Words on high rotation

A new crop of words has appeared in the Fibro. Kid words. On high rotation. Poo. Bum. Wee. Dumb dumb.

Conversations now go like this:

"You're a poo."

"No, you're a poo."

"Well, you're a weehead."

"Well, you're a poobumhead."

"Well, you're a-"

It's at this point that a shrieking harridan (that would be me) usually intervenes and threatens bodily harm should they so much as think the word poo in the next ten minutes. All is silent. Then I hear the whispers:

"You're still a poo.."

Please tell me this is one of those phases that won't last long.

[image: cjprints/etsy}

The word of the year

In 2010, 'shovel-ready' was deemed by the esteemed persons who put together the Macquarie Dictionary to be the word of the previous year. Yes, it was soooo 2009, but it was, according to editor Susan Butler, topical and visually graphic in structure. Those are the criteria required to get a guernsey in our national dictionary. It was on the tips of everyone's tongues, it looked good - and it was raring to go.

This year's field holds some worthy contenders. Brand slut in the fashion category. Koala ears (defined as 'patches of pubic hair protruding from a swimming costume or underwear) also in fashion. Astroturf marketing (defined along the lines of marketing that looks as though it's word-of-mouth but is run by a behind-the-scenes professional marketer) in the communications area. Sandbagging, not in the area of flood management as you might expect, but in the Politics category, and meaning an attempt to secure an electorate against a feared swing in the vote by making election promises targeted at that electorate.

You can read the entire list - and vote - here, and it's worth the time to see just how far our language has evolved in 365 short days. Koala ears. Nothing more to say really...

Here in the Fibro, the language is also jumping ahead in leaps and bounds. If 2009's word of the year was 'bokkens' (full story here), then the strong contender to take out the award this year is - drumroll please - fablious (pron. fab-lee-us). Usage: 'Mum, you look FABlious.' Origin: Mr4 (who else?).

It's really taken off in these parts (that is, within the walls of the Fibro). Everything and everyone is fablious. So much classier than the overused 'fabulous'.

I'm betting it will really catch on.

What's the word of the year at your house?


{image: bioweb.uwlax.edu}

Waiting for the Man

The boys and I are finding a new rhythm. School holiday rhythm. Slow mornings building to fever pitch in the afternoons. And underneath it all, an undercurrent of excitement. Christmas is coming.

For me, it's about To Do lists. For Mr3 it's about logistics. Where will Santa park his reindeer (there's no point in being on the roof when the Fibro has no chimney)? How does he fit the world's presents on his sleigh? Can we wait up to see him?

"We don't have to," says Mr6, matter of fact. "Daddy will meet him at the door so he can hand over the presents." Mr6 has always been very keen that a strange old man in a red suit should not be entering the house under cover of darkness. The presents, yes. The man, no.

"Well, I can wait with him," says Mr3, who's desperate to lay eyes on said man.

"I don't think he'll come if you're there," I say.

He thinks.

"I can hide behind Dad. He won't even know I'm there."

He's a wily one, that Mr3. I envisage a long battle on Christmas Eve to get him to close his eyes. And even then, it wouldn't surprise me to find him peeking through the blinds well after midnight. Watching. Waiting. Hoping.

Don't you wish Christmas held that much excitement for you again?

[image: miniatures.about.com]

Just as an aside, don't you think rhythm is a weird word? One that I need to check for spelling every single time I write it. Kind of like weird. Which words are weird for you?