The Word Of The Year

[Luobot]

"Subprime has been voted word of the year for 2007 by linguists of the American Dialect Society,” according to this BBC article.

This word has apparently crept into general usage, as in the following conversation:

Q: How did you do on the test?

A: I subprimed it.

Other contenders, according to the BBC article, include:

* Ninja - a poorly documented loan made to a high-risk borrower - someone with No Income, No Job or Assets

* Tapafication - the tendency of restaurants to serve food in many small portions, like tapas.

* Wrap rage - anger brought on by the inability to open a factory-sealed package

My vote goes to “wrap rage” because after you've ripped it apart in your frustration to get at the contents, you then realize that you can no longer return it in the original packaging, which is required according to the terms inside the package. 哎呀 (Aiyaaaaaaa) !!!

If you have any favorites or know of a worthy word of the year in Mandarin or ANY language, please post it.

[trien27]

I don't agree:

This word subprime doesn't make sense. Well, Latin words never seem to make sense when translated into English anyways.

How could you have subprimed the test?

sub means "under; beneath"

prime means "first".

So, in other words, you could be of any ranking but the first [achieving the highest score of 100 or more. ]. So anyone with a 99 or under could have subprimed it? That makes a lot of sense: I guess "social promotion" made this word "subprime" popular?

Reminds me of Sun Shan's story:

Well, in Chinese, 名落孫山 "ming luo Sun Shan" makes more sense: Sun Shan, was number ten, or the last one, of all names, to pass the imperial examination in Ancient China. If your name is under his, you have failed the examination. When someone asked how their son did on the examination, Sun Shan said, 你兒子名落孫山 "ni er zi ming luo Sun Shan" : You're son's name is underneath Sun Shan's. Sun Shan didn't explain to the parents that he was Sun Shan, and that he was the last one to pass the examination. I guess he was trying not to disappoint the parents.

[imron]

Unfortunately, you've concentrated on only one of prime's meanings. Another one of its meanings is the ideal or peak condition e.g. That athlete is in his prime.

As such, subprime makes perfect sense, because it means conditions that are below the ideal or peak condition.

[cdn_in_bj]

* Wrap rage - anger brought on by the inability to open a factory-sealed package

I like and can relate to this one. I've noticed that a lot of small electronics and computer accessories now come in plastic packaging. Opening electronic goodies now requires scissors and patience. And once cut open it's also easy to cut your hands on the sharp edges.

[skylee]

Quote:

* Wrap rage - anger brought on by the inability to open a factory-sealed package

I like and can relate to this one. I've noticed that a lot of small electronics and computer accessories now come in plastic packaging. Opening electronic goodies now requires scissors and patience. And once cut open it's also easy to cut your hands on the sharp edges.

I agree. And even with scissors you still need nine oxen and two tigers to do the work.

[Mugi]

Australians are voting on their Word(s) of the Year at the moment.