Hard News: Public Address Word of the Year: Credit Crunch
57 Responses
First ←Older Page 1 2 3 Newer→ Last
-
Wow, I'm first!
Although I was at the back of the queue to understand what rofflenui means - thanks for the explanation Russell.
I think the phrase credit crunch is very satisfying. Both positive ("Credit!" Credit is good right? and satisfyingly crunch-y. Like a chocolate bar.
In fact, a chocolate bar or breakfast cereal named "Credit Crunch" could be a goer.
-
Oh and BTW, the winner of the other case of wine -- the random draw from the list of voters -- was Jack Elder.
-
I am crunched that we didn't vote rofflenui on top. "Credit crunch"... meh. It's not even one word!
-
I am crunched that we didn't vote rofflenui on top.
Well, Islander did her best ...
-
Well, Islander did her best ...
Yes, I'm kicking myself for not working out you could vote three times for the same word. I was attempting some silly single-transferable-vote-like trickery to bring up words that would have few chances of succeeding, besides rofflenui. And the solution was staring me in the face the whole time!
Enjoy the wine, Sacha, never case was more richly deserved.
-
Yes, I'm kicking myself for not working out you could vote three times for the same word.
I didn't know either, till it happened
-
__Yes, I'm kicking myself for not working out you could vote three times for the same word.__
I didn't know either, till it happened
Islander: Author, linguist, and hacker.
-
Och!
Vote for the same word! So obvious. And, to quote Mr Tiso,
"Credit crunch"... meh
won..!
But I'm glad credit (of the non-crunch kind) was given where it was due: when roflnui turns up in the OED it can clearly sourced to Sacha.
-
when roflnui turns up in the OED it can clearly sourced to Sacha.
And in the meantime, he can drink to his own good health. I thought the case he's getting was just Vavasour's basic sav blanc, but it turns out to be stuffed with recently prize-winning wines. Hoorah!
-
Party at the Elders!
-
What seems zeitgeist-y, if you like, about credit crunch is the euphemistic, weasel-ish quality of it. Without the context, would anyone translate it to mean "financial catastrophe" or "Great Depression Redux"? Taken at face value, the phrase doesn't even seem to be negative. It's that kind of disconnect between the language itself and what the language represents that seems very 2008 to me.
Or as Anne Karpf said in the Guardian back in July, "Recessions are serious, but credit crunch sounds like a cheery breakfast cereal - a helping of financial reality that will do us all good."
-
Oh and BTW, the winner of the other case of wine -- the random draw from the list of voters -- was Jack Elder.
W00t!
-
W00t!
Assuming, on sober reflection, that it's actually me and not my namesake, the ex-Minister of Police. That was particularly embarassing when I was a student - his personal number was unlisted, mine wasn't, leading to a number of "hilarious" phone calls.
-
Recessions are serious, but credit crunch sounds like a cheery breakfast cereal - a helping of financial reality that will do us all good.
Duncan Black's "Big Shitpile" (specifically coined to describe the CDO mess that sparked this all off) was certainly more evocative.
-
of course "Credit Crunch" will probably see a new life in 2010 as a breakfast cereal ...
-
pffft, i was hoping rofflenui was some shabily spelt portmanteau contraction of ROFL and the french ennui
because geek speak spelling and acronyms are appallingly dull
or am i wrong and ROFL is a backronym - an acronym created backwards from original meaning?
discuss at your leisure over +mas lunch... -
There is nothing more more annoying than a word pedant but these words and phrases have bugged me this year:
"Fabulous" - everybody seems to be saying it in all sorts of inappropriate ways.
"Closure" - any resolution of some tragic circumstance is immediately pronounced an opportunity for this magical thing.
"In terms of..." - this meaningless linguistic fad has made a come back in 2008 after reaching epic proportions a few years ago when absolutely every body in the English speaking world seemed to be saying it: BBC announcers, politicians, reporters, bureaucrats, fire chiefs policeman, etc. Kathryn Ryan says it constantly.
-
W00t!
Stop W00Ting and send me your delivery address!
-
pffft, i was hoping rofflenui was some shabily spelt portmanteau contraction of ROFL and the french ennui
As I recall, "rofflennui" was canvassed in the original discussion thread.
-
Stop W00Ting and send me your delivery address!
Done!
-
Jonathan, what are your feelings about "awesome"? Apparently visitors to NZ can't get over how often we say it and how multi-purpose it is. It's a word I've come to hate, personally.
-
Oh, and while we're on the credit crunch, here is the best of many credit crunch songs to feature this year on YouTube:
Genius.
-
Awesome - no.
Oarsome - yes!
It's so dumb it's cool, kind of Outrageous Fortune Munteresque.
Munterese?
Munteresque Thompson? -
Jonathan, what are your feelings about "awesome"? Apparently visitors to NZ can't get over how often we say it and how multi-purpose it is. It's a word I've come to hate, personally.
Appaaaaaaaaaaaaaarently, the word 'awesome' was used quite a few times in presenting the Wellingtonista awards the other night, so if anyone has a problem with its usage, I might have to blacklist them.
-
of course "Credit Crunch" will probably see a new life in 2010 as a breakfast cereal ...
It's already the case, no? Witness the following true exchange recorded recently amongst Kellog's executives.
"Look at these sales figures! The results of our new cereal are extraordinary. How do you explain this?"
"I credit crunch."
Post your response…
This topic is closed.