My, but 'robust' is robust lately!

[BurtWorm]

It used to be weeks, maybe even months between "robust" spottings. Now you can't go a day without one. I see it a lot in stories about health care reform, usually when discussing "a robust public option." But this morning's NY Times uses it in a headline to discuss a network of militants in Mumbai. How did "robust" get to be so robust all of a sudden? Are things as robust as they're hyped to be, or is this a sign of a nation slipping in robustness wishfully thinking?

[TZ]

1. lol

I hear the term everyday. Its actually a biological term used in assay development..I run robustness assays frequently too.

[BurtWorm]

2. Did you notice the media appropriating it?

Or is it Washington that stole it?

I mean, am I the only person who has noticed this phenomenon?

[TZ]

3. I hear it so frequently at work...I really don't notice

Its possible though. Turns of phrase and catchphrases and certain words do seem to go though fads

[BurtWorm]

4. This seems to be the "parse" of the moment.

(Remember when you couldn't go a day without hearing some pundit yakking about "parsing" some politicians speech? I think it was a Clinton era fad, when people were parsing his every word for clues to an impending resignation.)