The Words We Learned This Year

Hey, I just discovered that my 2000^th post and my Blogoversary will probably fall close together, and maybe even on the same day! How cool would that be?

Well, okay, I thought it was cool. Never mind.

As we creep tiredly down the home stretch toward 2012, it's a time for reflecting on the year gone by. It's a time for lists - lists of the good, the bad, the best, the worst, the top news stories, etc, etc. Being a linguistics buff, I thought this particular list was especially interesting: Ten Words We Learned in 2011. In case you don't want to read the entire article, here's the list ... with my commentary, of course:

Supercommittee. Well, it turned out to be less super than expected, and the expectations were pretty minuscule anyhow. If Congress acted by the same laws they impose on the rest of the country, truth in advertising laws would have required the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to have been called The Grand Assembly of Useless Windbags. The only thing it accomplished was to create a half-assed website, the final entry on which was an admission of defeat.

Rapture. The world didn't end. Again. Better luck in 2012, "Reverend" Camping ... perhaps you can hook up with the Mayans and try again.

Cone of Uncertainty. It has to do with the projected path of hurricanes. It may also refer to the sort of hat that should be worn by certain presidential wannabes. See "Oops" and "Uzbeki-beki-beki-stan-stan" below...

Endgame. I don't know how I missed this one for my Justifiable Verbicide post a few weeks ago. Is there such a thing as a "startgame?" I thought not.

Bunga Bunga. The only thing for which Silvio Berlusconi will probably be remembered. Related to Bada-Bing?

Tebow. I thought it was the end of the boat opposite from the stern, but I guess I was wrong. And it even has its own website. Oy.

Gunwalking. Just another black eye for those with a near-sexual fascination for their rights (not responsibilities) under the Second Amendment.

Human Microphone. Similar to the old party game in which one person whispers a message to another, and the message gets passed from ear to ear until the last recipient gets a message that is totally unrelated to the original one.

Oops. What Texans ... and everyone else ... ought to be saying about Rick Perry.

Ubeki-beki-beki-stan-stan. Even given the miserable foreign policy credentials of the average Republican presidential wannabe, Herman Cain hit new heights (or is it, plumbed new depths) of ineptitude about the world we live in.

Well, that was 2011 in words we learned. Or re-learned. Or learned to hate. What words are on your list of the top expressions of the past year? Leave a comment or send me an e-mail and let me know. And while you're at it, you don't have much time left to vote for your favorite candidates for Ass Clown of the Year. The top three vote-getters so far are:

The GOP - 43 votes;

Congress - 42 votes; and,

Saudi Arabia - 35 votes.

Newt Gingrich is at the bottom of the leader board with a mere three votes.

So get cracking, folks! Cast your votes now ... since we're using Chicago/DC voting rules, you can vote multiple times for multiple candidates, and your pets, deceased relatives, and imaginary friends can vote, too. Balloting closes at 11:59 PM on December 30^th and we'll announce the results on December 31^st. Vote early, vote often ... let your voice(s) be heard!

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo