BANALYSIS

(BAY.nal.uh.sis or buh.NAL.uh.sys)

n.

Analysis or reasoning that is commonplace, trivial, or trite.

All this would make food for thought, if only the public, in undiminished and indeed ever-growing numbers, did not demonstrate its thirst for the very opinion-slinging that is such a blight on the culture. A few hours of viewing the newly triumphant Fox News reveals less investigative journalism than punditry unchained: The O'Reilly Factor (self-pitying superstar Bill O'Reilly's "spinfree" hour), Honnity& Colmes (a lib/con face-off/yawn-fest in the classical mode), The Big Story (mushmouthed banalysis by ghoulish MSNBC retread John Gibson), and so on.

— Tim Cavanugh, "Bloviation Nation," Reason, April 1, 2002

But then, Ronald Harwood's script doesn't exactly radiate authenticity.Hollywood has put Evita through the banalysis machine and found her just another little girl who wants to be a star.

— Tom Shales, "Evita' Evolving," The Washington Post, February 23, 1981

This civil union of the words of banal and analysis is a natural match (the pronunciational monkey wrench thrown into the works by the always vexing banal notwithstanding). It's so natural, in fact, that I'm sure some punster must have thought of it soon after banal entered the language in the mid 19th century (analysis appeared about 250 years earlier). However, I could find no evidence of this, so I'm offering (oh so tentatively) the following as the earliest citation:

barking head

chartjunk

chatterati

commentariat

punditeer

schmooseoisie

Stepford

talking hairdo

triviata

Insults