Thursday, January 01, 2004
Most popular words of 2003 and the rest of the century
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
O.k., a little New Year's entertainment. On December 26 the Internet veteran organization called yourDictionary.com, the Web’s most complete language resource, released the Top Ten Words of 2003, chosen by visitors to the web site. Dr. Paranoia has most generously undertaken to review this year's crop, with comparisons to 2000-1-2.
The websters' (get that? It's a Dr. P. original!) research extends also to Top Phrases, Personal Names, Best and Worst New Product Names, Top Advertising, Internet, Enron-Derived, Color, Sports and includes The Most Spoken Word on the Planet, which is o.k., to no one's surprise. We will skip most of the California/Youthspeak, Recording-Speak, also Bushisms, a new category.
The 2003 top word, imbedded, seems overrated. Others, mostly in sequence, are: blog (a web log or diary/commentary); SARS; spam; taikonaut (should this be talkonaut?) - for the Chinese astronaut who did propaganda messages from space; Bushism- along with W and Dubya, listed since 2001. Also, allision (collision with unmoving object, from the Staten Island Ferry accident); recall (from California), and Middangeard, a Tolkienism for Middle Earth. In the department of phrases, winners were: shock and awe, rush to war, WMD, 16 words (about uranium from Africa), Gitmo, tipping point (change of balance, as in public opinion), angry Left, and Halliburton Energy Services, all loaded terms. In personal names, the usual suspects - Saddam, W, Rush, Martha, Pte. Jessica Lynch, Ah-nold and the Pope, with Howard Dean coning in late, before Paris Hilton and Hans Blix. Rudy was high in previous years, no longer. What is it that makes me think these choices are not entirely statistically validated?.
Actually, this crop compares well with the 2002 words, headed by misunderestimate, a Bushism not deserving prominence. Perp-walk, referring to handcuffed executives, "to nasdaq" - as in "nasdaquing one's fortune" - are unworthy. Survivor, as in Pennsylvania mine disaster, warlord, sniper, pedophile, bandwith (as capacity) all make sense. Terror- related phrases predominated - threat fatigue, weapons of mass destruction , suicide bomber, shoe bomb (Richard Reid), Homeland Security, dot communism, a phrase that did not last, meaning that everything on the web should link.
In 2001, the 9/11 terms dominated. Ground Zero, W (or Dubya), Jihad, anthrax, Euro, -stan (Paki-, Afghani-,Turkmeni-), foot-and mouth disease were topical. Wizard, as in Harry Potter, God (Allah, Yahweh) as a political concept were understandable, and Ophraization of political concepts ("see if it plays on Ophrah.") has a neat touch. The immortal phrase of Todd Beamer, "Let's roll!" as the passengers attacked the hijackers of Flight 93 still resonates, and the President's simplistic reference to evil-doers has acquired a Biblical severity.
The 2000 election overwhelmed that year's language. Chad (and offshoots, e.g. dimpled, pregnant, hanging; disenfranchised, undervote, Florida); millennium, Y2K, Sydney Olympics, dot-com, Eran (as in Gonzalez), pelletizing (a Firestone tire recall term), Intifada and Tiger (you know who) where tops. It also showed a flourishing of business terms that lasted - fish or cut bait, think out of the box, and push the envelope. B2B, B2C, ASP (application service provider), CRM (consumer service manager), e-business, killer app (successful), viral marketing (inexpensive or hard to understand). In 2001 IT (info technology) returned to replace high-tech, and such forgettable verbs as concepting and efforting. Paradigm jump came to mean successful change. It resonates with the customer meant that he'll buy. The best of 2002 was "the Schultz defense" - I know nothing.nothing, from Hogan's Heroes. Interface meant to converse, multitasking - to work concurrently on several topics, reboot - to reconsider. In comparison, 2003 was weak - ping, to send a reminder, off-line, to be out of it.
Business names were interesting. Accenture, the escape name for Anderson Consulting, came in for a drubbing in 2000-2001, and was found to be a success in 2002, as was American Home Products return to Wyeth . In 2001 Nasocron, a cold remedy, took honors as being even more repulsive than its competitor, Flonase. GameCube (Nintendo) and xBox (Microsoft) worked. Verizon was a dog, In 2000 Celebrex, arthritis pain killer, worked. The 2001 Emoticon, for a smiley is gone. The milk and soy product called Silk ("Silk is soy") was found silly and confusing in 2003, while iTunes, Apple's Napster equivalent moved well.
Sports names have petered out. In 2000 we had Lance Armstrong, Shaq, A-Rad, in 2001 73 for Barry Bonds's home run record, No.3 for the late Dale Earhardt, Williams; Zim (Zimmer) and the curse of the Bambino is as good as 2003 gets. Names with bad vibes do not make it.
O.k, a few youth/California words: hottie (adored), give it up (applaud), hella (good), bling-bling (platinum, jewelry), phat (hella, cool). Shut up! means a surprised "really?". So, hella New Year, and bling-bling for your hottie!
Wally Dobelis apologizes for mangling the name of Union Square Partnership and opening the Greenmarket on Tuesdays (it should have been Wednesdays)in last week’s column.
O.k., a little New Year's entertainment On December 26 the Internet veteran organization called yourDictionary.com, the Web’s most complete language resource, released the Top Ten Words of 2003, chosen by visitors to the web site. Dr. Paranoia has most generously undertaken to review this year's crop, with comparisons to 2000-1-2.
The websters' (get that? It's a Dr. P. original!) research extends also to Top Phrases, Personal Names, Best and Worst New Product Names, Top Advertising, Internet, Enron-Derived, Color, Sports and includes The Most Spoken Word on the Planet, which is o.k., to no one's surprise. We will skip most of the California/Youthspeak, Recording-Speak, also Bushisms, a new category.
The 2003 top word, imbedded, seems overrated. Others, mostly in sequence, are: blog (a web log or diary/commentary); SARS; spam; taikonaut (should this be talkonaut?) - for the Chinese astronaut who did propaganda messages from space; Bushism- along with W and Dubya, listed since 2001. Also, allision (collision with unmoving object, from the Staten Island Ferry accident); recall (from California), and Middangeard, a Tolkienism for Middle Earth. In the department of phrases, winners were: shock and awe, rush to war, WMD, 16 words (about uranium from Africa), Gitmo, tipping point (change of balance, as in public opinion), angry Left, and Halliburton Energy Services, all loaded terms. In personal names, the usual suspects - Saddam, W, Rush, Martha, Pte. Jessica Lynch, Ah-nold and the Pope, with Howard Dean coning in late, before Paris Hilton and Hans Blix. Rudy was high in previous years, no longer. What is it that makes me think these choices are not entirely statistically validated?.
Actually, this crop compares well with the 2002 words, headed by misunderestimate, a Bushism not deserving prominence. Perp-walk, referring to handcuffed executives, "to nasdaq" - as in "nasdaquing one's fortune" - are unworthy. Survivor, as in Pennsylvania mine disaster, warlord, sniper, pedophile, bandwith (as capacity) all make sense. Terror- related phrases predominated - threat fatigue, weapons of mass destruction , suicide bomber, shoe bomb (Richard Reid), Homeland Security, dot communism, a phrase that did not last, meaning that everything on the web should link.
In 2001, the 9/11 terms dominated. Ground Zero, W (or Dubya), Jihad, anthrax, Euro, -stan (Paki-, Afghani-,Turkmeni-), foot-and mouth disease were topical. Wizard, as in Harry Potter, God (Allah, Yahweh) as a political concept were understandable, and Ophraization of political concepts ("see if it plays on Ophrah.") has a neat touch. The immortal phrase of Todd Beamer, "Let's roll!" as the passengers attacked the hijackers of Flight 93 still resonates, and the President's simplistic reference to evil-doers has acquired a Biblical severity.
The 2000 election overwhelmed that year's language. Chad (and offshoots, e.g. dimpled, pregnant, hanging; disenfranchised, undervote, Florida); millennium, Y2K, Sydney Olympics, dot-com, Eran (as in Gonzalez), pelletizing (a Firestone tire recall term), Intifada and Tiger (you know who) where tops. It also showed a flourishing of business terms that lasted - fish or cut bait, think out of the box, and push the envelope. B2B, B2C, ASP (application service provider), CRM (consumer service manager), e-business, killer app (successful), viral marketing (inexpensive or hard to understand). In 2001 IT (info technology) returned to replace high-tech, and such forgettable verbs as concepting and efforting. Paradigm jump came to mean successful change. It resonates with the customer meant that he'll buy. The best of 2002 was "the Schultz defense" - I know nothing.nothing, from Hogan's Heroes. Interface meant to converse, multitasking - to work concurrently on several topics, reboot - to reconsider. In comparison, 2003 was weak - ping, to send a reminder, off-line, to be out of it.
Business names were interesting. Accenture, the escape name for Anderson Consulting, came in for a drubbing in 2000-2001, and was found to be a success in 2002, as was American Home Products return to Wyeth . In 2001 Nasocron, a cold remedy, took honors as being even more repulsive than its competitor, Flonase. GameCube (Nintendo) and xBox (Microsoft) worked. Verizon was a dog, In 2000 Celebrex, arthritis pain killer, worked. The 2001 Emoticon, for a smiley is gone. The milk and soy product called Silk ("Silk is soy") was found silly and confusing in 2003, while iTunes, Apple's Napster equivalent moved well.
Sports names have petered out. In 2000 we had Lance Armstrong, Shaq, A-Rad, in 2001 73 for Barry Bonds's home run record, No.3 for the late Dale Earhardt, Williams; Zim (Zimmer) and the curse of the Bambino is as good as 2003 gets. Names with bad vibes do not make it.
O.k, a few youth/California words: hottie (adored), give it up (applaud), hella (good), bling-bling (platinum, jewelry), phat (hella, cool). Shut up! means a surprised "really?". So, hella New Year, and bling-bling for your hottie!
Wally Dobelis apologizes for mangling the name of Union Square Partnership and opening the Greenmarket on Tuesdays (it should have been Wednesdays)in last week’s column.
O.k., a little New Year's entertainment On December 26 the Internet veteran organization called yourDictionary.com, the Web’s most complete language resource, released the Top Ten Words of 2003, chosen by visitors to the web site. Dr. Paranoia has most generously undertaken to review this year's crop, with comparisons to 2000-1-2.
The websters' (get that? It's a Dr. P. original!) research extends also to Top Phrases, Personal Names, Best and Worst New Product Names, Top Advertising, Internet, Enron-Derived, Color, Sports and includes The Most Spoken Word on the Planet, which is o.k., to no one's surprise. We will skip most of the California/Youthspeak, Recording-Speak, also Bushisms, a new category.
The 2003 top word, imbedded, seems overrated. Others, mostly in sequence, are: blog (a web log or diary/commentary); SARS; spam; taikonaut (should this be talkonaut?) - for the Chinese astronaut who did propaganda messages from space; Bushism- along with W and Dubya, listed since 2001. Also, allision (collision with unmoving object, from the Staten Island Ferry accident); recall (from California), and Middangeard, a Tolkienism for Middle Earth. In the department of phrases, winners were: shock and awe, rush to war, WMD, 16 words (about uranium from Africa), Gitmo, tipping point (change of balance, as in public opinion), angry Left, and Halliburton Energy Services, all loaded terms. In personal names, the usual suspects - Saddam, W, Rush, Martha, Pte. Jessica Lynch, Ah-nold and the Pope, with Howard Dean coning in late, before Paris Hilton and Hans Blix. Rudy was high in previous years, no longer. What is it that makes me think these choices are not entirely statistically validated?.
Actually, this crop compares well with the 2002 words, headed by misunderestimate, a Bushism not deserving prominence. Perp-walk, referring to handcuffed executives, "to nasdaq" - as in "nasdaquing one's fortune" - are unworthy. Survivor, as in Pennsylvania mine disaster, warlord, sniper, pedophile, bandwith (as capacity) all make sense. Terror- related phrases predominated - threat fatigue, weapons of mass destruction , suicide bomber, shoe bomb (Richard Reid), Homeland Security, dot communism, a phrase that did not last, meaning that everything on the web should link.
In 2001, the 9/11 terms dominated. Ground Zero, W (or Dubya), Jihad, anthrax, Euro, -stan (Paki-, Afghani-,Turkmeni-), foot-and mouth disease were topical. Wizard, as in Harry Potter, God (Allah, Yahweh) as a political concept were understandable, and Ophraization of political concepts ("see if it plays on Ophrah.") has a neat touch. The immortal phrase of Todd Beamer, "Let's roll!" as the passengers attacked the hijackers of Flight 93 still resonates, and the President's simplistic reference to evil-doers has acquired a Biblical severity.
The 2000 election overwhelmed that year's language. Chad (and offshoots, e.g. dimpled, pregnant, hanging; disenfranchised, undervote, Florida); millennium, Y2K, Sydney Olympics, dot-com, Eran (as in Gonzalez), pelletizing (a Firestone tire recall term), Intifada and Tiger (you know who) where tops. It also showed a flourishing of business terms that lasted - fish or cut bait, think out of the box, and push the envelope. B2B, B2C, ASP (application service provider), CRM (consumer service manager), e-business, killer app (successful), viral marketing (inexpensive or hard to understand). In 2001 IT (info technology) returned to replace high-tech, and such forgettable verbs as concepting and efforting. Paradigm jump came to mean successful change. It resonates with the customer meant that he'll buy. The best of 2002 was "the Schultz defense" - I know nothing.nothing, from Hogan's Heroes. Interface meant to converse, multitasking - to work concurrently on several topics, reboot - to reconsider. In comparison, 2003 was weak - ping, to send a reminder, off-line, to be out of it.
Business names were interesting. Accenture, the escape name for Anderson Consulting, came in for a drubbing in 2000-2001, and was found to be a success in 2002, as was American Home Products return to Wyeth . In 2001 Nasocron, a cold remedy, took honors as being even more repulsive than its competitor, Flonase. GameCube (Nintendo) and xBox (Microsoft) worked. Verizon was a dog, In 2000 Celebrex, arthritis pain killer, worked. The 2001 Emoticon, for a smiley is gone. The milk and soy product called Silk ("Silk is soy") was found silly and confusing in 2003, while iTunes, Apple's Napster equivalent moved well.
Sports names have petered out. In 2000 we had Lance Armstrong, Shaq, A-Rad, in 2001 73 for Barry Bonds's home run record, No.3 for the late Dale Earhardt, Williams; Zim (Zimmer) and the curse of the Bambino is as good as 2003 gets. Names with bad vibes do not make it.
O.k, a few youth/California words: hottie (adored), give it up (applaud), hella (good), bling-bling (platinum, jewelry), phat (hella, cool). Shut up! means a surprised "really?". So, hella New Year, and bling-bling for your hottie!
Wally Dobelis apologizes for mangling the name of Union Square Partnership and opening the Greenmarket on Tuesdays (it should have been Wednesdays)in last week’s column.
O.k., a little New Year's entertainment. On December 26 the Internet veteran organization called yourDictionary.com, the Web’s most complete language resource, released the Top Ten Words of 2003, chosen by visitors to the web site. Dr. Paranoia has most generously undertaken to review this year's crop, with comparisons to 2000-1-2.
The websters' (get that? It's a Dr. P. original!) research extends also to Top Phrases, Personal Names, Best and Worst New Product Names, Top Advertising, Internet, Enron-Derived, Color, Sports and includes The Most Spoken Word on the Planet, which is o.k., to no one's surprise. We will skip most of the California/Youthspeak, Recording-Speak, also Bushisms, a new category.
The 2003 top word, imbedded, seems overrated. Others, mostly in sequence, are: blog (a web log or diary/commentary); SARS; spam; taikonaut (should this be talkonaut?) - for the Chinese astronaut who did propaganda messages from space; Bushism- along with W and Dubya, listed since 2001. Also, allision (collision with unmoving object, from the Staten Island Ferry accident); recall (from California), and Middangeard, a Tolkienism for Middle Earth. In the department of phrases, winners were: shock and awe, rush to war, WMD, 16 words (about uranium from Africa), Gitmo, tipping point (change of balance, as in public opinion), angry Left, and Halliburton Energy Services, all loaded terms. In personal names, the usual suspects - Saddam, W, Rush, Martha, Pte. Jessica Lynch, Ah-nold and the Pope, with Howard Dean coning in late, before Paris Hilton and Hans Blix. Rudy was high in previous years, no longer. What is it that makes me think these choices are not entirely statistically validated?.
Actually, this crop compares well with the 2002 words, headed by misunderestimate, a Bushism not deserving prominence. Perp-walk, referring to handcuffed executives, "to nasdaq" - as in "nasdaquing one's fortune" - are unworthy. Survivor, as in Pennsylvania mine disaster, warlord, sniper, pedophile, bandwith (as capacity) all make sense. Terror- related phrases predominated - threat fatigue, weapons of mass destruction , suicide bomber, shoe bomb (Richard Reid), Homeland Security, dot communism, a phrase that did not last, meaning that everything on the web should link.
In 2001, the 9/11 terms dominated. Ground Zero, W (or Dubya), Jihad, anthrax, Euro, -stan (Paki-, Afghani-,Turkmeni-), foot-and mouth disease were topical. Wizard, as in Harry Potter, God (Allah, Yahweh) as a political concept were understandable, and Ophraization of political concepts ("see if it plays on Ophrah.") has a neat touch. The immortal phrase of Todd Beamer, "Let's roll!" as the passengers attacked the hijackers of Flight 93 still resonates, and the President's simplistic reference to evil-doers has acquired a Biblical severity.
The 2000 election overwhelmed that year's language. Chad (and offshoots, e.g. dimpled, pregnant, hanging; disenfranchised, undervote, Florida); millennium, Y2K, Sydney Olympics, dot-com, Eran (as in Gonzalez), pelletizing (a Firestone tire recall term), Intifada and Tiger (you know who) where tops. It also showed a flourishing of business terms that lasted - fish or cut bait, think out of the box, and push the envelope. B2B, B2C, ASP (application service provider), CRM (consumer service manager), e-business, killer app (successful), viral marketing (inexpensive or hard to understand). In 2001 IT (info technology) returned to replace high-tech, and such forgettable verbs as concepting and efforting. Paradigm jump came to mean successful change. It resonates with the customer meant that he'll buy. The best of 2002 was "the Schultz defense" - I know nothing.nothing, from Hogan's Heroes. Interface meant to converse, multitasking - to work concurrently on several topics, reboot - to reconsider. In comparison, 2003 was weak - ping, to send a reminder, off-line, to be out of it.
Business names were interesting. Accenture, the escape name for Anderson Consulting, came in for a drubbing in 2000-2001, and was found to be a success in 2002, as was American Home Products return to Wyeth . In 2001 Nasocron, a cold remedy, took honors as being even more repulsive than its competitor, Flonase. GameCube (Nintendo) and xBox (Microsoft) worked. Verizon was a dog, In 2000 Celebrex, arthritis pain killer, worked. The 2001 Emoticon, for a smiley is gone. The milk and soy product called Silk ("Silk is soy") was found silly and confusing in 2003, while iTunes, Apple's Napster equivalent moved well.
Sports names have petered out. In 2000 we had Lance Armstrong, Shaq, A-Rad, in 2001 73 for Barry Bonds's home run record, No.3 for the late Dale Earhardt, Williams; Zim (Zimmer) and the curse of the Bambino is as good as 2003 gets. Names with bad vibes do not make it.
O.k, a few youth/California words: hottie (adored), give it up (applaud), hella (good), bling-bling (platinum, jewelry), phat (hella, cool). Shut up! means a surprised "really?". So, hella New Year, and bling-bling for your hottie!
Wally Dobelis apologizes for mangling the name of Union Square Partnership and opening the Greenmarket on Tuesdays (it should have been Wednesdays)in last week’s column.
O.k., a little New Year's entertainment On December 26 the Internet veteran organization called yourDictionary.com, the Web’s most complete language resource, released the Top Ten Words of 2003, chosen by visitors to the web site. Dr. Paranoia has most generously undertaken to review this year's crop, with comparisons to 2000-1-2.
The websters' (get that? It's a Dr. P. original!) research extends also to Top Phrases, Personal Names, Best and Worst New Product Names, Top Advertising, Internet, Enron-Derived, Color, Sports and includes The Most Spoken Word on the Planet, which is o.k., to no one's surprise. We will skip most of the California/Youthspeak, Recording-Speak, also Bushisms, a new category.
The 2003 top word, imbedded, seems overrated. Others, mostly in sequence, are: blog (a web log or diary/commentary); SARS; spam; taikonaut (should this be talkonaut?) - for the Chinese astronaut who did propaganda messages from space; Bushism- along with W and Dubya, listed since 2001. Also, allision (collision with unmoving object, from the Staten Island Ferry accident); recall (from California), and Middangeard, a Tolkienism for Middle Earth. In the department of phrases, winners were: shock and awe, rush to war, WMD, 16 words (about uranium from Africa), Gitmo, tipping point (change of balance, as in public opinion), angry Left, and Halliburton Energy Services, all loaded terms. In personal names, the usual suspects - Saddam, W, Rush, Martha, Pte. Jessica Lynch, Ah-nold and the Pope, with Howard Dean coning in late, before Paris Hilton and Hans Blix. Rudy was high in previous years, no longer. What is it that makes me think these choices are not entirely statistically validated?.
Actually, this crop compares well with the 2002 words, headed by misunderestimate, a Bushism not deserving prominence. Perp-walk, referring to handcuffed executives, "to nasdaq" - as in "nasdaquing one's fortune" - are unworthy. Survivor, as in Pennsylvania mine disaster, warlord, sniper, pedophile, bandwith (as capacity) all make sense. Terror- related phrases predominated - threat fatigue, weapons of mass destruction , suicide bomber, shoe bomb (Richard Reid), Homeland Security, dot communism, a phrase that did not last, meaning that everything on the web should link.
In 2001, the 9/11 terms dominated. Ground Zero, W (or Dubya), Jihad, anthrax, Euro, -stan (Paki-, Afghani-,Turkmeni-), foot-and mouth disease were topical. Wizard, as in Harry Potter, God (Allah, Yahweh) as a political concept were understandable, and Ophraization of political concepts ("see if it plays on Ophrah.") has a neat touch. The immortal phrase of Todd Beamer, "Let's roll!" as the passengers attacked the hijackers of Flight 93 still resonates, and the President's simplistic reference to evil-doers has acquired a Biblical severity.
The 2000 election overwhelmed that year's language. Chad (and offshoots, e.g. dimpled, pregnant, hanging; disenfranchised, undervote, Florida); millennium, Y2K, Sydney Olympics, dot-com, Eran (as in Gonzalez), pelletizing (a Firestone tire recall term), Intifada and Tiger (you know who) where tops. It also showed a flourishing of business terms that lasted - fish or cut bait, think out of the box, and push the envelope. B2B, B2C, ASP (application service provider), CRM (consumer service manager), e-business, killer app (successful), viral marketing (inexpensive or hard to understand). In 2001 IT (info technology) returned to replace high-tech, and such forgettable verbs as concepting and efforting. Paradigm jump came to mean successful change. It resonates with the customer meant that he'll buy. The best of 2002 was "the Schultz defense" - I know nothing.nothing, from Hogan's Heroes. Interface meant to converse, multitasking - to work concurrently on several topics, reboot - to reconsider. In comparison, 2003 was weak - ping, to send a reminder, off-line, to be out of it.
Business names were interesting. Accenture, the escape name for Anderson Consulting, came in for a drubbing in 2000-2001, and was found to be a success in 2002, as was American Home Products return to Wyeth . In 2001 Nasocron, a cold remedy, took honors as being even more repulsive than its competitor, Flonase. GameCube (Nintendo) and xBox (Microsoft) worked. Verizon was a dog, In 2000 Celebrex, arthritis pain killer, worked. The 2001 Emoticon, for a smiley is gone. The milk and soy product called Silk ("Silk is soy") was found silly and confusing in 2003, while iTunes, Apple's Napster equivalent moved well.
Sports names have petered out. In 2000 we had Lance Armstrong, Shaq, A-Rad, in 2001 73 for Barry Bonds's home run record, No.3 for the late Dale Earhardt, Williams; Zim (Zimmer) and the curse of the Bambino is as good as 2003 gets. Names with bad vibes do not make it.
O.k, a few youth/California words: hottie (adored), give it up (applaud), hella (good), bling-bling (platinum, jewelry), phat (hella, cool). Shut up! means a surprised "really?". So, hella New Year, and bling-bling for your hottie!
Wally Dobelis apologizes for mangling the name of Union Square Partnership and opening the Greenmarket on Tuesdays (it should have been Wednesdays)in last week’s column.
O.k., a little New Year's entertainment On December 26 the Internet veteran organization called yourDictionary.com, the Web’s most complete language resource, released the Top Ten Words of 2003, chosen by visitors to the web site. Dr. Paranoia has most generously undertaken to review this year's crop, with comparisons to 2000-1-2.
The websters' (get that? It's a Dr. P. original!) research extends also to Top Phrases, Personal Names, Best and Worst New Product Names, Top Advertising, Internet, Enron-Derived, Color, Sports and includes The Most Spoken Word on the Planet, which is o.k., to no one's surprise. We will skip most of the California/Youthspeak, Recording-Speak, also Bushisms, a new category.
The 2003 top word, imbedded, seems overrated. Others, mostly in sequence, are: blog (a web log or diary/commentary); SARS; spam; taikonaut (should this be talkonaut?) - for the Chinese astronaut who did propaganda messages from space; Bushism- along with W and Dubya, listed since 2001. Also, allision (collision with unmoving object, from the Staten Island Ferry accident); recall (from California), and Middangeard, a Tolkienism for Middle Earth. In the department of phrases, winners were: shock and awe, rush to war, WMD, 16 words (about uranium from Africa), Gitmo, tipping point (change of balance, as in public opinion), angry Left, and Halliburton Energy Services, all loaded terms. In personal names, the usual suspects - Saddam, W, Rush, Martha, Pte. Jessica Lynch, Ah-nold and the Pope, with Howard Dean coning in late, before Paris Hilton and Hans Blix. Rudy was high in previous years, no longer. What is it that makes me think these choices are not entirely statistically validated?.
Actually, this crop compares well with the 2002 words, headed by misunderestimate, a Bushism not deserving prominence. Perp-walk, referring to handcuffed executives, "to nasdaq" - as in "nasdaquing one's fortune" - are unworthy. Survivor, as in Pennsylvania mine disaster, warlord, sniper, pedophile, bandwith (as capacity) all make sense. Terror- related phrases predominated - threat fatigue, weapons of mass destruction , suicide bomber, shoe bomb (Richard Reid), Homeland Security, dot communism, a phrase that did not last, meaning that everything on the web should link.
In 2001, the 9/11 terms dominated. Ground Zero, W (or Dubya), Jihad, anthrax, Euro, -stan (Paki-, Afghani-,Turkmeni-), foot-and mouth disease were topical. Wizard, as in Harry Potter, God (Allah, Yahweh) as a political concept were understandable, and Ophraization of political concepts ("see if it plays on Ophrah.") has a neat touch. The immortal phrase of Todd Beamer, "Let's roll!" as the passengers attacked the hijackers of Flight 93 still resonates, and the President's simplistic reference to evil-doers has acquired a Biblical severity.
The 2000 election overwhelmed that year's language. Chad (and offshoots, e.g. dimpled, pregnant, hanging; disenfranchised, undervote, Florida); millennium, Y2K, Sydney Olympics, dot-com, Eran (as in Gonzalez), pelletizing (a Firestone tire recall term), Intifada and Tiger (you know who) where tops. It also showed a flourishing of business terms that lasted - fish or cut bait, think out of the box, and push the envelope. B2B, B2C, ASP (application service provider), CRM (consumer service manager), e-business, killer app (successful), viral marketing (inexpensive or hard to understand). In 2001 IT (info technology) returned to replace high-tech, and such forgettable verbs as concepting and efforting. Paradigm jump came to mean successful change. It resonates with the customer meant that he'll buy. The best of 2002 was "the Schultz defense" - I know nothing.nothing, from Hogan's Heroes. Interface meant to converse, multitasking - to work concurrently on several topics, reboot - to reconsider. In comparison, 2003 was weak - ping, to send a reminder, off-line, to be out of it.
Business names were interesting. Accenture, the escape name for Anderson Consulting, came in for a drubbing in 2000-2001, and was found to be a success in 2002, as was American Home Products return to Wyeth . In 2001 Nasocron, a cold remedy, took honors as being even more repulsive than its competitor, Flonase. GameCube (Nintendo) and xBox (Microsoft) worked. Verizon was a dog, In 2000 Celebrex, arthritis pain killer, worked. The 2001 Emoticon, for a smiley is gone. The milk and soy product called Silk ("Silk is soy") was found silly and confusing in 2003, while iTunes, Apple's Napster equivalent moved well.
Sports names have petered out. In 2000 we had Lance Armstrong, Shaq, A-Rad, in 2001 73 for Barry Bonds's home run record, No.3 for the late Dale Earhardt, Williams; Zim (Zimmer) and the curse of the Bambino is as good as 2003 gets. Names with bad vibes do not make it.
O.k, a few youth/California words: hottie (adored), give it up (applaud), hella (good), bling-bling (platinum, jewelry), phat (hella, cool). Shut up! means a surprised "really?". So, hella New Year, and bling-bling for your hottie!
Wally Dobelis apologizes for mangling the name of Union Square Partnership and opening the Greenmarket on Tuesdays (it should have been Wednesdays)in last week’s column.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 1:52 PM 
