| Lists include top 10 words, top 10 names, the latest in YouthSpeak, top phrases, best and worst product names, and more. |
“This year the Iraqi War has dominated the English language as it has dominated the news”
yourDictionary.com, the Premier Global Language Portal, and the internet's most complete language resource, today released its Top 10 Words of 2003. There are ten lists that the top words, phrases, the top names, the best and worst product names, top Enron-inspired words, top YouthSpeak words, and others. The full list is available at www.yourDictionary.com.
"This year the Iraqi War has dominated the English language as it has dominated the news," said Robert Beard, CEO of yourDictionary.
According to Paul JJ Payack, Chairman and The WordMan of yourDictionary.com, "Embedded was the best word to distill the events of an extraordinary year into 8 simple letters. He continued, "As with anything that touched Iraq it was immediately polarizing. For some it would bring back the heyday of World War II reporting, where reporters might be found in the foxholes alongside the GIs. For others it meant that the press was now 'in bed with' the Pentagon (and the administration)."
The words were chosen by the staff of yourDictionary.com who consult with their worldwide network of linguistic professionals and experts , as well as with visitors to YDC's discussion board, the Agora, and with the unofficial assistance of the world press corps throughout the year.
Top Ten Words of 2003
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 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.
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.'
1a. Late-Comer: "We got Him!" Paul Bremer announcing the
capture of Saddam Hussein.
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 2003
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. An-zar
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 85 degrees 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.
1a. 2002's Worst New Car Name (Though Shipping In USA In 2003):
Volkswagon's new SUV the Touareg: named, in French, after a
nomadic Saharan tribe. Actually means, "Abandoned by God".
Ouch!
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 Ros contains a
songbook of 12 blank pages.
3. THE THE's
The definite pronoun is definitely in pop music: Examples in 2003
include: The Strokes, The Neptunes, The Streets, The Shins, and
The Roots.
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."
About yourDictionary.com - The Premier Global Language Portal
yourDictionary.com (YDC) provides the most comprehensive and authoritative portal for language with 2500 dictionaries and language grammars representing more than 300 languages. More than 1,000,000 people a month visit the YDC website. yourDictionary, Inc. is a language product and services company that creates custom-made dictionaries, glossaries, and word filters, translates from any language to any other in any format, and offers a top-quality brand-naming service that creates product names that start the sale for you.
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