This is the time for word of the year lists.
The New York Times Week in Review has an article about the buzzwords of 2007. We in the Southeast who are living in areas of exceptional drought will recognize Navy shower, a water-saving way of getting clean.
MSNBC has a piece about 2007 buzzwords, too. I like narcissurfing, a term for searching for your own name on the Internet.
The term wOOt leads Merriam-Webster’s list of the words of the year. It’s an interjection expressing great joy, the dictionary publishers say. I can hardly wait to use that in a sentence.
The publishers of the New Oxford American Dictionary chose locavore as the word of the year. The term refers to a movement to eat only food grown nearby.
Dictionary.com has a month by month list of the words of the year for 2007. In May, the word was diatribe, which came up in the news stories about the “Don’t tase me, bro” kid, who uttered the top quote of 2007.
The Global Language Monitor chose hybrid over surge as the top word for 2007.
Michael Quinion of World Wide Words has a page devoted to topical words.
If you like to keep up with the latest coinages and you are not easily offended by off-color or even downright foul language, turn to the Urban Dictionary.
Sometimes I am confused by abbreviations used in text messaging or instant messaging. A site called BuzzWhack has a list.
My word of the year is drought. I also put exonerated and cleared on that list.
This article was originally posted by the Raleigh News & Observer, a subsidiary of The McClatchy Co.; is posted here to provide continuity; and is copyright © 2011 The News & Observer Publishing Company, which reserves the right to remove this post.