SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. -- Does the thought of finding a viable alternative for your spousal unit fill you with angst?
Never mind the answer to that ill-phrased question. Be advised that it contains three of the words and phrases on the Annual New Year's Dishonour List of Words Banished from the English Language.
The list of misused, overused or generally useless words and phrases, culled from nominations received nationwide, is released each New Year's Day by language purists at Lake Superior University.
It's not a word or a phrase but the apostrophe that landed on this year's list with a 'proceed with caution' warning.
If you aren't certain how or when to use the apostrophe, don't use it at all, advises Michelle Mooney of Los Angeles.
'You might as well banish the apostrophe,' she said. 'Too few Americans have the slightest idea how to use them.'
For example: 'There are no MD's with special training, nor are there CD's all in one case. Clothiers do not sell sock's, nor do jewelers deal in 1000's of items.'
Justin Agony of Sault Ste. Marie picked 'viable alternative' as his least favorite phrase.
'The principal meaning of viable is biological: 'capable of living, '' the professor said. 'It has evolved to mean capable of actualization, hence practicable. But its overuse is judged to have degenerated from biological precision to banality. Terminate its viability.'
Picked in the nonsense category were the terms 'spousal unit' and 'female brethren.'
'The author of an article containing both of these phrases is guilty of excessive pseudo-gender sensitivity,' wrote N.O. Stockmeyer Jr. of Lansing, Mich.
And what about 'angst?'
'Enough with the angst already,' wrote Tom Rademacher of Grand Rapids, Mich. 'It's making me anxious. Get rid of it.'
Here are some of the other words and phrases on this year's dishonor list:
--Up front: 'It makes me want to upthrow.' (J. Gregory Winn, St. Paul, Minn.)
--Deproliferation: 'It isn't in any dictionary I've perused.' (Lisse Hill, Ypsilanti, Mich.)
--Overview: 'Wouldn't summary or commentary be better?' (M. June Dohse, Anchorage, Alaska)
--Level playing field: 'Is there any other kind?' (Margaret Dechant, Newberry, Mich.)
--Cautiously optimistic: 'Can you be cautiously optimistic any more than you can be cautiously reckless, or recklessly cautious?' (David McFarlane, Haslett, Mich.)
--Most importantly: 'This is the most overworked phrase in the English language today. What's worse, it's grammatically incorrect.' (Dorothy Powers, WJR Radio, Detroit)
--To be perfectly honest with you: 'When someone says that to me, it shows me he has already considered the possibility of lying to me and, for some reason, has discarded it.' (Dianne Linden, Edmonton, Alberta)
