Once Again, The Brits Are Kicking Our Lexiconic Butts
As a certified lover of words, I always patiently await the annual “word of the year” results.
The word of the year is often made up, a new entry to the lexicon, and relates to the popular culture of the previous year.
Previous winners have been things like hanging chad and nukular.
This year seemed ripe with contenders. Gangham style comes to mind. Fracking. 47 percent.
So today I was a little disappointed to learn the word of the year for the US, as determined by Oxford Dictionaries is: gif
Good lord. That’s not a new word. That’s been around forever and I am not sure it was used any more this year than in the past.
So then I checked with SFGate who do their own poll and selection. Their choice this year is fiscal cliff.
*sigh*
Lame.
Then I noticed that Oxford also lists a UK word of the year. That word for 2012 is: omnishambles
Coined by the writers of the satirical television programme The Thick Of It, an omnishambles is a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, and is characterized by a string of blunders and miscalculations.
I like their word better. Much better.
I think I’m going to adopt it.
Image from IBN Live.com.
