2007 WOTY

[Mark Peters]

What are the top Word of the Year candidates so far?

  I can think of two, both from Judd Apatow movies, which probably shows my maturity level: "shmashmortion" (a euphemism for abortion) and "McLovin" (a preposterous nickname).

  Mark

Mark Mandel <thnidu at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Mark Mandel
Subject: Re: to "niff"
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And the intransitive sense is cited back to 1900 --

*1900* J. S. FARMER
*Public School Word-bk.* 139 *Niff*, verb (Derby), to smell. *1927* W. E. C
OLLINSON
*Contemp. Eng.* 23 Things didn't smell, but ponged, niffed or hummed. **

-- and "niffy" 'stinky, malodorous' (which is the one I'd read) to the same
epoch:

*a1903* *Eng. Dial. Dict.* (1903) IV. 267/2 [Sussex] *Niffy* [odorous].

m a m


On 9/6/07, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
> Latest OED online has this British v. as "to sniff" from 1952. Here's one
> considerably earlier:
>
> 1930 C. R. Benstead _Retreat_ (N.Y.: Century) 124 [ref. to 1918]: Like
> an ol' bull when e' [sic] niffs a bit o' cow.
>
> JL
>
>
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