OUP (UK) WOTY: credit crunch

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Sun, Oct 5, 2008 at 1:06 PM, Benjamin Zimmer
<bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
>
> Some more "terminology of the bailout crisis" here (with a bonus
> reference to the "American Dialectic Society"):
>
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-randel/terminology-of-the-bailou_b_132005.html

Of these, I'd say "toxic" (debt/derivatives/assets) is the strongest
WOTY contender. But an up-and-coming bailout buzzword not  mentioned
by Randel is "TARP" (Troubled Assets Relief Program). It's already
been verbed...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/30/analysis-with-bailout-mcc_n_130482.html?page=5
"We wage slaves down here at the bottom of the pyramid scheme are
about to get TARPed up the wa-zoo."

Verbing predicted by blogger Dwight Johnston on Sep. 28:

http://dwightjohnston.wordpress.com/2008/09/28/installment-plan/
"The plan is now officially called the Troubled Asset Relief Program,
TARP.  You will be hearing that acronym much more than you would ever
want.  It's likely to be a new noun or verb soon, i.e., Citibank got
TARPed or the TARP is leaking."


--Ben Zimmer

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