Harpring Officially in the Dictionary

And no, not under "plays hard."

Merriam-Webster's word of '07: 'w00t'

By STEPHANIE REITZ, Associated Press Writer
22 minutes ago



SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Expect cheers among hardcore online game enthusiasts when they learn Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year. Or, more accurately, expect them to "w00t."

"W00t," a hybrid of letters and numbers used by gamers as an exclamation of happiness or triumph, topped all other terms in the Springfield-based dictionary publisher's online poll for the word that best sums up 2007.

Merriam-Webster's president, John Morse, said "w00t" was an ideal choice because it blends whimsy and new technology.

"It shows a really interesting thing that's going on in language. It's a term that's arrived only because we're now communicating electronically with each other," Morse said.

Gamers commonly substitute numbers and symbols for the letters they resemble, Morse says, creating what they call "l33t speak" — that's "leet" when spoken, short for "elite" to the rest of the world.

For technophobes, the word also is familiar from the 1990 movie "Pretty Woman," in which Julia Roberts startles her date's upper-crust friends with a hearty "Woot, woot, woot!" at a polo match.

Purists of "l33t speak" often substitute a "7" for the final "t," expressing a "w007" of victory — an "in your face" of sorts — when they defeat an online gaming opponent.

"W00t" was among 20 nominees in a list of the most-searched words in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary and most frequently submitted terms from users of its "open dictionary."

The choice did not make Allan Metcalf, executive secretary of the American Dialect Society, say "w00t."

"It's amusing, but it's limited to a small community and unlikely to spread and unlikely to last," said Metcalf, an English professor at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill.

The 2006 pick, "truthiness," also has its roots in pop culture. It was popularized by Comedy Central satirical political commentator Stephen Colbert.

Some also-rans in the 2007 list: the use of "facebook" as a verb to signify using the Web site by that name; nuanced terms such as "quixotic," "hypocrite" and "conundrum"; and "blamestorm," a meeting in which mistakes are aired, fingers are pointed and much discomfort is had by all.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071211/ap_on_fe_st/word_of_the_year;_ylt=ApIWYrzlG1cZQYRX9.hvfBqhOrgF

The Death of Harpring Sucks? Not on my watch!

Now that our main, possibly only, contributor has left to chase his star, many have wondered what is to become of "Harpring Sucks". That is a good question. The answer is "I don't know". There is a very good chance that it will hang on, gasping for air, and then die. Much like Mehmet Okur's defense. There is a chance that it will pick up, have some stellar activity, and then die while choking on its own vomit. Much like I feel when watching Gor-DAWN get called for his stutter-step travel. The most likely answer is that it will have one last glorious post and then it's vaya con Dios.

This won't be that last glorious post.

I cannot match SirKickYoko's output, nor his volume, but I will try to at least stand in his shadow and post on a random basis.

I will praise those who deserve it, but mostly I will poke fun at those who need it.

Jazzbots writers, you are safe. Poking fun at you means I would actually have to read your blog, and quite frankly, there isn't enough heroin in the world to numb that pain.

Random references to 80's sitcoms will likely not happen. Movie references will be frequent, but all you Kathy Bates fans can go somewhere else because the quota of hot tub pictures on this blog has been filled. Instead, I will give you the person who ate The Ghost Whisperer:

She is right. Size 2 is not fat. Size 2nd helping, however, is.

I was watching football games on Sunday and came across the Cardinals/Browns game. As I sat watching to see if Kellen Winslow, Jr. found an empty spot on his arm to tattoo, I heard something that made my spine curl. Craig Bolerjack was doing the play by play for the game. Luckily for him, CBS was kind enough to pair him with Dan Dierdorf, the NFL equivalent of Ron Boone, only with more spit. I kept waiting and hoping for a Bolerjackulation. "Dan, Kurt Warner has completed 10 passes for 97 yards. That's a double double!" or "Phil Dawson lines it up for a 45 yard kick....it's up...MONEY SHOT!" But sadly, Boler let me down. Although I do think I heard Dierdorf once slobber "Yes, yes it is".

Anyway, SirCarusoAss has left the building and I will try to become the new Andy Sipowicz that helps carry the show. I just hope I don't have to resort to showing my fat ass. Like the Ghost Whisperer did.