Two words to retire

Every now and then, words blast out of the lexicon and elbow their way into every article, blog, or tweet. Within weeks, their welcome is worn out because they're pushing other and perhaps more colorful words to the sidelines. With the speed of communication today, a word can become a cliche in about 48 hours.

My two candidates for the Boy-I'm-Really-Sick-of-These-Words Award are iconic and snarky. Chrysler and GM are iconic corporations that build iconic brands with iconic nameplates. I can live with that, I guess, but now I'm also reading every day about iconic TV shows. Iconic movies. Iconic foods. Iconic style. Even iconic sunglasses and lipstick shades. Not to be iconoclastic, but I bet we can stumble along with other words. Popular, perhaps, or well-known, or even beloved.

When someone recently referred to something I'd written as snarky, I thought it was relatively descriptive. But suddenly I have so much company in Snarkville that I'm thinking of moving out. Anything that's a little snide, a little sarcastic, a little cynical, is now snarky. I like having a choice. Will I be sardonic today? Or caustic? Sassy? Mocking? Maybe derisive or supercilious. But not snarky. Not anymore.

Let's all get out our thesauruses (I love that word; for me it always conjures up a really erudite dinosaur who wears thick glasses) and find some apt replacements for words that have lost their zing.

I'm going to do it...finally

When I first started blogging, I said I was going to publicly recognize Web sites that place a premium on clarity. No buzz; no pretension; no coining of ugly, meaningless words. Just simple business stories told simply and precisely.

So today, I unveil the first winner of the Claritant Award.

The clearest Web site for the insurance industry is State Farm. Here's the company's mission statement:

"State Farm's mission is to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams."

Beautiful. Not a buzzword to be found. No gobbledygook phrases. No bull. And the whole site is like that.

Thank you, State Farm. Whoever produced that writing deserves kudos and a raise. It sets you apart. Although many insurance companies do a nice job, including runner-up Liberty Mutual, some don't. I'm not going to tell you who they are. But you'll know them when you see them.

If you come across a Web site you think is especially clear and direct, let me know about it. It might win the Claritant. The business won't care, but it makes me feel better to recognize good writing in my own small way.