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Word of the Year - "Truthiness"
KingSkippus writes "Stephen Colbert calls it 'truth that comes from the gut, not books.' Merriam-Webster calls it their 2006 Word of the Year. The word, first introduced [Windows media] on 'The Word' segment of The Colbert Report, won by a five-to-one margin. In spite of Colbert's ironic dismissal of dictionaries and other reference books, will Colbert's coined word actually be added to those books? With media outlets like CNN and MSNBC covering it, the idea may very well have truthiness."
Ironic that the post here misuses the word...
'truth that comes from the gut, not books.' We've already got a word for that -- it's called instinct. And it's often not related to genuine truth at all.
As in, "I'm the decider".
I applaude the truthitude shown by this article.
D
The first, last, and only tech news site on the net
I don't have any facts to back this up, but this just feels like the right decision.
Shop as usual. And avoid panic buying.
In spite of Colbert's ironic dismissal of dictionaries and other reference books, will Colbert's coined word actually be added to those books?
He doesn't just dismiss them. He views them as a direct threat to the only *true* primary souce, one's own gut instinct.
Push Button, Receive Bacon
Colbert might be "funny ha ha" but he is NOT a journalist and makes NO serious commentary on politics or society. His words are no more pithier than a Beavis and Butthead skit. IN fact I would have to say that Beavis' "I am the great cornhoilio! I need tee pee for my bunghole! Are you threatening me?" are words far deeper than ANYTHING Colbert has ever said.
I used to think Colbert was kind of cute in the way that he parodied the lefty view of Republicans. But now that they've taken him to be a serious journalist, I find both he and the liberals completely sad. Thankfully, in another four years, Bush will have proven that he is capable because Iraq will have proven out to be a success, the right will have the Whitehouse for another four years, the Democrats will have lost whatever power they gained in the last elections, and the Ownership Society will have proven out as well ensuring more Republican wins for generations to come. Ideally, I think the time has come to end the two party system and make the Democratic party illegal for the protection of future generations.
I foresee a day when the Democratic party is finally viewed as it should have always been: equivalent to the Nazi party (they were socialists too) or the Communist party. There was once a time when the Communist party was also just as serious in this great land as the Democrats are. Thankfully, we took care of that in the 50s and we'll do the same to the Democrats today. In the marketplace of ideas of the political arena, the only parties that should be allowed to compete are the ones worthy of serious consideration: Republicans and Libertarians. Maybe the Contitution party as well. The ones that should be eliminated are the ones that claim to want to help the poor or the "underdogs". America has no room for people who won't take it on themselves to work hard and succeed.
Is that a word? dictionary.com says no I say yes.
The big names in news MSNBC, CNN, FoxNews, they all know it's true, in fact some of them have a sort of obsession with Colbert and Stewart. They are fun. They are reporting many of the same stories, just not doing it like they're having a root canal done at the same time. And they're not afraid to poke fun at everyone, including themselves. It's very refreshing. THAT is why they have this kind of clout. They are respected.
In my opinion, Merriam-Webster needs to stick to actual words. But nonetheless, congratulations to Mr. Colbert on using his sarcastic and idiotic (but sometimes funny) show and his position in pop culture to misinform the masses like no government ever could. I hate to be the turd in the liberal punchbowl, but I hate both Stewart and Colbert with a passion for the above reason. They corrupt today's youth by giving them the impression that it's okay to take nothing seriously, even if it's a matter of national security. Oh, the things people will do to make a buck. But nonetheless, it (truthiness) is both an interesting and redundant word (Instinct works fine, and it's shorter.) :/ I've never come across it in my daily life, short of when I decide to tune in to their God-awful liberal lovefests.
P.S. Let's petition Merriam-Webster to add more words. I can't seem to find "burninate" or "pwn" in their dictionary.
P.P.S. I'm posting anonymously simply because people with differing opinions seem to be a rare and hunted-to-extinction breed nowadays.
What would have Turing to say about this...
I laughed the second through fifth times. It was a good gag.
Now we're up to the 703rd time. I think it's time for "truthiness" to make a graceful exit from the world.
Well, this makes things much easier for me. If it hadn't been the word of the year, my gut would have told me it was anyway.
About a week ago the tag for articles suspected to be hoaxes read, "The truthiness of this article has been questioned." I would have brought it up, but I couldn't figure out where to do so. It's since been fixed.
...has been following this already, and they have some excellent commentary on the matter
The Colbert Nation and like-minded crusaders for all that is truthy won this one on their own
The word, first introduced [Windows media]...
Try:
The word, first introduced...
"I'm feeling truthsome": Malcolm Reynolds to Inara.
Despite my unending devotion to Mr. Colbert, I must point out that he did not invent the word truthiness. He, like Microsoft did with their use of the word Genuine, gave it a new meaning.
Colbert should copyright it, wait until everyone is using it, and then sue any politicians he doesn't like for rights infringement! :)
then the media and politicians will have to stop using it.
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
Is as the word gains common acceptance it will be used in a positive (i.e. non pejorative) sense. When Steve coined truthiness he was of course taking the piss out of the cavalier attitude most in government (esp Republicans) have towards truth.
Just watch, in twenty years people will critisize truths as not being truthy enough. Steven C. will kill himself on live TV in shame...
Truth is truth, no matter where it comes from, and it has no 'degrees' other than 100% (or 0%, I suppose), so there's no 'ness' about it, since that implies an entire range.
Max.
amen fo' shure
Gekido's Lair
Even before I clicked on the comments to this post, I knew that there would be at least one (1) Right-Wing Nutjob comparing the Democratic Party to the Nazi Party, effectively rendering this entire thread Godwinised. Being right all the time is such a burden.
So I guess the question is... how many dictionaries will be impacted by truthiness (and what will the resultant dental bill be)?
I'm not American, but this story reinforces an impression of Americans that I have not been able to shake off. Namely, that there is absolutely no love of the English language among the majority of it's native speakers.
Language is always changing and dynamic, but Americans coin new words simply because they can't be bothered to pick up a dictionary and find a suitable one that already exists. American's love to think they are direct and to the point in the way they communicate (and they are in many ways), but they are also masters of obfuscation. Who else has given us words like collateral damage and downsizing? Call a spade a spade if you ask me, these are dishonest words designed to mitigate the more direct meaning of other perfectly suitable words. A commercial is a commercial but it doesn't sound quite so bad if you can call it an infomercial does it?
When it comes to coining new words and phrases, the technology sector is the worst culprit. The list is endless (and ugly): blogs, blogging, blogosphere, podcast, plogs, folksonomy, captology, thin-slicing. Yes, there's something to be said for words that form a professional vocabulary as part of a profession, but this certainly isn't it.
Are these words conjured up in the spirit of genuine invention or discovery? Or are they created more in the hope (expectation?) that they'll have a better chance of stimulating discussion if they appear to convey something new and original (even when they don't)?
but wasn't the concept of "truthiness" introduced last year?
they say it is often more relevant then the comment above, all we know is its called the Sig!
...before commenting in an ignorant fashion. Since you don't watch the Colbert Report (a show whose very title is pronounced ironically), you probably won't get the irony of a word like 'truthiness'. Slang has always been a hugely important part of English, and the new slang isn't any better or worse than the slang you learned when you (ostensibly) learned the language. I actually find British slang to be more bizarre and faddish than the American sort, even that which comes from rap music / American black culture.
Truthiness dates from 1824 or earlier:
v es/002586.html)
OED: "1824 J. J. GURNEY in Braithwaite Mem. (1854) I. 242 Everyone who knows her is aware of her truthiness."
(http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archi
Not that Colbert and his writers don't deserve credit for this excellent word - I was one of the 5 to 1 who voted for it.
At least it's not as insulting to the English language as "normalcy". I don't understand how this word can have a meaning other than the one carried by "truth", being the root of the word. It sounds like something girls on IM use to make themselves sound cute.
Gut instinct. Yeah right.
What that means is "Truthiness is what agrees with my basic prejudices".
Bitter and proud of it.
How the hell did the GP make it to +5 Insightful?
And if the "truthiness" of the situation doesn't make you like the word "truthiness", then I suggest "drismal" (which describes the weather here a lot of the time - a portmanteau word of "dreich" and "dismal"
"She's furniture with a pulse"
The word is "prejudice".
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
"Fo Sho" lost its appeal circa 2000 with the release of Snoop Dogg's The Last Meal but the term was not universally disposed as a term of affirmation until the release of Jay-Z's The Blueprint circa 2001 due to the popularity of the single Izzo(H.O.V.A) which borrowed heavily from Snoop Dogg's supposed "Crip Colloquialism". In actuality the proper terminology to express agreement with another party would be "Fo Shizzle" which is not "Crip Colloquialism" but a form of expression first invented by an often forgotten Funk band known as Gap Band
;-)
What are they teaching people in school these days?
I think the invisible hand of the market has its middle finger extended
--A wise old fart named SC0RN
You need to look up the definition. Or at least watch the FV that I linked to.
Colbert says:
The fact that the "wordinistas" over at Websters have made "Truthiness" their 2006 Word of the Year is about as ironic as it gets.
Even if you don't watch the FV that I linked to, my own submission says:
sigh I hate explaining basic things such as what irony is, but since you didn't get it, allow me to direct you to one of those noisome reference books, Webster's online dictionary. Please pay particular notice to definition 3a: "incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result."
It is possible (i.e. the "actual result of a sequence of events" is) that Colbert's word "truthiness" may eventually end up in one or more dictionaries. Colbert's satire (do I have to explain what that is, too?) dismisses books such as dictionaries precisely because they don't include words like "truthiness" (i.e. "the normal or expected result").
Feel free to point out exactly why you don't think that's ironic. Surely you don't think that conspicuous sarcasm is the only type of irony that exists?
If anyone who actually has a brain wants to mod the parent down and undo to the work of your unfortunate Slashdot peers who had mod points but no clue, it would probably be worthwhile. Meanwhile, I find your comment a little ironic as well. And in case you missed that, too, it's because you're using a definition of irony that must obviously be derived from "truthiness" (i.e. the actual result) instead of the real definition of the word (i.e. the expected result) in your comment. Are you starting to understand?
Minitrue ref CNN MSNBC truthiness undoubleplusgood.Suspect Goldstein inspired.
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
In law its often used in swearing in. "do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"
And of course the proceedings that follow based on this is the use of thruth in a manner of "A point" this of "A point" that which often results in a distortion of what is real and honest.
The word truth has been so distorted and manipulated that someone finally challenged it...
The Honesty oath is now law of the land
http://www.neo-tech.com/irs-class-action/oath.htm
"Truthiness" is nothing more then further proof of the lessor and lessinging value of the word "truth" over "honesty."
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Falsitude
Nullity?
I can tell that lattyware wouldn't last 2 sentences from Jabberwocky (Carroll). Go get em big guy!
As Douglas Adams tells us, once you know what it is you want to be true, instinct is a very useful device for enabling you to know that it is.
Word.
n/t
Keith Olbermann is a recently-added anchor to the MSNBC crew. Certain segments seem inspired by The Daily Show, even if Countdown with Keith Olbermann is normally straight news. An example: when Jennifer Wilbanks started making headlines again, they cut to a picture of her and, as Keith claimed something along the lines of "She now makes money by mowing lawns... WITH HER EYES," added laser beams shooting out of her eyes (including suitable sound effects) to her photograph; Keith then said something along the lines of "Okay, that last part I made up."
More notably, in the Top 3 Soundbites featured on Countdown, both Colbert and Stewart have had multiple appearances.
Television news is entertainment. Colbert and Stewart are showmen, so they're better at it than the straight-laced anchors.
Sigs are like bumper stickers.
Absolute communicable truth (not to be confused with recitation of facts) is an ideal, and as such unattainable (check the philosophy section of your bookstore). Of course, the very (re)emergence of "truthiness" suggests that in some cultures/contexts this is a really useful loophole which allows an alternative gut-level relationship to be utilised (rather conveniently) for good or ill. In the old days, when it was "on-side", this was referred to as wisdom; now it's more likely to be spin.
My favourite candidate for word of the year would be "moasting" - a combination of moaning and boasting which is all the rage at social events or workplace interactions here in the UK. Alas, as a new portmanteau word, it hasn't made it into the dictionary yet.
--As if French or English, or any language in the world for that matter, sprang into being fully conceived, or worse, that the current state of a given language is by some holy decree, its final, perfect form. That's just Ego and Fear talking.
But honestly, the word 'Truthiness' is not one I'll ever find myself using in earnest, because it was invented through a sense of irony to make fun of Brain-dead Texans with Too Much Power.
It's not a word. It's a joke. And a bitter one, at that.
But if it somehow, (*cough* through ignorance *cough*), it does become a well-used word without any sense of irony attached, then so be it. But honestly, the word doesn't roll off the tongue or really describe something desperate for description enough to affect the public popular lexicon any time soon, IMHO.
Now, can we talk about something else? This whole non-issue reminds me of the banal stupidity of the whole Political Correctness thing; that is, it's too retarded for words and should be stamped out immediately so that it doesn't piss everybody off and waste enormous amounts of time and energy.
-FL
Cabazorros statements exceeding truthiness:
"Women don't want power, they want love"
"Global Warming is real and permeates through each and every thing in life found vexing"
"RIAA is pure evil"
"Apple knows my needs and desires and sells them to me at the right price"
"C++ and pointer operations are babel's tower of software development"
"Broadband is essential and priced right"
and so on..
- these are not the droids you are looking for -
Uh, that was a sarcastic comment.
"Truth! Truth! Truth!" crieth the lord of the abyss of hallucinations.
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
... "that which one holds to be true regardless of what is supported by fact." colbertnation.com
Most slashdotters probably don't know what pussy is. And no the poster doesn't mean getting a pussy at an animal shelter.
I couldn't agree more. I'd accomplish nothing but embarassing myself if I seriously tried to use the word. I really don't see how this became a story, sounds like something of a publicity stunt or maybe just some media stupidity (remember the Valley talk books?).
Quack, quack.
This is so bizarre. An online poll gets rigged and suddenly it's a news story on slashdot? I wonder who does the marketing for Mr. Colbert. They are good. This is even better than the time he insults Bush to his face, getting tremendous recognition and publicity, and it's spun on slashdot as "taking a huge risk". Given the number of Stephen Colbert stories that sneak onto slashdot, one wonders if they're part of some monstrous Colbert-benefiting astroturf campaign.
Why would we need another word for 'falsiness' ?
That's how language evolves, people coin new terms to describe new things. Truthiness simply describes a state of affairs that we didn't think we needed a specific word for before.
I mean "Television" as a word didn't exist in 1850, does that mean it's not a word because it (the word) was only invented (relatively) recently? Of if you think that the Latin and Greek roots of Television give it some gravitas (Tele = Far, Vision = well, Vision) then what about "Jukebox"? or perhaps "Puck" as in Ice Hockey?
Is this one of those lateral thinking competitions? Well if you have at least one follicle then you're 0% bald (since you're not bald), but after that final little pluck - bang - 100% baldness.
I wouldn't do it myself, Immac or a razor would be better.
"Seriously if you can understand it, it works. Grammar Nazis, you can all burn forever in Hell. We can blame Dr Samuel Johnson for introducing language fascism, which remains utterly unnecessary to humanity."
:-)
Sometimes Grammar is REQUIRED for understanding. What about this as a written command?
"Loose that nut"
"Lose that nut"
I know that grammatically it would be "Loosen that nut", (future tense imperative) but if you're advocating a free-for-all, then I will take liberties in my examples and use adjectives as verbs
...is the english Private Eye
Flatulence also comes from the gut, so ... truthiness is like flatulence? They both stink.
Is there something wrong with the word "veracity"?
though this time I think Colbert took that word from a Kraft commercial.
They are hard-wired and do not require our being aware of them. Instincts may lead us to the occasional irrational thought or behavior, but overall they tend to benefit us as far as survival and reproduction. Total rationality is not a natural by-product of evolution, and thus we have truthiness.
The US government was so aghast at Saddam's gassing of the Kurds that Donald Rumsfeld flew to Iraq to shake his hand, open diplomatic relations, and increase the amount of money we were giving him. Yes, years and years later the neocons decided they didn't want him in office, but at the time of his worst atrocities he was all cuddly with a Republican White House. Current rationalizations for war aside, I'm tired of Americans pretending as if we were minding our own business and there was a bad man out there that we finally decided to bring to justice. I'm not saying he shouldn't be brought "to justice," but we're having very selective amnesia about who shook his hand and did business with him. Yes, it should be discussed on the news when they're talking about Rumsfeld's legacy--I'd love to see them show that clip and ask if he regretted doing business with such a madman after he gassed the Kurds. That would be "fair and balanced."
Truthiness sounds a lot like truthfulness. One is a word, and one is wrong, and thats the truth.
"Americans coin new words simply because they can't be bothered to pick up a dictionary and find a suitable one that already exists"
Well I'm not an American either, since I hale from the UK, but I feel duty bound to disagree with this statement simply because it picks in the US, when any number of English speaking cultures including the English themselves are guilty of the same thing. As has been stated many times during this thread, language is dynamic and the mixing of cultural influences in the US will inevitably produce new and sometimes downright weird linguistic innovation.
"Or are they created more in the hope (expectation?) that they'll have a better chance of stimulating discussion if they appear to convey something new and original (even when they don't)?"
There is some truth in the above, but I still feel that it's not a bigt problem. Words will quickly fall out of common usage if they offer nothing fresh.
The bottom line is that English as spoken in the UK is also the bastard child of a myriad of cultures, gathering influences from Old Norse, Old Frisian, Old Saxon, but more recently incorporating phrases and concepts from the old colonies and recent immigrants. I imagine that this later category closely mirrors the kind of influences that operate in the US today. In fact the US is now the dominant source of "English" speaking culture and is increasingly becoming the arbiter of linguistic taste. I'm constantly reminded of this by the "MTV English" spoken by people on the European mainland.
Sometimes I hear phrase coined in the US that grate somewhat, however I'm aware that there are two sides to every coin.
Afterall language is the original opensource project is it not?
http://bymyreckoning.com/index.php/2006/12/11/opeThe American Dialect Society wants its Word of the Year 2005 back.
verisimilitude (vErIsI"mIlItju:d). Also 89 veri-similitude.
[a. obs. F. verisimilitude (1549), or ad. L. ver_ similitudo, verisimilitudo, f. ver_ similis, verisimilis, f. ver_, gen. of verum truth, and similis like. Cf. Sp. verisimilitud, Pg. verisimilitude, It. verisimilitudine.]
1. The fact or quality of being verisimilar; the appearance of being true or real; likeness or resemblance to truth, reality, or fact; probability.
In very frequent use from c 1850.
"Truthiness" however, is much more glib and poorly defined. Also, it's shiny and trendy. Therefore, a much better word in the context in which it's used.
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, it doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick
. . . this is where your argument falls flat on it's face . . . into a pile of manure . . . which comes directly from the ass end of the republican and democratic parties. Get back to me when your "real" news has anywhere near the intelligence, insight or even just plain journalistic integrity that The Daily Show and The Onion have.
I'm not the original poster, but how about we get the ball rolling. CNN, Fox News, etc are already more informative than these joke sites. They don't have to be intelligent, insightful, or even honest to be that.Okay, here in the real world, terrorism is such a paltry weak threat as to be laughable. More people die because they can't afford healthcare each year than were killed in the 9/11 attack. You want security and safety? You could get a national healthcare system for half the price of the Iraq war and make Americans vastly safer.
Alternatively, you could grow some balls, stop crying like a pathetic baby, and realize that you live in one of the safest nations on Earth, despite Bush's best attempts to rile up terrorists against you and the DHS's insistence on spending all of its time harassing small businesses and American patriots that happen to be slightly too brown for their own good.
And before you criticize people for not tolerating different opinions, consider for a moment that you are posting about how much you hate Colbert, Stewart, all liberals, not to mention anyone who isn't terrified every single moment of every single day, anyone who still manages to laugh at the fact that politicians are invariably drawn from amongst the very shittiest human beings on the entire planet. It's not like they're giving away national secrets -- they're laughing at the fact you're so fucking stupid that you voted for a man who can't read above the 2nd grade level and is so goddam retarded that he doesn't know how that expression about being fooled twice goes.
The whole world is laughing at America, at its stupidity, at its abject cowardice, at its irrationality. Colbert and Stewart are trying to help you see the joke so that you can do better next time.
People who are even remotely clued in to what's going on in American politics (by which I mean people who aren't stupid enough to have sworn their loyalty to either of the bands of crooks) can't help but admire what they're doing. And Slashdot has an unusually high concentration of people with the insight to see how big media is destroying whatever was positive about Democracy -- people who get that CNN and Fox News are handing America over to Fascism as surely as if they'd put the Blackshirts into power personally.
Is it really any wonder that almost everyone here loves Colbert and what he's doing?