Words: letters with friends

M-W word of the year: 2008

2008-12-02T08:12:00.000-08:00

Merriam-Webster's #1 Word of the Year for 2008:

1. bailout (noun)
a rescue from financial distress

With politics and the economy foremost on the minds of many, it is no wonder that bailout—a word ubiquitously featured in discussions of the presidency and fiscal policy—took home honors as Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2008.

Bailout, defined in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition as "a rescue from financial distress," received the highest intensity of lookups on Merriam-Webster Online over the shortest period of time. As evident from the 2008 Word of the Year contenders list below, the presidential campaign and financial issues factored heavily in the concerns of our online visitors throughout the year.

Traffic to Merriam-Webster Online now exceeds 125 million individual page views per month. This corresponds to approximately ten lookup requests in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary or Thesaurus per second. During peak hours, this may increase to more than 100 requests per second.

(via m-w.com)

do you know what the difference between flammable and inflammible is?

2008-07-21T01:35:00.000-07:00

I'm rolling on the floor. There is no difference.

abbr.

2008-05-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

i.e. |ˈaɪ ˌi|
abbreviation
that is to say (used to add explanatory information or to state something in different words) : a walking boot that is synthetic, i.e., not leather or suede.
ORIGIN from Latin id est ‘that is.’

e.g.abbreviation
for example.
ORIGIN from Latin exempli gratia ‘for the sake of an example.’

etc. |ɛt ˌsɛdərə|
abbreviation
et cetera.
ORIGIN Latin, from et ‘and’ and cetera ‘the rest’ (neuter plural of ceterus ‘left over’ ).
USAGE Et cetera (a Latin phrase meaning 'and the other things, the rest') is sometimes mispronounced ': ex cetera,' and its abbreviation, properly etc., is often misspelled 'ect.' The phrase 'and et cetera' is redundant, for | et means 'and' in Latin. This abbreviation should be used for things, not for people. Et al. (an abbreviation of | et alii, 'and other people, and others') is properly used for others (people) too numerous to mention, as in a list of multiple authors: | Bancroft, Fordwick, et al. In general, both terms (and their abbreviations) are common enough that it is not necessary to italicize or underline them.

Bob the Angry Flower:

2008-02-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

link

Merriam-Webster's WOTY

2007-12-12T07:56:00.000-08:00

Merriam-Webster's Word of '07: 'W00t'

Expect cheers among hardcore online game enthusiasts when they learn Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year. Or, more accurately, expect them to "w00t."

"W00t," a hybrid of letters and numbers used by gamers as an exclamation of happiness or triumph, topped all other terms in the Springfield-based dictionary publisher's online poll for the word that best sums up 2007.

Merriam-Webster's president, John Morse, said "w00t" was an ideal choice because it blends whimsy and new technology.

"It shows a really interesting thing that's going on in language. It's a term that's arrived only because we're now communicating electronically with each other," Morse said.

Gamers commonly substitute numbers and symbols for the letters they resemble, Morse says, creating what they call "l33t speak" that's "leet" when spoken, short for "elite" to the rest of the world.

For technophobes, the word also is familiar from the 1990 movie "Pretty Woman," in which Julia Roberts startles her date's upper-crust friends with a hearty "Woot, woot, woot!" at a polo match.

Purists of "l33t speak" often substitute a "7" for the final "t," expressing a "w007" of victory an "in your face" of sorts when they defeat an online gaming opponent.

"W00t" was among 20 nominees in a list of the most-searched words in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary and most frequently submitted terms from users of its "open dictionary."

The choice did not make Allan Metcalf, executive secretary of the American Dialect Society, say "w00t."

"It's amusing, but it's limited to a small community and unlikely to spread and unlikely to last," said Metcalf, an English professor at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill.

The 2006 pick, "truthiness," also has its roots in pop culture. It was popularized by Comedy Central satirical political commentator Stephen Colbert.

Some also-rans in the 2007 list: the use of "facebook" as a verb to signify using the Web site by that name; nuanced terms such as "quixotic," "hypocrite" and "conundrum"; and "blamestorm," a meeting in which mistakes are aired, fingers are pointed and much discomfort is had by all.

Forgetful Locofoco

2007-12-06T07:20:00.000-08:00

i lost my wallet this week and had to get a new license. while i was at the dmv i decided to register in the new county to which i recently moved. i thought about changing my party affiliation, but decided to keep it as democratic; the party i registered as when i was eighteen. sigh.

the reason i bring this up is two part, one: m-w WOTD was locofoco;

the second part is i need help. i lost my wallet this week. but i lost my phone last week. and i'm pretty sure i'll lose my keys next week. i need something to help remind me to check for the following items:

cellphone
keys
ipod
watch
chapstick
gum
and wallet (if i ever get another one)

Click the Cow!

2007-12-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

By far the raddest tool I've ever added under WORDHELP to your right; the Homespun Analogy Generator.

My first generated analogy:
She was as knocked up as an empty raccoon in a drag race.

maybe i don't hate emoticons

2007-11-15T15:44:00.001-08:00

Anyone vs. Any one

2007-11-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

According to the OA Dictionary:

I found this April 21, 2007

2007-10-01T10:43:00.001-07:00

I can't take credit for this photo, but I can't remember where to give it either.

'tis a beautiful sea shantey

2007-09-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

Avast! It be talk like a pirate day.*

Pirate dictionary

"Yo ho" and "yo, ho" are two completely different things.

Yo ho:

Yo, ho:

Who vs. Whom

2007-08-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia shouldn't be the final resource for any research, but it certainly makes information more attainable. Wikipedia's Who vs. Whom

Gibe vs. Jibe

2007-06-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

and then it tells you to look at jib²

On Purpose, By Accident

2007-05-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

You ought to say it that way. Don't let your grandpa hear you say you did something on accident.

Contentment vs. Contention

2007-04-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

Contentment |kənˈtentmənt| noun a state of happiness and satisfaction : he found contentment in living a simple life in the country.

ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting the payment of a claim): from French contentement, from Latin contentus.

Contention |kənˈten ch ən| noun heated disagreement : the captured territory was one of the main areas of contention between the two countries.

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin contentio(n-), from contendere ‘strive with.'

And the winner?

The Heavyweight belt has been contended by Contentment, but Contention has left content with the title.

Dancing Pies

2007-02-13T16:44:00.000-08:00

Meringue:

The Merengue:

Mid 16th century

2007-01-12T17:42:00.000-08:00

Doble

2006-11-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

This is by far the longest entry I have ever seen in the Oxford English dictionary:

I want them all

2006-11-07T23:44:00.000-08:00

Hoofed mammal of the horse family with a braying call, typically smaller than a horse and with longer ears

2006-10-21T12:37:00.000-07:00

The only difference between "Princes" and a "Princess" is an "s."

Whoever works for the Oxford American Dictionary sure likes donkeys. I think I only knew half of these phrases(I love the example sentences provided):

click to enlarge

Debuted

2006-10-13T03:31:00.000-07:00

We are over-dependent on the French language. For instance: debut. Sounds innocent and cute, until you want a synonym and find our English language is left a paralized old dog without help. Why would I need an synonym? Well, what if you wanted to use debut in the past form?

Debut - pronounced dāˈbyoō
present tense

Debuted - dā butt'd is how you want to read it.
past tense

Daybutted?

No wonder the French hate us. We treat the words we borrow as if it were food that had fallen on the ground only to pick it up and exclaim, "'still good."

I could have stolen the info on this link

2006-10-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

but instead will redirect you to it. Funny things about the English language.

Well, that's a good question

2006-10-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

If most people buy jam or preserve, why don't we make peanut butter and preserve sandwiches? I guess if you're using jam, you can still call it a pb & j.

Happy

2006-10-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

October

Unique-according to the OA dictionary

2006-10-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

Strictly speaking, unique means “being one of a kind,” not “unusual.” Hence the phrases very unique, quite unique, how unique, and the like are slovenly. The Oxford English Dictionary notes that this tendency to hyperbole—to use unique when all that is meant is “uncommon, unusual, remarkable”—began in the nineteenth century. However old it is, the tendency is worth resisting.

Unless the thing is the only one of its kind, rarity does not make it unique. For instance, if a thing is one in a million, logically there would be two things in two million. Rare indeed but not unique. Who can demand responsible use of the language from an ad writer who is reckless enough to say, in a national advertisement, that a certain luxury sedan is “so unique, it's capable of thought”? And what are we to make of the following examples?

“This year the consensus among the development executives seems to be that there are some fantastically funny, very exciting, very, very unique talents here.” ( Time; Aug. 16, 1993.)

“Residents of college basketball's most unique unincorporated village were in place yesterday afternoon, the day before their Blue Devils will face North Carolina.” ( New York Times; Feb. 2, 1995.)

Arguably, our modern culture lacks and does not want absolutes, in intellectual life or in language. But stick with the uncomparable unique, and you may stand out as almost unique. — BG

Evidence of binary beauty

2006-09-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

If you haven't noticed already, there are links to a few great websites. One of which, is the haiku generator. This little guy has been around since at least the late-nineties and has never let me down.

I Beg Your Pardon?

2006-09-20T18:18:00.000-07:00

Just to help little america with it's english I thought I'd start a teaching moment I call, "I beg your pardon?"

We will start simple, because that is how people learn best.

Et cetera (a Latin phrase meaning 'and the other things, the rest') is sometimes mispronounced ': ex cetera,' and its abbreviation, properly etc., is often misspelled 'ect.' The phrase 'and et cetera' is redundant, for et means 'and' in Latin. This abbreviation should be used for things, not for people. Et al. (an abbreviation of et alii, 'and other people, and others') is properly used for others (people) too numerous to mention, as in a list of multiple authors: Bancroft, Fordwick, et al. In general, both terms (and their abbreviations) are common enough that it is not necessary to italicize or underline them.*

*Don't thank me, thank the Oxford American Dictionary.

Also, if you search google images under "et cetera," the third line on the right is a picture of a very scary he-thing; do not click this image, you will be directed to a place resembling nightmares and hell.†

†That you can thank me for.

Update: so I went back out of curiosity in June of 2007, but I couldn't find the scary picture. I forgot google searches are dynamic. Maybe that's a good thing, though. Here's a cool video to make up for it.

AARRRRRRRG!

2006-09-19T00:46:00.000-07:00

I am not a big fan of Pirates;they are dishonest theives, rapist, and plunderers. But, most people love them, so in honor of our buccaneers and corsairs, it's "talk like a pirate day."

...but John and Paul said, "All you need is love."

2006-09-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

Love: a word that has cause for debate. It has broken hearts, destroyed relationships, and even started wars. On the flip side, it has healed hearts, made relationships, and ended wars. How can a four-letter word have such an effect on human history? It has been a central theme to all forms of art including lyricism, visual, and theathrical. We are not talking about contemporary human history, we are talking about a period that began with Adam, or monkeys if you prefer, until now. And the debate continues. There has been no end to talking about love nor any progression in fully understanding this solitary word.

I would like to make a short interjection on the debate. To specify different types of love, as we do in english, is a complete and utter waste of life. To demonstrate that there is difference between being "in love" and plain "loving," is to deny yourself of love altogether. All love is "true love." Otherwise it would be false love.

I Palindrome I

2006-09-14T18:45:00.001-07:00

palindrome- |ˈpalinˌdrōm| noun a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward, e.g., madam or nurses run.

The world's longest palindrome:
17,259 words.
See how the guy did it.
The longest single-word palindrome:
TATTARRATTAT, found in the OED2, which calls it a nonce word. The OED2 shows a single use in 1922 by James Joyce in Ulysses: "I knew his tattarrattat at the door."
Listen to the only modern song I know of mentioning palindromes by John and John.

Wild 'n out: the illest improve show

2006-09-14T01:34:00.000-07:00

Ma homes Nick Cannon down at Mtv host tha dopest show out der. No, fo real, dey bust out tha sickest rhymes on his show. Dey be shuttin' it down! You duh-int e'en know.

And the award for ugliest-looking word goes to...

2006-09-14T00:23:00.000-07:00

also commonly misspelled...

spelt out in monkey fecal matter on pistachio pudding

Cri de cœur

2006-09-13T23:07:00.000-07:00

For those of you who enjoy the french language, please keep it in france. Let's not scrutinized the englishmen for not knowing how to spell or pronounce words like "hors d'oeuvre," which really means "outside of work"
As for moi, I have more than enough savoir-faire to get around with my knowledge of français. Don't get me wrong, I'm no crème de la crème, but if you'd like we could rendez-vous for private lessons (Répondez, s'il vous plaît). If not, at least keep this chic blog as a souvenir. Don't feel bad either; some people are just born with it. C'est la vie. I feel like I've written this before, but it could just be déjà vu. adieu.