Banished Words List

I know it's been posted for quite some time, but it's good form to check in occassionally to see how we're all doing. Lake Superior's list of words, catchphrases, and otherwise cliches of 2004 that our world can do a little more without.

One overused phrase I'd love to purge from this planet but was conspicuously absent from the list is "that said" or "this said", which has proliferated recently as a transition word after a lengthy political diatribe or some disclaimer or qualification.

To wit:

There may be many good desk dictionaries; most I've seen have ranged from weak to putrid, but I certainly haven't examined them all. That said, my own favorite, Webster's New World College Dictionary, turns out to be the "official" dictionary of most major journalism enterprises (the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times included). But whatever you choose, I strenuously advise avoiding anything whatever from the Merriam company unless you are yourself a descriptionist.

Other cliche horrors: touch base, circle back, pushing the envelope, spitballing, brainstorming, pow wow, singing koom by ya, in the loop, out of the loop, circle of friends, proactive, propecia, tour de force, raucous joyride, tip of the iceberg, tipping point, unchartered waters, ruffled feathers, bone of contention, bone dry, bottom line, forest for the trees, tree hugger, cutting edge, cut the chord, foregone conclusion, general consensus, golf-ball-sized hail, softball question, raining cats and dogs, powers that be, team player, and my favorite recently, radical Shiite cleric....are there any Shiite clerics out there that are at least nominally conservative?