Supplied…

Sault Ste. Marie, MI — Listen up! Memo in the public interest: wordsmiths, eschew yadda, yadda, yadda.

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Simply stated, all of the above words and phrases—along with the two-word expression that begins this sentence, plus the first line of the headline of this press release—have been banished by Lake Superior State University at some point since the mid-1970s. (Even “vis-à-vis” in the parenthetical portion of the top of this presser and that latter informal noun are LSSU phraseological no-nos.)

Why? Because LSSU has compiled an annual Banished Words List since 1976 to uphold, protect, and support excellence in language by encouraging everyone to avoid words and terms that are overused, redundant, oxymoronic, clichéd, illogical, nonsensical—and otherwise ineffective, baffling, or irritating.

The deadline to submit entries for consideration for banishment for 2021 is 8 AM Eastern Standard Time on Monday, Nov. 30, 2020 @ lssu.edu/banishedwords2021.

“It’s our tradition to publish the world-famous Banished Words List on Dec. 31 so that people don’t begin the New Year by putting their foot in their mouth,” said LSSU President Dr. Rodney S. Hanley. “No-brainer—which also made our list in the past.”

For more information about LSSU’s Banished Words List, go online to

lssu.edu/traditions/banishedwords/.