10/13/2007I think I may be turning into a bit of a curmudgeon lately. (curmudgeon...what a classy way of saying old grouch).  I notice  2 minor words that really irritate me creeping into the language.the first word came into common usage in the 90's. It seems in the 80's many major corporations downsized. they eliminated a lot of mid level management positions. this left a lot of folks, armed only with their M.B.A. degrees and no real talent, scrambling to make a buck. Most of them became consultants and went around competing with the other M.B.A.'s armed only with their charts and grease pencils. Somewhere along the line someone discovered the word "paradigm". Voila, a star was born. Soon all the consultants seized the word as their own and went about spreading the "word'".  It was a whole new paradigm! (pun intended) Now each could make their presentations at business meetings and use the nifty new word for emphasis.  What a magic time for them.  My problem is simply that the word annoys me. It's a crutch and really means nothing. I find it has been used to beef up weak presentations. A more recent sorry development that I have noticed is in basesball coverage this year. the word overused there is "filthy". It has been used to describe a pitch that is particularly hard to hit. In the past I may have heard it used this way occasionally but this year it seems I hear it every other pitch. Enough already. Now that I think about it, how about the word "Superstar".(OK, make that three annoying words) I guess being a star wasn't good enough. ..or maybe they can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Nowadays,  anyone who can generate press coverage is a superstar. Paris Hilton? C'mon, give me a break.Oh well, I've spent enough time on this. Just some weird random thoughts.Be well,tom