2005 Word of the Year truthiness, what one wishes to be the truth regardless of the facts. (From the Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert, a mock news show on Comedy Central.)

Most Useful: podcast, audio or video file for downloading. Most Creative: whale-tail, the appearance of thong or g-string underwaear above the waistband.

Most Unnecessary: K Fed, Kevin Federline, Mr. Britney Spears.

Most Outrageous: crotchfruit, a child or children.

Most Euphemistic: internal nutrition force-feeding a prisoner.

Most Likely to Succeed: sudoku number puzzle from Japan.

Least Likely to Succeed: popesquatting registering a likely domain name of a new pope before the pope chooses his new name in order to profit from it.

Special nonce category, Best Tom Cruise-Related Word: jump the couch, to exhibit frenetic behavior like Cruise’s couch-bouncing on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show.

2004 Word of the Year: red/blue/purple states, red favoring conservative Republicans and blue favoring liberal Democrats, as well as the undecided purple states in the political map of the United States.

Most Useful: phish, to induce someone to reveal private information by means of deceptive email.

Most Creative: pajamahadeen, bloggers who challenge and fact-check traditional media.

Most Unnecessary: stalkette, a female stalker.

Most Outrageous: santorum, byproduct of anal sex, using the name of a senator opposed to the practice.

Most Euphemistic: badly sourced, false.

Most Likely to Succeed: red/blue/purple states.

Least Likely to Succeed: FLOHPA, Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, important states in the 2004 presidential election.

2003 Word of the Year: metrosexual, fashion-conscious heterosexual male.

Most Useful: flexitarian, vegetarian who occasionally eats meat.

Most Creative: freegan, person who eats only free food.

Most Unnecessary: freedom for “French,” as in fries and kisses.

Most Outrageous: cliterati, feminist writers or leaders.

Most Euphemistic: pre-emptive self-defense, attack before a possible attack on oneself.

Most Likely to Succeed: SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, viral disease first reported in Asia in February.

Least Likely to Succeed: tomacco, poisonous hybrid of tomato and tobacco.

Best Revival of an old term: spider hole, World War II term for a hole deeper than a foxhole used for surprise attacks; in 2003, where Saddam Hussein was hiding.