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back to article 'Google' crowned word of the decade

The American Dialect Society has crowned the verb "google" as its Word of the Decade, while honouring "tweet" as its 2009 Word of the Year. Mercifully, the "linguists, lexicographers, etymologists, grammarians, historians, researchers, writers, authors, editors, professors, university students and independent scholars" who …

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  1. Jimmy Floyd
    Thumb Up

    'Sea kitten' does have uses

    For a start, you can listen out for users of the phrase "sea kitten" and spot a raving vegeloon at 20 paces. Genius.

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    1. Rosco
      Reply Icon

      Seems quite clever to me

      It seems like an uncharacteristically clever campaign from PETA. Neatly points out that plenty of people wouldn't eat a kitten but would happily eat a fish or other non-cuddly animal.

      Puts me in mind of the hilarious situation during the last world cup when several prominent football pundits expressed outrage at the cruelty of eating dogs, oblivious to the double standards of going home to tuck into a cow or a pig.

      Disclaimer: my policy is "eat what the hell you want but have a think about it"

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      1. Rattus Rattus
        Reply Icon

        "spot a raving vegeloon at 20 paces"

        Doesn't always work - I use the phrase "sea kitten" because I find it hilarious.

        Although, I'd probably also eat an actual kitten. If it was shaved.

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      2. heyrick Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Minor fail...

        Okay, put a (real) kitten and a sea kitten in the same place and see who eats who...

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As a language fascist...

    ...I'm just dying to comment on this article, but I'm still shuddering too much to do so.

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  3. Simon B
    Welcome

    text beats google any day

    More people TEXT than GOOGLE ... don't they?

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  4. lglethal Silver badge
    Troll

    your joking...

    PETA really called fish "Sea Kittens"? hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaa!

    God im tempted to send PETA €5 just so they can keep coming up with stupid stuff like that to make me laugh...

    ... but i've just remembered how annoying they are the rest of the time, so i think i'll keep my cash in my pocket...

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    sea kitten?

    How on earth could you play with one of them? The ball of string would get all wet, and they don't purr when you stroke them. The only possible way to treat sea kittens is the way my wife did a few moments ago. Beurre blanc sauce, very tasty. Me? I just had a tasty chunk of grilled dead cow, nice and pink and bloody in the middle, it was. Oh, and we brutally carved up a few Maris Pipers and fried them on the side. People Eating Tasty Animals, that's us :)

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    1. Oninoshiko
      Reply Icon
      Boffin

      True

      True, but if you put them in a tank, they will follow around a laser pointer. (don't ask)

      although how do they get to the litter box?

      ^

      |

      +-- remember to use protective goggles when using lasers!

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  6. Steve Sutton
    Troll

    Sums it up really

    That "google" is itself a misspelt word (was meant to be "googol" as I'm sure most of us know), and has been chosen by the Americans as 'Word of the Decade' is a source of mild amusement to me.

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    @AC 13:22

    I'm not sure Maris Pipers are an animal.

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    1. Neil T
      Reply Icon
      Joke

      Regnumist!

      Potatoes have feelings too! Take your regnum-superiority bigotry somewhere else!

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    2. Nebulo
      Reply Icon

      But ...

      there may have been some small ones inside them ...

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  8. George Nacht
    Stop

    Language indeed changes...

    ...but concept of friendship does not, Mr.Zimmer! At least not around here and not on my watch!

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  9. ian 22
    Linux

    Sea kittens?

    Do mature into catfish?

    Penguins eat sea kittens!

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  10. heyrick Silver badge
    FAIL

    Dopey words

    OMG, can you imagine the infant school playground in another decade?

    Sarah: Give me my ball back or I'll UNfriend you!

    <shudder>

    Oh, and of the other contenders for the Word of the Decade, one isn't even a word ("9/11") and one is an abbreviated two word phrase ("Wi-Fi"). In other words, I take this with a massive pinch of salt if the people who pick the word of the decade don't even know what a word is!

    That FAIL! is the best interjection... I think that says a lot about the last decade, doesn't it? I have chosen the Fail icon in honour of its accolade.

    [I wonder if El Reg has any automated goodies to scan the postings and see what the most popular icon is? I have a suspicion...]

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  11. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

    Re: Dopey words

    Automated deelies to find most popular icons? No. We don't care. Bye!

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  12. David Cantrell

    Eating kittens

    Surely people don't eat kittens because there's not much point. There's fuck-all meat on a kitten.

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    1. Rattus Rattus
      Reply Icon

      That's why you use an entire litter at a time

      ...on a skewer.

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    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Eating kittens by David Cantrell

      There is if you force feed them tuna fand make them carry weights for a few months.

      Paris and tuna, Just sayin.

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  13. elderlybloke
    Linux

    Barney Google

    was a song about five or six decades ago, that went on about Barney Google with the great big gookey eyes.

    I should have trademarked that word.

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  14. Sceptical Bastard
    Happy

    @ Rattus Rattus

    Fucking brilliant, Rattus - made me spit my coffee out :)

    Word of the decade? What about 'jjihad'? Or 'islamist'? Or 'Al Quaeda'? Or 'tsunami'? Or (in Britain at least) 'Maddy'?

    Or how about 'fat egregious know-all fucker on twitter' - spelled F-R-Y

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