Words of the Year

[Guest]

I had no idea or I would have nominated a couple words. Anyone have their own nominees?
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Vote for the Word of the Year - Vlae Kershner, SF Gate news director - Thursday, December 18, 2003

While 2001 and 2002 were dominated by words of terrorism and war, this year's "Word of the Year" nominees are a more diverse bunch.

Several hundred readers responded to our call for nominations, with at least 150 words getting a mention. For the finals, we picked the four words that got the most nominations last week, and added a fifth one to recognize the migration of hip-hop terms into the English mainstream.

Two hip-hop words got a lot of nominations -- bling bling -- usually meaning shiny stuff like jewelry -- and "fo' shizzle," the first half of a Snoop Dogg expression meaning, roughly, "for real, brother." We decided to bring the glittering "bling bling" to the show ring.

Here are our five finalists with a quote for each of them:

Bling bling: "Once you hear the newscaster refer to her 'bling bling' on local TV, you know it's at least a candidate." -- Carmen D., Redwood City.

Embedded: "It will always be associated most with the Iraqi War, but has since seeped into many other areas of popular culture." -- Robert B., Alameda.

Governator: "This word seems to be galloping across America and probably the world. Is an amendment to the constitution far away -- will we have a Presinator?" -- Suzi W., Alameda.

Kah-lee-for-ni-a: "Because that's what the world will be calling us for the next 2.5 years. - James W., Walnut Creek. (Wouldn't you just love to hear Arnold sing "Hotel California"?)

Metrosexual: "Rarely does a word generate such excitement and conversation and actual understanding. Matches a word with a phenomenon that was never described before." -- Sandeep S., Berkeley.

Besides "metrosexual," -- one definition is a straight urban male who grooms himself with great care, like many women and gay men -- another term fashion-conscious guys will want to know is "tjuzs]/b]," which is that last-minute tweak the guys on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" do to the sleeves. (Thanks to Eileen F. of San Rafael for finding the proper spelling on the "Queer Eye" web site.)

Harvey K. of Corte Madera forwarded a word of his own coinage: "e-lie," referring to all those untrue stories that circulate on the Net.

Other suggestions: OxyContin, SARS, Bennifer, friendster, shock-and-awe, quagmire, jobless recovery, pre-owned, low-carb, google and blog.

Do we have a great language or what?

article (see the poll)

 

[sweetnpetite]

IS this for a word we like or a word we don't like?

The ones I don't like are 'Benifer' and 'shockandawe' Metrosexual is dumb. It sounds like it should be about a sexual practice, not grooming.

Bling bling is now just 'bling' to those in the know and will probably drop off all together once it goes completely mainstream.

for a good word- I'd like to hear more people saying 'vulva' it sounds softer than vagina -almost melodic- and it's kind of odd that the part of a woman's reproductive system that is on the outside is actually the part that gets ignored.

sweet.

-apparent resident crazy lesbian feminist wiccan

 

[Boxlicker101]

New Words

Embedded: "It will always be associated most with the Iraqi War, but has since seeped into many other areas of popular culture." -- Robert B., Alameda.


This is already a word in the English language. It means to fix into a surrounding mass, such as to embed stones into cement. It is also spelled "imbed".

SnP said:
for a good word- I'd like to hear more people saying 'vulva' it sounds softer than vagina -almost melodic- and it's kind of odd that the part of a woman's reproductive system that is on the outside is actually the part that gets ignored

You know as well as I do that the vagina is part of the vulva. "Vulva" isn't used very often, except in anatomy textbooks because there are so many slang words that are used instead. There aren't that many slang words for "vagina". I use "love hole" but I don't really like it. Sometimes I even say "vagina" but never "vulva". It does have a nice sound, though.

 

[gauchecritic]

Vulva always reminds me of Gerry Seinfeld trying to guess his girlfriend's name (which he didn't quite catch) after being told it rhymed with a female 'part'. He decided to call her Mulva.

Invented words IMV have no place in a word of the year competition, however popular, more often than not they are highly transigent.

Words of the year should be words that should be made compulsory because of little present useage. Meticulous, parochial and homogenaiety being 3 of hundreds if not thousands which are lost to an average reading age of 12 years, without inventing stupid contractions or st'ractions. Fuck evolution, just speak properly.

Gauche

 

[Guest]

Fuck evolution, just speak properly.

One more tee-shirt slogan for Perdita. Yea, Gauche.

 

[oggbashan]

I vote for subsidiarity which is European Union speak for a country can join the European Union and still retain its own traditions and customs unless they come into conflict with the regulations issued by the unelected European Commissioners in which case the Commissioners' word is law.

From the people that said that sausages made in the UK are not sausages and must be defined as "British Sausages"; that chocolate made in the UK is not chocolate but something else; and that no wine is made in England or if it is it can't be called wine because it isn't laced with anti-freeze like some proper European Wine.

Og

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Vulva always reminds me of Gerry Seinfeld trying to guess his girlfriend's name (which he didn't quite catch) after being told it rhymed with a female 'part'. He decided to call her Mulva.

It was even more ridiculous in the Swedish version, as we don't have the word "vulva", and no Swedish girls' name rhymes with female parts. So, they solved it by having him calling her Do-lår-es.

Lår=thigh.

Far fetched. Very far fetched.

 

[oggbashan]

Subsidiarity

In case the AH thinks I made the word up:

"Subsidiarity

The subsidiarity principle is intended to ensure that decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen and that constant checks are made as to whether action at Community level is justified in the light of the possibilities available at national, regional or local level. Specifically, it is the principle whereby the Union does not take action (except in the areas which fall within its exclusive competence) unless it is more effective than action taken at national, regional or local level. It is closely bound up with the principles of proportionality and necessity, which require that any action by the Union should not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaty.

The Edinburgh European Council of December 1992 defined the basic principles underlying subsidiarity and laid down guidelines for interpreting Article 5 (former Article 3b), which enshrines subsidiarity in the EU Treaty. Its conclusions were set out in a declaration that still serves as the cornerstone of the subsidiarity principle.

The Treaty of Amsterdam has taken up the overall approach that follows from this declaration in a Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality annexed to the EC Treaty. Two of the things this Protocol introduces are the systematic analysis of the impact of legislative proposals on the principle of subsidiarity and the use, where possible, of less binding Community measures.

Each year the European Commission produces a report ("Better lawmaking") for the European Council and the European Parliament, which is devoted mainly to the application of the subsidiarity principle.

The Convention on institutional reform established by the Laeken Declaration in December 2001 is preparing, through its Working Group on "Subsidiarity", proposals with a view to taking more account of this principle without detracting from the aim of legislative simplification. It is suggesting the setting up of a political monitoring system (via an early warning system for national parliaments allowing them to deliver a reasoned opinion on a Commission proposal) or a judicial control system (creation of a subsidiarity chamber within the Court of Justice in order to strengthen ex post monitoring). The possibility of abolishing the Protocol on subsidiarity and replacing it by a number of articles in the new treaty has also been raised."

Or you can Google "subsidiarity" and collect the gobbledegook that is produced.

Happy Christmas but if according to the principles of subsidiarity if your customs don't include Christmas I apologise for breaking your cultural mores but enjoy yourself anyway.

Og

 

[LorriLove]

giggle

we know you don't make things up ogg dear no need to explain.

don't forget straight banana's and european regulation sized peas

 

[sweetnpetite]

Re: New Words

You know as well as I do that the vagina is part of the vulva. "Vulva" isn't used very often, except in anatomy textbooks because there are so many slang words that are used instead. There aren't that many slang words for "vagina". I use "love hole" but I don't really like it. Sometimes I even say "vagina" but never "vulva". It does have a nice sound, though.

According to my dictionary, the vagina is the interior part- the passage- of a sex organ (The passage leading from the opening of the vulva to the cervix of the uterus in female mammals) and the vulva is the exterior part. I think that the common use of refering to the outer part of the female sex organ as the vagina is incorrect.

 

[Guest]

Hiya, Lorri, lover. I'll ask you first this time. How are you?

 

[LorriLove]

hiya

hiya perdy lover, i'm fine and you??

hay sweet's, what's wrong with cunt

 

[sweetnpetite]

Re: hiya

hiya perdy lover, i'm fine and you??

hay sweet's, what's wrong with cunt

nothing wrong with my cunt- what's wrong with yours?

just kidding, cunt is fine, although not everybody embraces it, I think that everybody should at least know the proper terms for there body parts. The one that always gets me, I can never remember the correct term for 'balls' It takes me forever to think of the word 'testicles'- isn't there another term that applies?

 

[LorriLove]

Re: Re: hiya

nothing wrong with my cunt- what's wrong with yours?

just kidding, cunt is fine, although not everybody embraces it, I think that everybody should at least know the proper terms for there body parts. The one that always gets me, I can never remember the correct term for 'balls' It takes me forever to think of the word 'testicles'- isn't there another term that applies?

giggle, mine's too loose hun

balls, well in uk we use bollocks a lot to describe them, but that's slang again, i know what you're saying about the orifice and the dangly bits, shame there isn't an in between that sounds nice but is still naughty enough to arouse

 

[Guest]

Re: Re: Re: hiya

the orifice and the dangly bits

Oh gawd, Lorri, you crack me up fierce. I think you've just given me the title for my next novel. Love it, love you.

Perdita

 

[McKenna]

.

 

[gauchecritic]

Re: Re: Re: hiya

Cahones (Isn't that Spanish for nuts perdita?)
[/SIZE]

Pronounciation-wise I think so but spelling wise, with a J for some reason; Cajones*

Gauche

*Surprisingly perhaps, gleaned from sci-fi reading.

 

[Guest]

You're right Mack. I posted this on the thread re. titles for an erotica mag for women, but w/re. to Spanish-speaking muchachitas:

Bolas, Cojones, Coyoles, Cuero, Las Huevas (si, testicles is a fem. noun, haha), Palo, Pico, Pistola (fem. again, pistol as euphemism), Pito, Verga

Perdita

 

[LorriLove]

Re: Re: Re: Re: hiya

Oh gawd, Lorri, you crack me up fierce. I think you've just given me the title for my next novel. Love it, love you.

Perdita

giggle, that's the name of our local pub by the way, giggle again

 

[Guest]

Re: Re: Re: Re: hiya

*Surprisingly perhaps, gleaned from sci-fi reading.

Yeah, right. OK.

Perdita

 

[Guest]

Re: Re: Re: Re: hiya

... with a J for some reason

After second look: that's rather chauvinistic, mate. "J" is simply our 'h' is all.

Perdita

 

[McKenna]

.

 

[gauchecritic]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: hiya

After second look: that's rather chauvinistic, mate. "J" is simply our 'h' is all.
Perdita

Sure. Chu xappy bonny now?

 

[Guest]

No, huevos (which means eggs) is also used. There are so many more sexual euphemisms in Spanish, and I presume other languages. It's my biggest complaint about English, which I do love. P.

 

[McKenna]

.