American Dialect Society: Words of Previous Years

2008 Word of the Year： bailout, the rescue by the government of companies on the brink of failure, including large players in the banking industry.

Most Useful: Barack Obama, both names as combining forms.

Most Creative: recombobulation area, an area at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee in which passengers that have just passed through security screening can get their clothes and belongings back in order.

Most Unnecesssary: moofing, from “mobile out of office,” meaning working on the go with a laptop and cell phone. Created by a PR firm.

Most Outrageous: terrorist fist jab, A knuckleto- knuckle fist bump, or “dap,” traditionally performed between two black people as a sign of friendship, celebration or agreement. It was called the “terrorist fist jab” by the newscaster E. D. Hill, formerly of Fox News.

Most Euphemistic: scooping technician, A person whose job it is to pick up dog poop.

Most Likely to Succeeed: shovel-ready, Used to describe infrastructure projects that can be started quickly when funds become available.

Least Likely to Succeed: PUMA,An acronym for Party Unity My Ass, used by Democrats who were disaffected after Hillary Clinton failed to secure a sufficient number of delegates. It was later said to stand for Party Unity Means Action.

New Category Election-Related Words: maverick, a person who is beholden to no one. Widely used by the Republican Presidential and Vice- Presidential candidates, John McCain and Sarah Palin. Also in the adjectival form mavericky, used by Tina Fey portraying Palin on Saturday Night Live.

2007 Word of the Year：subprime, an adjective used to describe a risky or less than ideal loan, mortgage, or investment.

Most Useful: green- prefix/compounding form, designates environmental concern, as in greenwashing.

Most Creative: googlegänger, a person with your name who shows up when you google yourself.

Most Unnecesssary: Happy Kwanhanamas! [Kwanza + Hanukka + Christmas] Happy holidays!

Most Outrageous: toe tapper, A homosexual. Senator Larry Craig was arrested in June for an encounter in a public restroom in which toe-tapping was said to have been used as a sexual comeon.

Most Euphemistic: human terrain team, a group of social scientists employed by the US military to serve as cultural advisers in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Most Likely to Succeeed: green- prefix/compounding form, designates environmental concern, as in greenwashing.

Least Likely to Succeed: strand-in, protest duplicating being stranded inside an airplane on a delayed flight.

New Category, Real Estate Words: subprime, used to describe a risky or poorly documented loan or mortgage.

2006 Word of the Year, to be plutoed, to pluto, to be demoted or devalued.

Most Useful: climate canary, an organism or species whose poor health or declining numbers hint at a larger environmental catastrophe on the horizon.

Most Creative: lactard, a person who is lactose-intolerant.

Most Unnecessary: SuriKat, the supposed nickname of the baby girl of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

Most Outrageous: Cambodian accessory, Angelina Jolie’s adopted child who is Cambodian.

Most Euphemistic: waterboardingterrorist fist jab, an interrogation technique in which the subject is immobilized and doused with water to simulate drowning; reported to be used by U.S. interrogators against terrorism detainees.

Most Likely to Succeed: YouTube as a verb, to use the YouTube web site or to have a video of one’s self be posted on the site.

Least Likely to Succeed: grup, a Gen-Xer who does not act his or her age.

New Category, Pluto- Related Words: to be plutoed, to pluto, to be demoted or devalued.