Merriam-Webster's Updates for 2014!

It's that time of year again and it's time to see what great and wonderful new words we have been deemed worthy of using on a scrabble board as well a daily conversation! It's always a hoot these days to see what composers of the written word have agreed upon!

So what is the new speak for the year?

Crowdfunding joins big data and gamification, illustrating how technology is being used to understand and motivate behavior.

I can see crowdfunding and I'm kinda surprised it hadn't already been there? Ahh well.. it happens and better late than never. The effort may have been crowd sourced, eh?

In the area of more intimate relationships, catfish, a technology-related term, refers to a person who sets up a false social networking profile for deceptive purposes

Okay, Catfish is new. I've only known that to refer to a bottom feeding junk fish people go hunt as much as 'catch' in the rivers and lakes around here. (makes mental note to leave Bubba stumped for a few minutes on that one..lol)

Finally, a few oddball ones, even to me!

Other notable additions include freegan, fracking, and Yooper, a nickname used for a native or resident of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Source

Yooper? You mean someone actually chooses to refer to themselves as a Yooper?

Oh..and within the list is "Selfie". That all important act of doing a thing you'll likely regret for years to come and explain to grand kids as "this is what you don't want to do"...finally gets official status. Aww.... (wipes away something stuck in the eye) It's a touching moment in the annals of self humiliation. Yes indeed.


Okay... Well, they say we are a nation of 50 different ways of seeing things, loosely joined in a Union of like minded people. I suppose addition day to the dictionary is one that shows that aspect better than most, eh?

I always look forward to this event Wrabbit

This and the Darwin awards

Thanks for the heads up.

turducken ("a boneless chicken stuffed into a boneless duck stuffed into a boneless turkey"),

?

A lot of thought went into that one ................................... NOT

Off topic: Did the traffic light idea ever take off ?

Cody

a reply to: Wrabbit2000

Thought yooper was used as an insult??

a reply to: Sremmos80

I have no idea... I've never heard the term used before. Even having been in the UI of Michigan a few times over the years, I never heard the term. Oh well... Being somewhere and living there are two very different things, of course.

If it is something insulting, I'd sure want to know so I don't say it without knowing better?

Yooper has been around for years ans years. Nothing derogatory is implied. It simply means someone from "da UP, eh."

However, I am sure there are plenty of folks out there looking for offense and this can serve as the next insult of the week.