WOTY = W00T = WTF

Merriam-Webster has just announced the Word of the Year for 2007. (Apparently this is important.) The 2007 WOTY is w00t. That's right, w00t. Yes, those are zeroes. Yes, that is correct. No, I am not drinking (yet).

What is 'w00t'? W00t is defined by the folks over there at Webster's as "expressing joy, similar in use to the word 'yay'." My reaction to this word as the WOTY is not 'w00t'. It's more like 'wtf'?

The origin of w00t is not all that clear. One source I read said it originated in some World of Warcraft thingee as a hybrid of the phrase, "Wow, loot!" (My reaction to that was "W00pid!" A hybrid of the phrase, "Wow, stupid!") Another source said that it originated in the world of college sports. When one team trounced another, they would chant, "woot", which stands for "We Own the Other Team". I'm wishing it stood for "We Oughta Outlaw This".

Since when is a "word" with numbers in it a "word"? I didn't get that memo. I'm thinking they could have done better. Oh, wait a minute....I just saw the list of the 10 finalist words....I take it back. They couldn't have done better. They could have done worse. Since a few of these words need explaining, I'll try to fill in where I think it's necessary. Or amusing. The finalists......

~ pecksniffian Pecksniffian means unctuously hypocritical. For those of you who are like me, I will also tell you that unctuously means "revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating and false earnestness or spirituality". Much like the word 'pecksniffian' itself.

~ sardoodledom Again, I present you with the definition of this (obviously made up) word. It means "mechanically contrived plot structure and stereotyped or unrealistic characterization in drama". I've been looking for a word to describe just such a situation which I encounter almost never. If you ever hear anyone use this word, please hit them. Hard.

~ facebook This is the verb 'facebook'. I think 'facebook' is stupid as a noun. Thus, I think it's ridiculous as a verb.

~ conundrum This has absolutely nothing to do with percussion instruments. It's merely a baffling situation. Kinda like this list.

~ quixotic Again, does anyone actually say this word? OUT loud? The next time I'm in a meeting with Shakespeare, I'll be all ears in anticipation of 'quixotic' appearing in the conversation. Aside from that, it's incredibly likely I will never hear this word spoken aloud ever.

~ blamestorm "Meeting, usually corporate or governmental, to decide who should be blamed for the incompetence of the organization itself." Apparently the opposite of 'brainstorm' and a distant cousin of 'barnstorm'. Who should be blamed for the incompetence of using the word 'blamestorm' is what I want to know.

~ apathetic Now, if I put a space between the 'a' and the 'pathetic', I get 'a pathetic'. And that's how I would start a sentence that would be describing this list. A pathetic collection of options for the Word of the Year

~ hypocrite I'd have to define this as those folks over there at Webster's who are in charge of the "words" in the dictionary, yet keep coming up with all of these "non-words" to throw in there also. It's not like they need page fillers or anything. Why must they do this?

~ charlatan Charlatan is like the next-door neighbor of quixotic. Kinda sounds like "Charles in Charge". Has nothing to do with Scott Baio.

~ w00t The winner.

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