The English Language is a love of mine, words form thoughts, 26 letters have been crafted into such tomes as "MacBeth", "Moby Dick", "The Bible", "The House of Seven Gables" and so many other great works of literature.
Some top ten lists of the English Language for 2004:
Top Ten Words of 2004
1. Embedded News correspondents embedded in military units suggested to many
that news correspondents were in bed with the military.
2. Blog Web logs have come of age and, regrettably, this lexical mutation with
them.
3. SARS Farm animals strike back at the humans who eat them again with Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The Flu (with a capital "F") is pushing
right behind.
4. Spam This old word now refers to a plague contending with SARS for destructive
potential. Could the Flu (with a capital "F") be any worse?
5. Taikonaut The Chinese astronaut distracted our attention from textiles and
copyrights to remind us that China is a rising industrial power.
6. Bushism This word now has a real possibility for remaining in the language.
(Dan Quayle has lost his chance of making solecisms his contribution to political
history.)
7. Allision The National Transportation and Safety Board in investigating the
Staten Island ferry tragedy concluded it wasn't a collision (between two moving
objects) but an allision (a crash with an immoveable object).
8. Recall As in California Recall that resulted in the election of Ahh-nold
as the Governator.
9. Middangeard Middle English for Middle Earth in the movies of Tolkien's trilogy,
still fascinating millions around the world with its characters and insights
into the origins of the English language.
10. Celibacy The word which holds the key to ending the seemingly eternal scandal
of the US Catholic Church. Top Ten Personal Names of 2003
1. Saddam Hussein Just crawled out of the Spider-Hole and back into the spotlight.
2. W. (Dubya) Can't talk his way out of the news. (See the Top Bush Mispronunciations
below.)
3. Rush Limbaugh How many pills actually fit into a cigar box?
4. Martha Stewart Not really 'cooking the books' but not quite kosher, either.
5. Pvt. Jessica Lynch Her rescue enthralled the nation desperate for good news.
6. Howard Dean The doctor from nowhere now has the team with the roadmap from
nowhere to the White House-Clinton-Gore.
7. Pope John Paul II 25 years in the Papacy have taken their toll but he is
still with us.
8. Ahh-nold That's California's new Governator after cruising over the Count
of Bustamante in the recall election.
9. Paris Hilton The heiress, apparently named after one of her grandfather's
hotels, landed a job on the Fox Network with the Internet distribution of her
'extracurricular activities'.
10. Hans Blix Whose "hans" seem to be tied in his search for the
elusive WMDs. Top Ten Youthspeak Words 1. What Up? Present incarnation of the
ever popular:
Wassup?
2. Give it up! Replaces the square: please applaud for…
3. Shut up! YouthSpeak for 'Really?'
4. Stog Cigarette, short for 'stogey'.
5. SNAG Sensitive New-Age Guy.
6. Hottie Object of affection, either personally or in the cultural milieu.
7. Poppins Perfect, as in 'Mary Poppins is perfect in every way.'
8. Tricked Out Souped-up.
9. Rice Rockets Tricked out Japanese compacts, as opposed to American 'muscle'
cars.
10. Side Show Temporarily cordoning off a freeway to perform outrageous car
stunts in tricked-out rice rockets. Bonus Youthspeak Phenomenon of Note Bling-bling
Has now moved on up into standard slang (click here).
Top Phrases of 2003 1. Shock-and-Awe Remember the initial strategy of the Iraqi
War? There was probably more of this when we watched Saddam Hussein emerge
from his 'spider-hole.'
2. Rush to War Something the US was accused of by our allies and the slogan
of liberals attacked by Limbaugh. 3. Tire Pressure Announced the imminent disintegration
of the Space Shuttle.
4. Weapons of Mass Destruction (or WMD). The reason given for the Rush to War.
Removing a genocidal maniac wasn't reason enough?
5. 16 Words "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently
sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Always check your
sources.
6. Guantanamo Bay The US Justice and Defense Departments thought they would "Gitmo" cooperation
from suspected terrorists off shore.
7. Spider-Hole Looks like this one is going to stick around for a while: Sen.
Lieberman is already accusing Howard Dean of 'crawling into a spider-hole of
denial'. (Don't step in that.)
8. Tipping Point When any topic moves from one level to the next or the state
of a politician one word (or drink) away from falling flat on his face. 9.
Angry Left The early followers of Howard Dean seem to have frightened him to
the center.
10. Halliburton Energy Services Vice President Cheney's old company was supplying
our fighting men and women with fuel at enlightened prices before the dust
settled in Iraq (if it has settled yet).
5 Top Mispronunciations by President Bush in 2004
1. a-MERR-ca a-MER-i-ca
(America)
2. NEW-cue-ler NEW-clee-er (nuclear)
3. JU-ler-ee JU-wel-ree (jewelry)
4. Anzar Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar
5. Ne-VAH-duh Ne-VAE-duh) (Nevada) Best New Product Names 1. Way Cool For
concerned parents, this car window shade actually begins to turn white when
the temp
hits 85º F.
2. Thermos Fire + Ice Grill 2 Go Transportable gas grill and cooler in one
unit.
3. Chronospan Storage software that protects all your data all the time.
4. iTunes Music Store Apple's Napster-like site for downloadable music.
Worst New Product Names
1. Hywire GM's name for its new experimental fuel
cell car that suggests (1) a potentially fatal act in a circus, in an (2) an
electric vehicle (a spectacular automotive failure). Of course, (3) no one
outside GM will ever call it "Hywire" because "Haywire" will
always be good for an easy laugh.
2. Silk From "soy + milk" Compounded by the company slogan "Silk
is soy." No, it isn't; it is a kind of fine thread. You don't want a name
that requires explanation.
3. Poolife Here is a name in need of a hyphen (it seems to already have a colon).
Would you want to put a product with this moniker in water you occasionally
gulp?
4. Clonaid The name for the cult that tried to clone the first human. They
certainly could use some aid. But was this a simple case of misspelling-did
they actually mean "Clownaid"?
5. Bene- Benedryl (And now I wanna be a saw), Benefiber (now I wanna be a rope),
Benefun (?). We can no longer ignore the silly use of bene- which can convey
the sense of "good"—but words also have pronunciations. Top
Enron Inspired Words 1. Enrosion Shrinking of the value of 401K plans as a
result of entrepreneurial piracy.
2. Entronpy The sudden dissipation of accumulated assets into nothingness.
3. Enro Unit of currency that used to be worth much more than it is now.
4. Enronitis It seems to be contagious, too.
5. Chronic Enronitis It is spreading and won't go away, either.
Top Internet Words Moving into Widespread Use
1. Ping Send a reminder, as in 'Ping me about that!'
2. Multitask To perform several tasks at the same time.
3. 10X In high tech jargon, the competitive advantage that separates a company
from its competition.
4. Off line The replacement for "out of it," as 'Are you listening
or are you off line?'
5. Bandwidth
Capacity, as 'We'll have to increase our bandwidth to handle the order.'
Top Sports-related Words
1. Zim As in 'to be zimmed' coined after 70-year old New
York Yankees bench coach who lurched at Pedro Martinez in the American League
Championship Series.
2. BCS College football's Bowl Championship Series has been called the "Bogus
Championship Series" for leaving the Nation's No. 1 college Football team
(USC) out of the title game.
3. Curse of the Bambino For the Boston Red Sox it's 85 years and still counting.
Top Word Trends in Pop Music Names
1. !!! Bands without pronounceable names,
though usually pronounced 'tch, tch, tch'.
2. ( ) Albums with symbols as names. This album by Sigur Rós contains
a songbook of 16 blank pages.
3. The The The definite pronoun is definitely in pop music: Examples in 2003
include: The Distillers, The Thrills' The Strokes, The Postal Service, and
The Crystal Method.
4. Lots of 'Rs' Examples include Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty" and
Nelly's "Hot In Herre."
5. Downloaders Downloaders could be anyone. From the 40-year-old classical
connoisseur to the 11-year-old checking out Justin Timberlake.
Most frequently spoken word on the Planet:
1. OK Still the most popular word in languages around the world. "OK" originated in a joke in the 1830's, spelled "oll korrekt" in Boston newspapers, the joke being, both words were incorrect. It became so popular, that it was soon abbreviated to simply "O. K." Despite its popularity, the word would have fallen by the wayside had not Martin van Buren, called "Old Kinderhook" for being born in Kinderhook, N.Y. used it in his presidential reelection campaign of 1840. So don't "misunderestimate" the impact of presidential usage on the growth of our vocabulary. It is also spelled "okay."
ADVERTORIAL = ADVERTisement + editORIAL
AGITPROP = AGITation + PROPaganda
ALNICO = alloy containing ALuminium, NIckel and CObalt
AMTRAC = AMphibious TRACtor
AMTRACK = AMphibious TRACKed vehicle (same thing as AMTRAC)
AMU = Atomic Mass Unit
ASDIC = Allied (or anti) Submarine Detection Investigation Committee
AVGAS = AViation GASoline
AVIONICS = AVIation electrONICS
AWOL = Absent WithOut Leave
BEEFALO = BEEF + buffALO
BRUNCH = BReakfast + lUNCH
BUMF = BUM Fodder
BUMPH = variant of BUMF
CALUTRON = CALifornia University cycloTRON
CAMCORDER = CAMera + reCORDER
CATALO = CATtle + buffALO
CATTALO = CATTle + buffALO
COCKAPOO = COCKer spaniel + POOdle
CODEC = COder + DECoder
COMSYMP = COMmunist SYMPathizer
CONELRAD = CONtrol of ELectronic RADiation
CREMAINS = CREmated + reMAINS
DEEJAY = Disc Jockey
DRAMEDY = DRAma + coMEDY
ELHI = ELementary (school) + HIgh (school)
ELINT = ELectronic INTeligence gathering
EMCEE = Master of Ceremonies
EMF = ElectroMotive Force
FANTABULOUS = FANTastic + fABULOUS
FANZINE = FAN + magaZINE
GALUMPH = GALlop + triUMPH
GOX = Gaseous OXygen
HUMVEE = High Mobility Multi-purpose wheeled Vehicle (hummer for short)
IFF = IF and only iF
INFOMERCIAL = INFOrmation + comMERCIAL
JATO = Jet Assisted Take Off
JAYGEE = Junior Grade (?) military officer
JAYVEE = a Junior Varsity player
JEEP = G. P. (for General Purpose)
KAYO = Knock Out
KBAR = KiloBAR
KIDVID = KIDdie VIDeo
LASER = Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
LIBLAB = a supporter of a coalition of LIBeral and LABour groups
LIDAR = LIght Detection And Ranging
LIGER = male LIon + female tiGER
LINAC = LINear ACcelerator
LORAN = LOng RAnge Navigation
LOX = Liquid OXygen
MAFIC = MAgnesium + FerrIC
MAGLEV = MAGnetic LEVitation
MASCON = MASs CONcentration (under some lunar maria)
MASER = Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
MASSCULT = MASS media CULTure
MEDEVAC = MEDical EVACuation by helicopter
MEDICAID = MEDICal AID (government healthcare system)
MIDCULT = MIDdle class CULTure
MINGY = Mean and stINGY
MODEM = MOdulator-DEModulator
MOPED = MOtor + PEDal
MOTEL = MOtor + hoTEL
NAVAID = NAVigational AID
NAVAR = NAVigation using radAR
NAVICERT = NAVIs (latin for ship) + CERTification
NEWSCAST = NEWS + broadCAST
NICAD = NIckel + CADmium
NONCOM = NON-COMmissioned (officer)
OKAY = Oll Korrect (facetious alteration of "all correct")
PALIMONY = PAL + alIMONY
PEDALFER = PEDon (greek for ground) + ALuminium + FERrum
PEDOCAL = PEDOn (greek for ground) + CALcium
PHYSED = PHYSical EDucation
PIBAL = PIlot BALloon
PLENCH = PLiers + wrENCH
PSYWAR = PSYchological WARfare
QUANGO = QUAsi Non-Governmental Organization
QUASAR = QUASi-stellAR
RADAR = RAdio Detection And Ranging
RADWASTE = RADioactice
WASTE RATO = Rocket Assisted Take
Off RAWIN = RAdar based WINd measurement
REPO = REPurchase Agreement
SCUBA = Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
SHORAN = SHort RAnge Navigation
SIAL = SIlicon + ALuminium
SIMA = SIlicon + MAgnesium
SITCOM = SITuation COMedy
SMAZE = SMoke + hAZE
SMOG = SMoke + fOG
SNAFU = Situation Normal All Fucked (or Fouled :-)) Up
SOFAR = SOund Fixing And Ranging
SONAR = SOund Navigation and Ranging
SQUIGGLE = SQUirm + wriGGLE
STOLPORT = Short TakeOff & Landing airPORT
SYNDET = SYNthetic DETergent
SYNFUEL = SYNthetic FUEL SYNGAS = SYNthesis GAS (mixture of CO and H2 used
in chemical synthesis)
SYSOP = SYStems OPerator
TANGELO = TANGerine + pomELO
TAXICAB = TAXImeter + CABriolet
TIGLON = same as TIGON
TIGON = male TIGer + female liON
UTILIDOR = UTILity corrIDOR
VEEJAY = Video Jockey
VEEPEE = Vice President
VEEP = Vice President
WILCO = WILl COmply
ZEBRASS = ZEBRa + ASS
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