Wed 21 Dec 2005
Yes, literally. The ten most looked up words at Merriam Webster in 2005.
Here’s a quiz. Was the top word for 2005:
a) blog
b) integrity
c) insurgent
d) by-pass
Click here to find out, then come back and read the rest of this post.
If you wanted a quick way to sum up the big events and ideas of the year, this is one way to do it. I wonder where “insipid” came from, though. It makes a nice threesome with “integrity” and “inept” (by the by here’s a Not Totally Inept blog… great post on Walmart).
It’s kind of a sad list, isn’t it? Full of fear and disillusionment for the most part. I wonder why more people don’t look up, say, “slurry” or “whimsical” or “transmogrify.”
I have received a challenge to include all the words in the list in one sentence. I’m going to go for it. Wanna have a contest? Post your entry in the comments section. I will award an appropriate virtual prize to everyone who enters.
Here’s mine:
A conclave of insipid bigwigs decided to filibuster the leader of the refugees to show their contempt for his well-meaning but inept attempts to turn the tide of public opinion into a tsunami of passion; but the wave didn’t even test the integrity of the metaphorical levee, what with the apathy pandemic laying waste to goodwill everywhere.
(Huh! I couldn’t escape the depressing tendencies of the words! They have weighed down my sentence so much that I’m considering deleting it! But, no. Let it stand.)
December 21st, 2005 at 10:04 pm
But can you beat this word count?
A conclave of refugees contemptuously filibustered the inept anti-tsunami levee levy via a pandemic of insipid speeches about integrity.
December 22nd, 2005 at 9:03 pm
Amy! Your efficiency astounds! So much so that I will let you get away with transforming some of the words. For your prize, you get this famous piece of art, rubber-stamped with the number 5 word (I can’t seem to do an image in the comments so just click the link):
Insipid
January 1st, 2006 at 6:42 pm
It’s extremely interesting to me that so many people have trouble understanding the meaning of integrity that they have to look it up.
What do they need to know that precisely? Are they wanting to do something shady while remaining within the legal definition of the term? Are they showing it to their neighbors, politicians, clergy, because they think these people don’t know what it means? Curiouser and curiouser.