my nintendo wii has inexplicably become my primary news source these days. maybe it’s the fact that i’m lazy or maybe i just take pride in the fact that i surf my news in high definition.

either way, my wii informed me today that the american dialect society (i didn’t know it existed either) had chosen the word subprime as 2007’s word of the year. i was more amused by 2006’s word of the year which was plutoed, meaning to demote or devalue someone or something. if you don’t get it then we’ll tell you when you’re older.

also worth checking out are the nominations for 2007 (pdf). some highlights include:

• Googlegänger: person with your name who shows up when you google yourself.
• toe-tapper: a homosexual. senator Larry Craig was arrested in june for an encounter in a public restroom in which toe-tapping was said to have been used as a sexual come-on. 
• quadriboobage: the appearance of having four breasts caused by wearing a brassiere that is too small.
• NINJA: No Income, No Job or Assets. a poorly
  documented loan made to a high-risk borrower.

these are very reminiscent of sniglets, which i remember my third grade teacher being very fond of.