`Truthiness' is named (Merriam-Webster) Word of the Year

[TroglodyteScholar]

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - After 12 months of naked partisanship on Capitol Hill, on cable TV and in the blogosphere, the word of the year for 2006 is ... "truthiness."

(snip)

"Truthiness" was credited to Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert, who defined it as "truth that comes from the gut, not books."

"We're at a point where what constitutes truth is a question on a lot of people's minds, and truth has become up for grabs," said Merriam-Webster president John Morse. "`Truthiness' is a playful way for us to think about a very important issue."

(snip)

"Though I'm no fan of reference books and their fact-based agendas, I am a fan of anyone who chooses to honor me," he said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/word_of_the_year

I didn't think it had any chance of winning, but I voted for this word anyway. The article also says it won by a margin of 5-to-1 over all the other words considered! If you don't "get it" yet, it's time to start figuring out what Colbert's about. He's changing our world.

[Renew Deal]

1. I voted for it too

And it wasn't on the list. You had to write it in.

[TroglodyteScholar]

2. Evidence that write-ins CAN win...

If the people counting the votes stay honest... ;)

[ThomWV]

3. Any Other Part Of The Language They Wanted To Bastardize?

Just wondering?

We are a nation plagued with about as poor an educational system as could be found in a tax-paying society, that's bad enough. Glorify and enshrine the bastardization of the language if you like, I'd like to pass on that one.

[TroglodyteScholar]

5. Whoa calm down...I'm a word enthusiast, too...I think you're missing the point.

Why must some word-lovers constantly wring their hands over the dynamic nature of language? Language is ALIVE. While I agree it's lamentable that common misuses become accepted convention (eg, enormity being used as a synonym for hugeness), "bastardizations" like truthiness really DO have a place in our language.

This is a concept that our political system has been exploiting in the populace for decades, but has never had a name. I, for one, am grateful that Colbert put a name to it and actually THOUGHT about it. This is a word that directly addresses the dangerous "go-with-the-gut" tendency in people, juxtaposed (by design) with actual FACT by basing the "bastardizaion" on the word truth. Truthiness word is a finger in the eye of the cynical movers-and-shakers of modern government and press. It's a statement on exactly how intellectually lazy we have become. How can you NOT appreciate a word (albeit a new word) that so simply conveys such a complex thought?

[in_cog_ni_to]

4. : ) I love it! I have a "Truthiness" bumper sticker on my car. Only Colbert

watchers will "get it." It's a great word!

[TroglodyteScholar]

6. Sorry, didn't realize this was a dupe thread

Mods, could this be combined with http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2883021 ?