Chopped Phrases
attitude -- Some attitudes are positive and some are negative. But the only
people who don’t "have an attitude" are comatose.

elementary -- This is an adjective. A child may go to an elementary school,
but not "an elementary," or even "Joe Schmuckattelli Memorial Elementary."

relationship -- A hermit could be "in a relationship," although he would likely
relate to the forest instead of a romantic partner.

                         Limp Words

entities -- agencies, organizations

facility, structure -- building, campus, center

relocate -- move

substance -- drugs, alcohol or both (If I abused mayonnaise, would you send
me to a "substance abuse" counselor?)

                        Miscellaneous

"gonna" -- This is not a word! It should very rarely be used in print. The
argument "We don’t change quotes" is a misapplication of a basic principle.
The key is that it’s not a matter of meaning, but enunciation. Do we record all
instances of nonstandard enunciation? "I dunno."

in color -- As in "The suspect fled in a car that was blue in color." What else
would it be, blue in weight? Just say "a blue car."

/ (slash) -- OK as part of a proper name, Web address or other appropriate
computer context. Otherwise, replace it. Try "and," "or" or at least a hyphen.
Replace "and/or" with "xxx, yyy or both" or "xxx, yyy, zzz or a combination."

so-called -- Use only to show doubt.

troops -- As a noun, this means "units of people." In Boy Scouts or Girl
Scouts, it’s specific. In a military context, "40,000 troops" does not mean
"40,000 soldiers." Even if used correctly in a military story, it’s usually too
broad to be meaningful. A troop or unit might range in size from a fire team
(four people) to a Marine Corps division (one-third of the Marines’
active-duty infantry, plus I don’t know what else).

wait on -- This means "serve." It is not the same as "wait for."