The Banned For Life list has been around since late 1996, when I issued a call for insufferable media cliches to the readers of Charley Stough\u2019s BONG Bull, the newsletter of the Burned Out Newspapercreatures Guild. Their replies formed the foundation of a project that has survived seven years of fits and starts.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 14 of 2004, it occurred to me that I should rebuild the list under the umbrella of my Web site at tommangan.net<\/a>. One of the problems with the old list is that I neglected to post dates when the entries were posted, so there\u2019s no way to know how old they are. Best I can tell you is that everything dated Feb. 14 arrived between December 1996 and February 2004.<\/p>\n Fortunately, these cliches have become such bulwarks of the langauge that the ones we loathed seven years ago remain in wide release today. Next time it rains on the Macy\u2019s parade, see if the newscasters don\u2019t say \u201cRain didn\u2019t dampen their spirits.\u201d Next time CNN parachutes a news crew into my hometown in downstate Illinois, see if they don\u2019t say how well the latest Beltway follies are \u201cplaying in Peoria.\u201d<\/p>\n As for me, I\u2019m a newspaper editor working at the Mercury News in San Jose, California. I\u2019ve accounted for some of my misadventures at my home page.<\/a><\/p>\n Cliches are like suckers: there\u2019s one born every minute. If you spot one, please send it along<\/a> and I\u2019ll post here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Banned For Life list has been around since late 1996, when I issued a call for insufferable media cliches to the readers of Charley Stough\u2019s BONG Bull, the newsletter of the Burned Out Newspapercreatures Guild. Their replies formed the … Continue reading