practice makes perfect

Jumped the Gun

When I posted the piece on Merriam Webster's annual "top ten" list early this month, I had no idea that one word could easily dwarf all others for the year in the last wee days of 2004.  So sad it had to be a word of utter destruction and heartbreak, yet as one commentator remarked, 'it reminds us all how little we control in this world, and puts us in awe of creation'.  The word is tsunami.

BLOG = Word of the Year 2004

Merriam Webster calculates the 10 most popular dictionary look-ups each year, and for 2004, blog tops the list!

The others, in descending order, are:   

2. incumbent
3. electoral
4. insurgent
5. hurricane
6. cicada            
7. peloton : noun (1951) : the main body of riders in a bicycle race
8. partisan
9. sovereignty
10. defenestration

Funny – just like looking up the top searches in Google, we can relive the year in words, in a particularly more succinct way than the hour-long extravaganza video blitz the networks air each January.

Rather short and to the point, except – did I miss a story about the act of defenestration being performed on someone?  Actually, it could be a person or a thing, so you can fill in your own blank about the reason for the word occupying the number 10 spot. Any comments?

You can go directly to the list here.