'Fiscal cliff': banished for overuse

By Molly Driscoll, Staff Writer / January 2, 2013

Charles Dharapak/AP

The phrase “Fiscal cliff” topped the list compiled for 2012 by Lake Superior State University of words that need to be banished because they have been overused.

The list’s full title is “The List of Words to be Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness” and has been compiled yearly by the university since 1976, when phrases like “at this point in time” and “détente” were voted for banishment. ("Invented by Henry Kissinger," the university wrote on "détente" at the time. "Nobody else knows what it means, and now even Kissinger has forgotten. [Before the year was out the president of the United States also banished "detente." Later, voters banished Kissinger and the president.]")

The list and its rankings is based on submissions by English speakers who write to Lake Superior State University and complain about certain terms. The compilation is released annually on New Year’s Eve.

“You can't turn on the news without hearing this,” Christopher Loiselle of Midland, Mich. wrote to LSSU about “fiscal cliff.” “I'm equally worried about the River of Debt and Mountain of Despair.”

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'Fiscal cliff': banished for overuse

Lake Superior State University's 2012 list of terms that need to be removed from the English language was topped by 'fiscal cliff,"