The phrase "now, more than ever" got under many people's skin last year and should be banished in 2003, according to an annual list of overused words and phrases.
Some of the 3,000 people who nominated words for the list, compiled by Lake Superior State University, felt it was a tiresome idiom used far too often since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
"This precious way of saying, 'Now that we've had a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, we have a duty to recognize the important things in life,' seems to be the recent darling of advertisers and politicians -- What simpering balderdash," said Josh Mandel of Colonie, N.Y.
Mike Bowers of Lebanon, N.J., added: "What's next? 'Now, more than ever, Americans need 50 per cent more raisins in their cereal?'"
The List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness is announced each year on Jan. 1.
"It's not necessarily that we're laundering the English language with this thing," said Lake Superior State University's John Shibley, who admits to having used more than a few of the words on the list himself. "If this list gets people to chuckle and think about how they use the English language, then that's its goal."
Created as a joke at a New Year's Eve party in 1975, the list has become a popular publicity stunt for the small university in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Expressions such as "at this point in time," "meaningful," "viable" and former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger's "détente" were among the words on the first list.
The school receives nominations from word-watchers around the world. It received a record 3,000 this year, almost half of them from Canadians.
In addition to "now, more than ever", other terrorism-related terms like "material breach," "homeland security" and "weapons of mass destruction" were nominated.
Material breach "suggests an obstetrical complication that pulls a physician off the golf course," said one nominator from Washington.
Mr. Shibley said the term was relatively obscure until the recent United Nations resolution concerning Iraq.
"It becomes journalism chic. It just sounds cool," he explained. "Instead of saying 'Iraq violates the resolution,' it sounds like it carries more connotation when we hear 'material breach.'"
Many word-watchers were also annoyed by the phrase "on the ground."
"Where else would you be?" said Ken Finkel of Dundas, Ont., who nominated the expression.