The Last New Word of 2008
Friday January 9, 2009
Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the American Dialect Society announced this week that its members had chosen bailout as the Word of the Year for 2008. That's right--bailout was also Merriam-Webster's selection back in November.
Even the chair of the New Words Committee, Grant Barrett, seemed a bit disappointed by the society's choice. "You'd think a room full of pointy-headed intellectuals could come up with something more exciting," he said.
But cheer up, logophiles. A look at the finalists in other categories reveals some fresher verbal specimens.
- A runner-up in the category of Most Useful, Palinesque: "pertaining to a person who has extended themselves beyond their expertise, thereby bringing ridicule upon a serious matter."
- The winner in the Most Unnecessary category, moofing: "from 'mobile out of office,' meaning working on the go with a laptop and cell phone."
- The least popular contender in the category of Most Creative, rofflenui: "blended New Zealand English-Maori word that means 'rolling on the floor laughing a lot.'”
- Second place in the category of Most Outrageous, body-snarking: "posting pictures and commenting negatively on the bodies of the people in them."
- And three notable contenders in the Most Euphemistic category:
scooping technician: "a person whose job it is to pick up dog poop."
age-doping: "the falsification of records to show that an athlete meets participation requirements for a sporting event."
thought showers: "coined by a British city council because the synonym 'brainstorming' was said to be offensive to epileptics."
Now let me be the first to cast a hopeful vote for the American Dialect Society's Word of the Year for 2009: recovery.
More Words of the Year:
Comments
Can I add the word sustainable to that? And to the 200 Most Annoying Words list?
Sustainable is one of the most overused words for 2008 and I am sure it will be for the year 2009.
I’ve seen it used four times in one short paragraph. In other articles I’ve read, it was used at least four to five times and in one case, seven. It is maddening.
I am ready to pull my hair out.
Regarding Palinesque, “pertaining to a person who has extended themselves beyond their expertise, thereby bringing ridicule upon a serious matter”: I have always found that “required to perform above his or her pay grade” best fitted this situation.
Imagine my astonishment this past November when I learned that no one in my freshman comp class had ever listened to Martin Luther King deliver “I Have a Dream!” To the last student, they had, somehow, negotiated through 12 years in the local school system without learning any more than the phrase, “I have a dream.” Naturally, I did not expect them to understand or appreciate the nuances so eloquently delivered so many years ago.
“Grammy, you actually remember that?” Indeed!
And yes, we watched and read the speech together!
So, thank you for your post and a point well-taken. It shall be shared with yet another composition class who, to the last of the twenty-three students, did not know to whom I referred when I spoke of the mad woman in the attic.
Finally, Bush-isms, a new cache of teaching opportunities! Now why didn’t I think of that!