'Incivility' Named Top Word of 2004 by yourDictionary.com; Bests 'Red States/Blue States,' 'Blogosphere,' and 'Flip Flopping'

Business Wire, Dec 26, 2004

DANVILLE, Calif. -- yourDictionary.com (YDC) , the leading global language portal, today named 'incivility' as the Top Word of 2004. YDC released eight different Words of the Year lists featuring the Top Words, Names, Phrases, Numbers, California YouthSpeak, Internet, Sports-related, and Color-related Words, as well as the Top Words in Pop Music and the Most Frequently Spoken Word On The Planet.

"Our choices reflect those words and phrases that best encapsulate the mindset of a tumultuous year," said Paul JJ Payack, President of yourDictionary.com. "The year was characterized by what we call the inCivil War in the political arena, where the shrillness of political discourse (dis-coarse) has risen to unprecedented heights (or lows)."

Words are nominated by YDC's worldwide network of linguists, bibliophiles, and language enthusiasts; the final choices are made by the staff of YDC.

For more information, visit http://www.yourDictionary.com.

Top Ten Words of 2004

1. inCivility
A year characterized by the inCivil War, where the shrillness of
political discourse (dis-coarse) has risen (or descended to) the
highest levels in memory.

2. Red States / Blue States
A dangerously deep split or just the simplest way of cutting an
amazingly complex demographic pie.

3. Blogosphere
The realm of the 'web log' or 'blog'. Bloggers taken on a prominent
role in vetting the mainstream media.

4. Flip-flop/flopping
Whether in reality or in myth, the concept helped to torpedo the
Kerry campaign.

5. Esrever
That's 'reverse' backwards, for the Red Sox who finally 'reversed the
curse' of the Bambino and won the World Series after 87 years.

6. Fahrenheit
9/11 that is. Evidently, Moore passed on the more Euro-centric
'Celsius 488'.

7. iPod
Another product-related verb such as 'to google' or 'to tivo'.

8. IM
In 2004 Instant Messaging became a way of life, even in the corporate
world.

9. Liberal
Progressive, please.

10. Eurosceptic
Those in the EU who think the strength of Europe was in its vigorous
diversity.

Bonus Word: Pajamahadeen
Those bloggers who have taken a prominent role in vetting (or ensuring
the accuracy) of mainstream media news coverage. (Origin: Bloggers
supposedly work in their bathrobes.)


Top Ten Names

1. Dubya Rove (W. and Karl Rove)
An indomitable team that plowed to victory.

2. Mel (Gibson) (Michael) Moore
Both filmmakers set out to tackle sacrosanct subjects and both
succeeded beyond all expectations.

3. Saddam Hussein
Crawled his way out of a Spider Hole and spent '04 holed away.

4. John Kerry
Another Liberal from Massachusetts meets his fate in one-time
Democratic strongholds.

5. Vladimir Putin
Consolidating power at an ever quickening pace.

6. Howard Dean
In the popular mind, the 'I have a scream' speech put an end to his
prospects though it occurred AFTER he lost Iowa.

7. Martha Stewart
Camp Cupcake's No. 1 detainee.

8. Ahh-nold
The Governator remains in the news with his girlie-men
characterization of political foes

9. Janet Jackson
Who won the Super Bowl?

10. Yushchenko
Leader of the 'Orange Revolution' in the Ukraine who survived alleged
dioxin assassination attempt.


Top Ten California YouthSpeak Words

1. Word
As in: "is that really true?" "Word."

2. Peace (or Peace out)
Replaces the square: see you later.

3. Proper
A re-cycled Briticism comes on strong.

4. Hottie
Object of affection, either personally or in the cultural milieu.

5. Sweatin'
As in 'He's really sweatin' me!' Oldspeak: bugging.

6. What up?
The latest permutation of Wazzup?

7. Cool
Still cool after all these years.

8. Sick
Wicked cool!

9. Chillin'
Relaxing, especially with friends.

10. Dope
Excellent, cool, tight or phat, as in "That's totally dope!"


Top Phrases

1. Red States / Blue States
A dangerously deep split or just the simplest way of cutting an
amazingly complex demographic pie.

2. Moral Values
Issues ranging from gay marriage to the morality of the war in Iraq
lumped into a phrase.

3. Two Americas
The cultural divide supposedly separating Red States from Blue States.

4. Wardrobe Malfunction
Immediate enters the lexicon courtesy of the Super Bowl XXXVIII
halftime show.

5. The inCivil War
The level of incivility exhibited in public discourse (dis-coarse)
descends to a level not seen since the Civil War.

6. Flip-flop/flopping
Whether in reality or in myth, the concept greatly damaged the Kerry
campaign.

7. Spider-Hole
Looks like this one is going to stick around for a while.

8. Angry Left
Originally, the early followers of Howard Dean.

9. Swift Boats
Actually, US Navy PCFs (Patrol Craft Fast), though little noticed in
the din of the campaign.

10. Girlie Men
Courtesy of Ahh-nold, the Governator of Kalh-EE-Fon-I-A.


Top Numbers

1. 3,300,000
 Margin of victory by President Bush over Senator Kerry.

2. 1000+
Number of Armed services personnel killed in combat in Iraq.

3. 527
Identifier of public-interest organizations such as MoveOn.org and the
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth; a nightmare of unintended consequences
for Sen. McCain.

4. 9/11
As in the 9/11 Commission report and film by Michael Moore.

5. 87
Number of years Boston suffered under the 'Curse of the Bambino' until
winning the Fall Classic.


Top Internet Words Moving into Widespread Use

1. IM
As in Instant Message.

2. Multitask
To perform several tasks at the same time; now a requirement of all
non-outsourced jobs.

3. Off line
What happens after you've been multi-tasking too long.


Top Sports-related Words

1. Reverse the Curse
The Red Sox finally overcome the Curse of the Bambino after 87 years.

2. BCS
College football's Bowl Championship Series has been called the "Bogus
Championship Series" again.

3. 'Roids (Steroids)
Perhaps the President knew something when he mentioned them in last
year's state of the Union.

4. Tour de Lance
Lance Armstrong wins his sixth consecutive Tour.


Top Words in Pop Music

1. iPod
The iPod is becoming to the 2000's what the Walkman was to the 80's
and 90's.

2. Emo
Genuine emoting in music; often a catharsis for the artist's own
emotional turmoil.

3. Yeeaaah! / Okaaaay! / What!?
Atlanta native Lil' Jon usurps Flava Flav's position as King of the
catch-phrase.

4. Grey Tuesday
DJ Danger Mouse turned heads by combining the vocals from rapper
Jay-Z's Black Album, with music constructed with samples of The
Beatles' White Album.

5. Coachella
110 degrees were not enough to stop the 60,000 music fans who trekked
into the desert this year for the annual concert.


Top Color-related Words

1. Red and Blue as in 'Red States' and 'Blue states'.

2. Red, White and Blue as in "these united (sic) States of America".

3. The New Black
Just about any color you can imagine has been thusly dubbed. Even the
color black has been called the New Black.

4. Orange
As in Revolution: see the Ukraine.


Most frequently spoken word on the Planet: OK