Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy - This is the kind of thing word lovers (read: geeks) like myself wait a whole year for. Among all its other implications, January 1 brings the release of "Lake Superior State University's annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness," a handy list of newish expressions that have entered the domain of stale cliché and must be thrown under the bus.

Oops.

Yes, "under the bus" makes the list, along with much more defensible targets for linguistic cleansing like "perfect storm" (Who would have thought George Clooney and Marky Mark would have Shakespearean influence upon the language?) "surge," "webinar," and "[X] is the new [Y]."

On the other hand, how can the LSSU folks seek to reject both "to author" and "wordsmith"? What title am I supposed to loftily bestow upon myself in resumes?

(This wordsmith refuses to call himself a "content provider." Besides, that term is certain to make the list in 2009.)

The list in its entirety:

to author
back in the day
Black Friday
to decimate
emotional
give back
"It is what it is."
the new, as in, say "Jefferson City is the new Seattle."
organic
perfect storm
pop (Surely, Simon Cowell will be disappointed.)
post 9/11
random
surge
sweet (Surely, Cartman will be disappointed.)
under the bus
waterboarding
Webinar
wordsmith / to wordsmith