Linguists
OAKLAND, Calif. – A panel of linguists has deemed "red state, blue state, purple state" the phrase that most colored the nation's lexicon in 2004.
Attendees at the annual convention of the Linguistic Society of America on Friday chose the word or phrase that dominated national discourse over the course of the last year.
"It was the best candidate for word of the year," said Dennis Preston, a professor of linguistics at Michigan State University. "It engaged the American public for the entire year. Nothing showed the bloodthirsty population-engaging election as this."
Other nominees for word of the year were:
flip-flopper, a politician who changes political stances;
meet-up, a local special interest meeting organized though a national Web site;
mash-up, a blend of two songs or albums into a single cohesive musical work; and
wardrobe malfunction, an unanticipated exposure of bodily parts. The term was coined when viewers saw singer Janet Jackson's breast during the Super Bowl halftime show.
This was the 15th year of the contest, sponsored by the American Dialect Society.
Preston made a pitch for the term "lawn mullet," which describes a lawn that is neatly mowed in the front but unmowed in the back, as a candidate for the Most Creative category.
"Hillbilly armor," describing U.S. troops scavenging for material to protect their vehicles, and
nerdvana, a term for collaborative geekiness, also were nominated in that category, but lost to
pajamahadeen: bloggers who challenge and fact-check traditional media.
I like nerdvana, it seems to apply so frequently - especially here.
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Ritchie Incognito is a shitbag.
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