Lake Superior State University on Sunday released its annual "List of Words and Phrases Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness. " The words included "gone missing," "ask your doctor" and many celebrity combined names such as "TomKat" or "Brangelina. "The list has reportedly been compiled since 1976 to attract publicity by the Sault Ste. Marie school in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. A total of 16 words or phrases were selected by a university committee from more than 4,500 nominations.

A man says having sex with a dead deer isn't a crime, since laws only apply to living animals. Bryan James Hathaway, 20, is on trial for "mating" with a deceased deer he saw beside Stinson Avenue on Oct. 11.

What makes a sandwich a sandwich? Could one define the nature of a burrito as simply a Mexican sandwich? A Worchester judge presiding over a legal dispute between Panera Bread Co. and Qdoba Mexican Grill answered these tough culinary questions last week. Panera, a bakery and sandwich making food chain, filed suit against the owners of the White City Shopping Mall for allowing a burrito making business to open shop in the same facility. Panera and the mall had signed a lease agreement in 2001 barring rental space from any other sandwich shop. According to Panera, burritos are sandwiches.

An anti-racism group is angry over a French dictionary's definition of colonization, claiming it glorifies the country's brutal legacy. The widely-used reference book, Petit Robert 2007, says: "To colonize: colonizing a country in order to enhance it, exploit its wealth. " The MRAP group said the dictionary editors should take into account all "experiences, suffering and damages caused by this crime against humanity. "

The English added fish and chips, Sherlock Holmes and the Oxford English Dictionary to its list of national treasures Tuesday, along with Monty Python, Robin Hood, the Mini and the long-running BBC Radio 4 soap opera "The Archers. " A government-funded project called Icons has asked English citizens to create a list of things that capture the essence of English culture. Some icons previously put on the list include cricket, pubs, red double-decker buses, Stonehenge, the FA Cup and the humble cup of tea.