Merriam-Webster has announced its list of more than a hundred new words that they'll be adding to the dictionary this year. Aside from some no-brainers (did people really walk around bemused, not knowing what a zip line or vlog was?), the list features such newly approved bon mots as frenemy (something passive-aggressive 14-year-old girls call each other), sock puppet (something dorks on the Internet call each other) and açai (something Brazilian berries call each other).Other new additions to the Merriam-Webster lexicon include:
-- Carbon footprint: "the amount of carbon emitted by something during a given period." First noted in 1999.
-- Earmark: "a provision in congressional legislation that allocates a specified amount of money for a specific project, program or organization." The word earmark is dated to the 15th century, but the latest addition to its defintion is all about the 21st.
-- Locavore: "one who eats foods grown locally whenever possible." First noted in 2005.
-- Reggaeton: "popular music of Puerto Rican origin that combines rap with Caribbean rhythms." First noted in 2002.
-- Staycation: "vacation spent at home or nearby." First noted in 2005.
We applaud the modern leanings of ivory-tower types who create dictionaries; after all, we're word nerds ourselves. Still we feel there is a marked dearth of new words in the dictionary that truly impress us ("carbon footprint" sounds manly, but it isn't) -- a condition that we intend to remedy.
After the jump, read some additions to the dictionary that we'd like to see. Feel free to leave your own suggestions in the comments section.
A-Jacko-lypse, noun: when one famous person's death is at the epicenter of a slew of random celebrity demises
E-Jacko-late, verb: what the news media does when someone really famous dies
Gosselin, verb: to make a complete fool out of your significant other (applies to both genders)
Margarineface, noun: cheaper and slightly less appealing than a butterface
Visiting Argentina, verb: the act of hiking the Appalachian Trail (see below)
Hiking the Appalachian Trail, verb: the act of visiting Argentina (see above)
Dykstrapolate, verb: to take a simple concept, get hit in the head with a line drive, then explain that concept at length
Grillfriend, noun: similar to bromance, a grillfriend is a guy you hang around with mainly for his skill at producing delicious, charred vittles
Crock Blocking, verb: when your roommate turns off your slow-cooker
Out Like MySpace, adjective: a way of saying "good-bye," as in, "I'm out like MySpace"
Out Like What, Grampa?, adjective: cutting response to "I'm out like MySpace"
Donkey Kong, noun: what it's "on" like
From the Web:
15 Words You Won't Believe They Added to the Oxford English Dictionary (Cracked)
Top 10 Most Overused Words in English (AskMen)
The Most Misspelled Word in English (Lemondrop)

























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Comments:
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Friday 10 July
By Dr Larry Myers
time for many of these
readers with time on their hands to do something like start a
RITA HAWORTH ANONYMOUS group
for those addicted to GILDA
and a worthwhile thing to be hooked on, too!
Reply
Friday 10 July
By YO MOMMA!
How about one of my old favorites:
GAYDAR- the ability to detect a person's "gayness"
it really is a gift, similar to 'radar'
I'd luv to see that in Webster's
Reply
Friday 10 July
By gary
why would they put sutch redicials things like that in the dictionary maybe they had a nightmare Im not very good at spelling but that crap makes me feel good that I dont have to use it
Reply
Friday 10 July
By yo momma
How about an old favorite of mine-
GAYDAR- the ability to detect a person's "gayness"- it's really a gift, sort of like "radar"
I'd love to see Webster include this one- lol
Reply
Friday 10 July
By jko
Every time I hear words like "frenemy", I throw up in my mouth a little. Thank you Webster... my dinner is all over my computer now.
Reply
Friday 10 July
By Gregory
This is a bunch of crap. Most people don't understand and cannot properly use the standard text words. How can they possibly inculcate the new words? It is an impossibility.
Reply
Friday 10 July
By Carroll Gregory
Apparently my last remarks didn't hit the mark, as they were not added to the redundant remarks previously submitted. Exactly what is it that you want to infer? I have been writing for over a decade and I don't need any additional words to get my message across. So, what is your problem? Never passed third grade?
Reply
Friday 10 July
By mh
OBAMATRON: people who mindlessly believe in and back Obama. i.e. take his word for gospel or buy into his propaganda.
Reply
Friday 10 July
By Charlie Lesko
Cerebrawl -- no holds barred vehement postings over political, social and celebrity issues.
Reply
Friday 10 July
By Dark Eden
Hopenchange: Incredibly vague promises of making the world a better place, followed by doing exactly the thing you said was evil and retarded when someone else was doing it.
Obamabot/O-bot: 1. Worshiper of the cult of Dear Leader Obama. 2. The only people stupid/desperate enough to fall for Hopenchange without asking ANY questions about Dear Leader Obama.
Dissent: 1. Treason (Modern) 2. Highest form of patriotism (Archaic)
Patriotism: 1. Submitting to the Will of Obama (modern). 2. Love of Country and the ideals the US was founded on (archaic, now thoughtcrime, synonymous w. jingoism)
Jingoism: Any Republican who even thinks about a flag or saying he/she doesn't think America is the most evil country in history. (Synonymous with archaic meaning of Patriotism)
Reply
Friday 10 July
By John
these are stupid
Reply
Friday 10 July
By tanya
These really werent funny. Bland at the most. Booo.
Reply
Friday 10 July
By felice
LMAO CROCK BLOCKING nice ahhahahha, but these are hard to pronounce :[ and sum are "ghetto"
Reply
Friday 10 July
By jonah
Hostageability = the amount of cash someone would pay for you were you taken hostage.
Reply
Friday 10 July
By playa
I feel like the dictionary forgot the very popular word: chillaxing. It is used to express not only just chilling with friends but also relaxing at the same time. Hopefully with the next update this word will be included.
Reply
Friday 10 July
By sunny
this is the dumbest thing i have ever read. Its no wonder people in other countries call us STUPID AMERICANS, and we just keep giving them more stuff to laugh about. This is not cute, nor is it witty or smart. These words should be banned immediately!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply
Friday 10 July
By Mike
It's called SATIRE.
SATIRE (noun): 1: a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn. 2: trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly.
Friday 10 July
By Jonsey
I think the Bush-haters forget that they did not show him any respect from day one. Wouldn't even use the word president for his name. And they also forget what a mess Bush inherited... economy crashed before Bush took office. My how history eludes some ppl.
Reply
Friday 10 July
By Xeke
I have a definition for you, but it's an old one.
Comedy: the comic element of drama, of literature generally, or of life.
It's what the point of the article was, you drama-obsessed twits. If you're looking for the conspiracy theories, political vomit, and disasters, they're all on other pages. Take your political opinion spewing there.
Reply
Friday 10 July
By grecia
aahahah that was funny and who ever thinks its stupid get a humor or prozack. :D
Reply