Tag archives: new words
Which word is older?
There are a number of people who decry some of the recent additions to the English language, contending that the new vocabulary is nothing more than a bunch of nonsense words that some computer-addicted kids made up (what is a w00t, anyway?). Yet when we view some of these words out of context, it can [...]
The OUP UK Word of the Year is … ‘big society’
Let’s hear a woot (or not?) for the Big Society! Each year, as the announcement of Oxford’s Word of the Year approaches, I’m reminded of some words from the playwright Dennis Potter: ‘the trouble with words is that you never know whose mouth they’ve been in’. I sometimes wonder whether that’s why I like new [...]
Nom nom! 2010 was a deliciously rich year for our language
Popular culture . . . In 2010, much of our uneasy fascination turned from zombie banks to plain old zombies. Well, maybe not “plain old.” It’s been a phenomenal year for zombies, who have commanded huge markets in the entertainment industry and a seemingly insatiable fan base. As zombies roamed the planet, another breed of [...]
Refudiate: An understandable mistake?
Refute, repudiate, refuse? They can be confusing! When Sarah Palin keyed the word “refudiate” into some Twitter messages in 2010, it became an instant sensation, especially among her critics, who mocked the former governor for her use of a word that does not exist. But Palin was by no means the first person to say or [...]
NEW OXFORD AMERICAN DICTIONARY’S 2010 WORD OF THE YEAR IS…
REFUDIATE Followers of Sarah Palin’s Twitter account will undoubtedly recognize the New Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2010: refudiate verb used loosely to mean “reject”: she called on them to refudiate the proposal. [origin — blend of refute and repudiate] Refudiate: A Historical Perspective An unquestionable buzzword in 2010, the word refudiate [...]
Dictionary attack!
Did you spend part of your staycation this year watching the World Cup and tweeting about the infuriating sound of the vuvuzela? A lot of people did. These words are now so familiar that it’s easy to forget how recently they were coined – staycation is first recorded in 2005, while Twitter wasn’t set up [...]
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