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The word of the decade is “Google” and the word of 2009 is “tweet” – so says the American Dialect Society. Not too surprising- though I winced at ‘tweet’- lordy do I despise that word. However, some of their category winners (‘Fail’ as Most Useful) are pretty brilliant. The winners are below, and to check out all things dialect in America, go here.
WORD OF THE YEAR WINNER: tweet, noun, a short message sent via the Twitter.com service, and verb, the act of sending such a message. 69
Other nominees for word of the year:
-er A suffix used in such words as birther, someone who questions whether Obama was born in the United States; deather, someone who believes the government has death panels in its healthcare reform plan; Tenther, someone who believes the Federal government is mostly illegal because it usurps rights which belong to the States, in violation of the 10th Amendment; and truther, someone who doubts the official account of the 9/11 attacks. 6
fail A noun or interjection describing something egregiously unsuccessful. Usually used as an interjection: “FAIL!” 34
H1N1 The virus that causes swine flu. 14 public option A government-run healthcare insurance program, desired by some to be part of the country’s
healthcare reform. 5 Dracula sneeze Covering one’s mouth with the crook of one’s elbow when sneezing, seen as similar to popular
portrayals of the vampire Dracula, in which he hides the lower half of his face with a cape. 1
WORD OF THE DECADE WINNER: google Verb meaning “to search the Internet.” Generic form of the trademarked “Google,” the world’s dominant Internet search engine. 74
Other nominees for word of the decade:
9/11 The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Pronounced “nine eleven.” 16 blog A web site for publishing a chronological and ongoing series of related entries, especially when they are all
by the same person(s) or on the same topic. Also a productive combining form: blogosphere, blogerati,
milblog, blogola. 31 green Related to ecological or environmental conservation or protection. Also a productive combining form:
greenwashing, green collar, etc. 1 text Verb: to send a text message via a mobile phone. Noun: such a message. 1 war on terror A global effort to prevent terror and terrorists. 0 Wi-Fi abbreviation. Wireless Fidelity, a group of technical standards enabling the transmission of data over
wireless networks. 2
—MOST USEFUL— WINNER: fail A noun or interjection used when something is egregiously unsuccessful. Usually written as “FAIL!” 78
-er A suffix used in such words as birther, someone who questions whether Obama was born in the United States; deather, someone who believes the government has death panels in its healthcare reform plan; Tenther, someone who believes the Federal government is mostly illegal because it usurps rights which belong to the States, in violation of the 10th Amendment; and truther, someone who doubts the official account of the 9/11 attacks. 40
rogue Someone who acts in an unexpected way. un- As prefix used in some online verbs: unfriend, unfollow, unlike, unfavorite, untag, etc. 4
—MOST CREATIVE—
American Dialect Society: Words of the Year 3
WINNER: Dracula sneeze: Covering one’s mouth with the crook of one’s elbow when sneezing, seen as similar to popular portrayals of the vampire Dracula, in which he hides the lower half of his face with a cape. 60
botax A proposed levy which would be charged on cosmetic procedures and surgeries. It would be used to help pay for healthcare reform. A play on Botox, a trade name for a substance used to smooth skin wrinkles. 18
bragabond: A person who travels a lot and brags about it a lot. 11 Kanye interruptus An important speech or event that is interrupted. Also, to kanye, to interrupt someone else’s
speech.
—MOST UNNECESSARY— WINNER: sea kittens fish (according to PETA) 50/60 birther A person who believes Barack Obama was not born in the United States and, therefore, is disqualified to
be president. 3 micronumerosity The state of having too small a sample of data. micro + numerosity state of being numerous;
numerousness. ca1991. 7 Octomom Nadya Suleman, who gave birth to octuplets in January. 45/46 Salahi To gate-crash. Named after Tareq and Michaele Salahi, who visited a White House event without an
invitation. 5
—MOST OUTRAGEOUS— WINNER: death panel A supposed committee of doctors and/or bureaucrats who would decide which patients
were allowed to receive treatment, ostensibly leaving the rest to die. 77 sexting The sending of sexual messages or pictures by mobile telephone. 0 teabagger A derogatory name for attendees of Tea Parties, an organized gathering of anti-tax, anti-government,
and/or anti- Obama protestors. 24 underpants bomber/pants bomber/ crotch bomber/panty bomber/eunuch bomber Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man who tried to blow up a passenger plane over Detroit on Christmas Day using a liquid bomb in his underwear. 0
—MOST EUPHEMISTIC— WINNER: hike the Appalachian trail To go away to have sex with one’s illicit lover. Follows on a statement by
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who went to Argentina to visit his mistress. 120 public option (explanation above) 0 sea kittens Fish, as coined by PETA. 2
—MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED— WINNER: twenty-ten A pronunciation of the year 2010, as opposed to saying “two thousand ten” or “two
thousand and ten.” (twenty- as prefix until 2099) 121 charging station A place where electric cars recharge their batteries. 13 green shoots Signs of a country’s economic recovery or of a company’s financial turnaround. Widely used in the
UK during the 1990’s, but now spread to the rest of the English-speaking world. 0 -er suffix as in birther, deather, truther 3
—LEAST LIKELY TO SUCCEED— WINNER: Any name of the decade 2000-2009, such as Naughties, Aughties, Oughties, etc. 45/59 Poliwood Stars who are political. 34/48 slow media Newspapers and other paper-based periodicals. 8 tether To connect a laptop to a cellphone for Internet access. 4 oh-ten name for the year 2010. 1 sea kittens fish. 14
