Words of the Year 2000

At its annual meeting in Washington, DC, last week,
The American Dialect Society chose its “Words of the Year 2000”.

Like in so many other American contests, the words were chosen in eight specific categories:

Overall Word of the Year: CHAD
the punched out piece of paper in ballot cards

Most Outrageous: WALL HUMPING
rubbing a thigh against a security card scanner to allow access without having to remove the card from one's pocket.

Most Euphemistic: COURTESY CALL
an uninvited call from a telemarketer.

Most Likely to Succeed: MUGGLE
the Harry Potter books' term for a non-wizard, becoming a more general word for a mundane, unimaginative person.

Most Useful: CIVIL UNION
a legal same-sex marriage.

Most Creative: DOT BOMB
a failed dot-com operation.

Most Unnecessary: SUDDEN LOSS OF WEALTH SYNDROME

Least Likely to Succeed: KABLOKEYS
used in phrases like "It scared the kablokeys out of me".

Brand-Spanking New: UNCONCEDE
to rescind a concession ("unconcession" would have more claim to being new).

(from: http://www.worldwidewords.org)