By GottaLaff
We've touched on a few annoying, overused catch phrases in Comments and posts. Now the
L.A. Times is joining us. They're fed up with the following jargon and so am I (for the complete list and more extensive descriptions, go
here):
- From Wall Street to Main Street. ... [B]by the time the phrase was peppering President-elect Obama's comments about his economic team and the next stimulus package, we were desperate to visit new metaphorical neighborhoods.
- Bailout. Whenever they rolled out a new, multibillion-dollar financial aid package for a company or industry deemed too big to fail, Bush administration officials referred to the effort in United Nations-esque phrases, such as "rescue" or "relief program." But the media took a one-size-fits-all approach with "bailout." [...] You know a word has reached cliche status when a friend asks to borrow a few bucks for lunch and refers to it as a bailout. (Just as overused but more colorful: credit crunch, economic downturn, mortgage meltdown.)
- Staycation. [This is] the supposed trend of stay-put vacations.
- Czar. [...] Seemingly every big initiative from government these days prompts talk of a czar. And to think Russia has gotten by without one for 90 years.
- Getting a haircut. [...] According to a Dialect Society linguist, the phrase, meaning to receive a lower financial return, dates to the 1950s. If we hear it again, we may tear out our hair.
- No Child . . . President Bush's much-debated, often-maligned No Child Left Behind Act has generated much bad jargon. No Child Left Untested is among the worst. [...] No Bureaucrat Left Behind is close behind.
- Blagojevich. It's a sign of personal triumph or travesty when your name becomes an overused verb. This one definitely falls into the latter category. Be sure not to Blagojevich your career. [...]
- Game-changer. Part of a long, unfortunate history of trivializing politics with the vocabulary of sports (see also: horse race, veepstakes). [...]
- Change. When voters chose Barack Obama over John McCain in November, they weren't just electing the next president. They were choosing a change agent on a path to change, or more precisely, to the change we need. Though we don't deny that this country welcomes change, typically on a four- to eight-year cycle, the word and all its variations are now passe. It's time for an adjustment. [...]
- Drill down. When the executive summary is just too light on detail, you can dig into the full report. You can scrutinize the data or pore over the charts. But please, do not "drill down."
At the end of the day, 24/7 due diligence will be necessary to avoid this jargon, you betcha. Because, it is what it is at this point in time. Going forward, we'll most likely see an overused catch phrase tsunami again in our lifetimes. With all due respect, to predict such a thing is not rocket science. Am I falling into the same trap right now? My bad, but don't tase me, bro'. I used to be such a maverick, but now? Not so much.
My name is Laffy, and I approve this message.
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