsession can also be just as good. Bsaicllay, in my eyes tis btter 2 jgude ppl on waht tehy're syniag raehtr tahn how tehy're syniag it, ya dig ma bizzle?

 

I can see your point, but at the same time, I think one can be too anal over exact usage. As long as it's clear what the writer means, it's probably better to use a word which isn't perfect and inject a bit of colour and variety into the text than reuse a word which, while accurate, has already been used earlier. In English, there's usually only one that's exactly right for what you want to say. But there's still such a thing as poetic license.

 

I'd have to agree with cooloner. Particularly when it comes to poetic license/writer's privilege, you couldn't be further from wrong. Imagine if Faulkner bought into that rubbish! Your "guidelines" apply only to writers of textbooks.

Honestly, since when is 'Aficionado' over-used?

Por favor.

 

CAR-JACKING - The forcible taking of an auto from the driver is called armed robbery

As I read this I found a mistake. Probably because the list is old. I noticed it because I'm a lawyer.
If you read the Calfifornia Penal Code definition of robbery, 211PC, it utilizes CARJACK as one form of robbery and defines it.
s

 

I believe in using correct grammatical forms when I'm writing a serious article but when I'm on forums (or should that be fora?) such as this one, I prefer to use a friendler, less correct, style of writing. Being too rigid with grammatical forms tends to make a person posting on forums come over as condescending or pretentious.

Good grammar is essential for public examinations, analytical reports, technical articles, etc, but in other areas, such as creative writing, the writer usually has a target audience in mind, and tends to know how to write for that audience, whether it means using txt msg slang, street slang, older linguistic forms or other written conventions.

The target audience of the written piece is the key to the choice of language and level of grammatical accuracy. If the writer is unsure of the audience to whom they are addressing their piece, or it has to appeal across the board, then I would personally go for the more formal approach to be on the safe side.

This is my take on the subject, and how I tend to approach it.

 

downward spiral

 

its not armed robbery unless you use a weapon

 

I was curious so I looked it up in the dictionary. Both versions of the word are acceptable. Source: Oxford English Dictionary Millenium Edition.

Quite a nice word that. I shall use it often in conversation, henceforth.

 

Coy is a severely misused word.

 

Wow. I'm honesly astonished by most of the responses. I'm blushing, laughing, and getting slightly irritated at the same time. Okay, the document itself comes across as arrogant, and I do perhaps owe an explanation, since obviously my intro was ineffective or ignored altogether...

1. Nearly every word of that was written by other people. Much of it is taught in EVERY English writing class on the planet. Many of the quotes are directly from Strunk himself. If you don't know Strunk's classic very very well, then you've probably happened upon this forum by mistake anyway. I posted this list a few years ago, and someone was kind enough to repost it NOT for you all, but so that I could see it (I no longer had the original, not even a copy for my own reference), and she wasn't sure where else to put it where I would be sure to see it. And thanks, sis, for doing so

2. The snotty comments are intentionally and drastically overstated just to be an effective reminder. I'm sure that most of you are familiar with the LSSU banished words list, its purpose, and its traditional style (see #1, above). For those who found this offensive, "god help you" should you ever encounter someone who is actually serious about style

3. Knowing "the rules" makes one more effective in understanding when it's right to break them. I break "rules" on that list every day, but I try to do so only when breaking the "rule" adds clarity, style, or some sort of "device" that has an intentional purpose.

4. "Your list is pissing me off at least get your shit straight first." I clearly stated in the intro that most of the content was copied/pasted from various sources, including George Carlin. That line you didn't like? George Carlin. Yeah, really.

5. This was a document I created primarily for personal reference, and I shared it in case someone was interested in the variety of views "out there" about certain usages.

6. "'All right versus alright.' That is the least helpful thing ever." I'll let you in on a really obscure little secret: google.com http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=usage+english+%22all+right%22+alright&btnG=Google+Search


7. "...remember that the potential friendships you may lose because of the aformentioned obsession can also be just as good." In retrospect, I should have pasted the line "...come from Carlin rants, others from university web sites that warn you of severe punishment for even THINKING about using some of these. It's a mess, but might be useful to someone somewhere..." in bold, underscored, and in italics underneath each entry.

If you're wondering, I've only occasionally been paid to write, as I'm a sloppy and often lazy writer... the "scolding" tone in the document was left intact for my own use, primarily.

Sorry if I come across overly defensive, but while I don't agree with all views in that document, they have been useful to me at times, and I'm really pleased to have recovered that long-lost document.