And now for the results of our pretty small, not-at-all scientific poll on the word that journalists shouldn’t write ever, never, ever again…
Ballyhoo.
It means “talk or writing that is designed to get people excited or interested in something,” according to Merriam-Webster.com. It got the most votes in our poll (out of a total of 200). It’s also, apparently, a kind of fish. And it is still being used.
@kristenhare Ha! Just found ballyhoo (11th graf) in @USATODAY story about print media: http://t.co/1FyKvsIEtf #ballyhoobingo?
— Meaghan Downs (@writemegwrite) September 25, 2014
We included this poll with a story about words that journalists write but never really say. There are a lot more suggestions in this Storify of what we heard back from readers. So, goodbye ballyhoo. You’re safe, for now, opine.
As we said in the first story, we’re not in the word-banning business. Ballyhoo away, if you must. And here’s a Vine we made of people at the Online News Association’s annual conference. We thought it would be good to get it out of our systems.
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