Word: noun
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...grammatical rule governing phrasal adjectives compounds the confusion (no pun intended); multi-word descriptors (such as “health care”) must be hyphenated when they appear before a noun (as in “health-care reform?...
...rise of social-networking sites led to the addition of Twitter (the noun) and twitter (the verb), while the kind of dashed-off writing that appears in posts on that site has given new permanence to words such as hmm, heh, and mwah (the sound of an exaggerated kiss) that were previously considered mere sounds. "Had Twitter and Facebook not become so popular, there's no doubt these terms would not have been included," says Duncan Black, editor of the dictionary. "They're part of the language of microblogging." (See 10 ways Twitter will change American business...
...said the key to making a site take off is connecting it to a cultural phenomenon. I Can Has Cheezburger?, for instance, pokes fun at an oft-maligned, inscrutable household pet, appealing to cat lovers and others. (Huh is allergic.) FAIL Blog has helped popularize fail as both a noun and an exclamation, not to mention an easier-to-spell synonym for schadenfreude. Another site, This is Photobomb, gives a name to otherwise perfectly good photos spoiled by an interloper - think streakers in the background of a wedding shot. "Everybody has seen it. Nobody knew what to call it," says...
...describe aficionados of the growing scene. The word's origins are disputed - some say it was a derivative of "hop," a slang term for opium, while others think it comes from the West African word hipi, meaning to open one's eyes. But gradually it morphed into a noun, and the "hipster" was born...
...bill last August were lost on the Twitterati. Out of a torrent of mocking tweets came the site Hoekstraisameme.com, which compiles parodies posted by other users who fail to empathize with Hoekstra's plight. The site manages to turn the congressman's name into both a verb and a noun at once: "To Hoekstra is to whine using grandiose exaggerations and comparisons," it asserts, while also inviting users to "submit your Hoekstra." (Read "Congress's New Love Affair with Twitter...