Catchphrases and buzzwords can tell us much about a year past – what resonated, what stuck, what the year revealed about the sensibility of the nation, whether you’re a wise Latina woman, a mini-Madoff, a teabagger or Balloon Boy, reports The New York Times.
But if ever there were a year to put buzzwords before a death panel, this would be it, before the aporkalypse comes.
aporkalypse
Undue worry in response to swine flu. Includes unnecessary acts like removing nonessential kisses from Mexican telenovelas and the mass slaughter of pigs in Egypt.car tone
Music or ambient noise proposed for use by electric cars, whose quietness otherwise makes them go unnoticed by pedestrians.Chimerica
The intertwined economies of China and the United States, which together dominate the world economy. Popularized by Niall Ferguson in his book “The Ascent of Money.”Dracula sneeze
Covering the mouth with the crook of the elbow when sneezing, like Dracula hiding his face with a cape.meep
An exclamation used disruptively or nonsensically by young people. From Beaker of “The Muppet Show.”vook
A digital book that includes some video in its text.Photo by Wordle.