'Empowers' is one of those words that you see too often. An especially bad example from AdAge's website :
"Welcome to Adage.com.
For access to our website, please login or register. Registration is free and empowers you with up-to-the-minute breaking news from the most authoritive source covering the Advertising Industry"
My favourite satire on the word was in a season 4 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which Buffy's witch friend, Willow, attemps to link up with the campus wiccan group only to find they're a bunch of new-agey types who hold bake sales rather than cast spells:
"I make a very empowering lemon pound cake," chirps one young woman.
I've heard people lament the difficulty of explaining things to others without referencing BtVS.
Posted by: Sarah Ennals | December 10, 2004 at 06:20 AM
Absolutely. Buffy is the Alpha and Omega.
But actually, doesn't some tiny part of you kind of know that a lemon pound cake could maybe, actually be empowering?
Posted by: russell davies | December 10, 2004 at 09:22 AM