There is a new column in the Chicago Tribune that periodically appears, called "At Random On Language" by Nathan Bierma. In today's column he was talking about words of the year, and especially new words. He talked about the most commonly searched words in MW online dictionary. It isn't surprising that "blog" is number 1. But, why would "defenestration" be number 10? I don't get it!

As for new words, there are 3 that will be voted on by the American Dialect Society at their Words of the Year convention Jan. 7 in SF (jheem, neveu...you must tell us about it!); which do you think will win?

wardrobe malfunction - think Janet Jackson!
Poddict - iPod users
Google-aire - getting rich from investing on Google

Then there was the discussion of Erin McKean's New Oxford American Dictionary that is coming out in the spring with the following new words:

sizeism - discrimination based on weight
Spenda - brand name of sucralose
copyleft - (my personal favorite!) an arrangement for free distribution of material
adultescent - an adult who fails to display maturity (I know a few of those!)

Then he mentions 2 new words that came out in 1993 and 1994, respectively, that are already outdated, according to Erin McKean:

information superhighway
cyber

I do think I am going to like that column!

Erin McKean thinks information superhighway and cyber are outdated?!?

Google-News tracks reports in the press in the past month. As of this moment, it gives 71 hits for information superhighway (on a par with the 74 for schadenfreude). It gives 3,540 hits in a month for cyber -- which would not include further hits as a prefix.

Reports of the demise of these terms are greatly exaggerated.

PS: The article Kalleh cites can be found on-line here.

I think defenestration is the sort of word that appeals to people's sense of the ridiculous.

"There's a special word for throwing people out of a window?"
[searches MW online]
"Oh, wow, so there is! Cool! I'll have to use that."

3,540 hits in a month for cyber

I thought "cyber" was still used a lot...after all, what other term would we use for "cyber-sex?"

I wonder if "defenestration" was used with that scenario with Michael Jackson...an "attempted defenestration!"

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But, why would "defenestration" be number 10? I don't get it!

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Since I can't cut and paste to this site, I'll just ask you to look up the famous Defenestrations of Prague! I've forgotten the exact dates, but in one of them, the citizens of Prague chucked their entire ruling body out the window! I think it was one of the causes of the Thirty years War, but, since I never look anything up, I might be mistaken. However, I could be wrong about being mistaken.

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I thought "cyber" was still used a lot...after all, what other term would we use for "cyber-sex?"

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Exchanging blogy fluids?

I would presume the contemporary use of 'defenestration' is in removing Windows -- to install Linux or Unix.

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Originally posted by Asa Lovejoy:

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I thought "cyber" was still used a lot...after all, what other term would we use for "cyber-sex?"

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Exchanging blogy fluids?

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First, I wanna know how often, Kalleh YOU use the term cyber-sex? (curious cat again)

Secondly - what kind of blogy fluids are you excreting, Asa? Doesn't that ruin the keyboard?

ew

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Originally posted by aput:
I would presume the contemporary use of 'defenestration' is in removing Windows -- to install Linux or Unix.

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Yer killin me, too, Aput! Very funny!

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)

Secondly - what kind of blogy fluids are you excreting, Asa? Doesn't that ruin the keyboard?

ew

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So THAT'S why my #9 is sticking!

Asa is probably excreting sap...

I wanna know how often, Kalleh YOU use the term cyber-sex?

Every night when I log on and put the term into Google!

[Kidding, of course. I wouldn't even know how to find it!]

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Originally posted by KHC:
Asa is probably excreting sap...

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And what kind of tree is he???

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
I wanna know how often, Kalleh YOU use the term cyber-sex?

Every night when I log on and put the term into Google!

[Kidding, of course. I wouldn't even know how to find it!]

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Find google by typing google.com into the browser.

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And what kind of tree is he???

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Just a little stunted sapling, alas...

Maybe some MiracleGro would help?