posted 01-02-2004 12:23 AM            

Language sticklers shocked and awed by 'bling-bling,' 'punked,' 'metrosexual'
January 1, 2004
BY SARAH KARUSH
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Calling all metrosexuals: Get rid of that bling-bling -- or at least find another word for it.

In its annual compilation of language irritants, Lake Superior State University singled out 17 words and phrases -- trendy, trite, euphemistic or just plain inaccurate. The 2004 losers were chosen by a university committee from more than 5,000 nominations from around the world.

Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.-based Lake Superior State has been compiling its "List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness" since 1976 as a way to attract publicity to the small academic outpost in the Upper Peninsula. Past lists have lamented such words as "chad" (2001), "paradigm" (1994), "baby boomers" (1989) and "detente" (1976).

This year, "metrosexual" topped the list of linguistic losers. Coined in 1994 by British journalist Mark Simpson, the term refers to urban, usually heterosexual men with a keen interest in fashion, shopping and elaborate grooming.

But to Bob Forrest, of Tempe, Ariz., one of many to nominate the term for banishment, it "sounds like someone who only has sex downtown or on the subway." Fred Bernardin of Arlington, Mass., asked, "Aren't there enough words to describe men who spend too much time in front of the mirror?"

As to "punked" -- or "punk'd" in the name of the MTV prank show -- the banishment committee defined it as "bamboozled, duped, flimflammed, hornswoggled."

"Kill it before it grows," it advised.

"Bling-bling," a term for flashy jewelry or other luxury goods that made its way into the mainstream from rap music, garnered many nominations, the university said. "Hate, hate. Grate, grate," wrote Steven Phipps of Pueblo, Colo.

Added Todd Facklas of Chicago: "Yes, your mom might say it. Nothing could kill the mystique of a word faster."

John Shibley, a Lake Superior spokesman and a member of the committee, said the number of nominations has skyrocketed since the list's founding, in part because of the proliferation of media outlets, including cable channels and the Internet.

"A lot of words and phrases sort of ripple their way around the world faster," he said.

The list is all in good fun -- no one is really proposing banning words -- but there is a serious side, Shibley said.

"We're trying to get people to slow down and think about what they say," he said.

In this year's list, the media took a beating over its coverage of the war in Iraq.

"I'm just waiting on 'Shock and Awe Laundry Soap' or maybe 'Shock and Awe Pool Cleaner,"' said Joe Reynolds of Conroe, Texas.

The war breathed new life into the phrase "smoking gun" -- though some said it was better left dead -- as the government failed to find proof that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The phrase originally gained popularity during the Watergate scandal.

Meanwhile, "LOL," an Internet abbreviation for "laugh out loud," had some people ready to weep.

"OMG! u r chattin to sum1 then ... lol this and lol that," wrote Alex G. from Warsaw, Poland. "Get it away!"

The 2004 list of banished words

The 2004 list of words that should be banished for "misuse, overuse and general uselessness," according to Lake Superior State University:

--Metrosexual: An urban male who pays a great deal of attention to appearance. Critics say we don't need another word for this.

--X: As in X-files, Xtreme, Windows XP and X-Box.

--Punked: To dupe, popularized by the MTV show "Punk'd."

--Place Stamp Here: Printed on return envelopes.

--Companion animals: Also known as pets.

--Bling or Bling-Bling: Flashy jewelry.

--LOL: E-mail speak for "laugh out loud."

--Embedded Journalist.

--Smoking Gun.

--Shock and Awe.

--Captured Alive.

--Shots Rang Out.

--Ripped From the Headlines: TV shows loosely based on current events are described this way.

--Sweat Like a Pig: The problem is pigs don't sweat.

--In Harm's Way.

--Hand-Crafted Latte.