Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Word of the Year

Merriam-Webster announced their word of the year based on "highest intensity of lookups on Merriam-Webster Online over the shortest period of time."

10. turmoil
9. misogyny
8. rogue
7. precipice
6. trepidation
5. bipartisan
4. maverick
3. socialism
2. vet (v)
1. bailout

Most of the words are related to the most current election: bailout, socialism, maverick, bipartisan, and maybe even rogue and vet. Yet I'm completely floored at the simplicity of most of these words. Did people really not know what rogue, vet, or maverick meant? Yet, a look at previous year word list shows that this isn't a new trend at all.

Bailout takes the top honors. Just think of it: Congress passed a bailout but there were a lot of American that didn't even know what that meant!

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