Are you guilty of having used the phrase "9-11" to refer to the attacks of Sept. 11? Or have you inflicted the word "synergy" on friends or colleagues? Or read about a "surgical strike" or a "faith-based" initiative without wincing?
If so, it's time to overhaul your cliche meter, according to a curmudgeonly group of academics at Lake Superior State University, a small Michigan college that every New Year since 1976 has issued a list of words to be "Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness." All four of these mini-crimes against original thinking make the 2002 list.
Even though some might feel that the phrase "the Queen's English" itself needs banning (it's been a long time since the queen had any proprietary rights over English, especially in Michigan), the list does serve some useful purposes.