Words, lovely words
BuzzCanuck notes the top 30 words and phrases of 2007, of course topped by the gamer term of joy, “w00t.” I was surprised by a few entries, though, that seem to me to have been around for an awfully long time. What are they doing being on a hot list for 2007? I’m talking about:
Conundrum (a difficult problem or riddle)
Cougar (an older woman pursuing a younger man)
Apathetic (showing little interest, concern or emotion)
Others, like w00t, are fresher and thus seem to fit such a list:
Upcycling (recycling something to give it a better use)
Blamestorm (sitting around trying to allocate blame)
But here’s one that was new to me, although apparently it’s been used as a synonym for “hypocritical” since 1849 and was the Merriam-Webster word of the day for Dec. 10, 2006 (so again, what’s it doing on a 2007 list?): “Pecksniffian.” It’s also been defined as “haughtily hypocritical” and “unctuously hypocritical,” which give the word added depth and meaning, don’t you think? The word comes from one of Charles Dickens’ less pleasant characters, Seth Pecksniff, in the novel Martin Chuzzlewit.
