A panel of linguists has decided the word that best reflects 2005 is "truthiness," defined as the quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than the facts.

The American Dialect Society chose the word Friday after a runoff with terms related to Hurricane Katrina, such as "Katrinagate," the scandal erupting from the lack of planning for the monster hurricane.

Michael Adams, a professor at North Carolina State University who specializes in lexicology, said "truthiness" means "truthy, not facty." In a runoff for the most creative word, "whale tail," the appearance of a thong above the waistband, beat out "muffin top," the bulge of flesh hanging over the top of low-riding jeans.

Tom Cruise became the first public figure in the contest's 16 years to be noted for his influence on public discourse. The group coined the term "Cruiselex" to describe such terms as "jump the couch" and "Cruisazy."

--That was the best they could come up with?

Source: CNN

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Posted by Lawren at January 9, 2006 07:23 AM | Trackbacks (0)

You Said

The American language is being Fed-exed straight to hell.

Says: Nanc' at January 9, 2006 08:32 AM

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If I recall even this site was an early identifier darnit!

January 7, 2006

To Whom it May Concern:

In reference to the article by Heather Clark from the Assoicated Press, Linguists gather to vote on 2005 Words of the Year I am most pleased that the word Cruisazy is up for the linguist vote, however I find it disturbing that credit for the word and definition has not been given, as though it had no origin or as if the linguists themselves created it. It was first spotted as a word when the shirt bearing this word was featured in People Magazine in June 2006. Subsequently, the NY POST's Page Six along with NY Magazine, Philadelphia Weekly and countless web sites around the globe have recognized this as a NEOLOGISM created and defined by MissWit.net in June of 2005. As the New York Post writes: SIGHTINGS . . .
TATUM O'Neal at Mod World on First Street, buying a T-shirt showing Tom Cruise's beaming face over the neologism "Cruisazy," which designer MissWit defines as, "To be like Tom Cruise. To act in a way that is Tom Cruise-like. To know something completely, that others do not."
It's totally cruisazy that you should leave this valuable information out!
Google Cruisazy, notice the dates, and the definitions, never is the one mentioned in the recent article used...and they always go back to MissWit's, from Brazil to Japan to Germany to the US!

A follow up story by your publication would be wonderful, as other originators of words were ignored as well!

www.misswit.net/cruise.html

Says: ORiginator at January 11, 2006 11:45 PM

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