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Word of the Year - "Truthiness"

Posted by Zonk on from the oh-that-loveable-rascal dept.

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."

8 of 254 comments (clear)

  1. This proves what is already known. by PixieDust · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Colbert, Stewart, and a lot of other charismatic, fun, but still strangely accurate, are taking over media. Sure, it's "Fake News" but the vast majority of their stuff is based on fact, much of it is taken out of context, and anyone with half a brain can take the inaccuracies out, and keep the truthiness.

    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.

    1. Re:This proves what is already known. by Tom · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I get a large majority of my news from Stewart, The Onion, and Colbert. Mostly because it's better written and better delivered than the other news sources. If "real" news could write as clearly, intelligently, and insightfully as these sources I might pay attention to it.

      Mod parent up. :-)

      I get almost all my news from (german site) Schandmännchen - a german satire news site that is very well written and brings you the ugly truth. When everyone knows that our politicians are just trying to pretend they are important and can do things, Schandmännchen writes it. One of their favoured comment about politicians is "quick, make something illegal!".

      I find myself as well if not better informed about what's going on than my friends. Funny. Or, as the site once wrote "some days we wonder why we're doing satire at all" (reality is stranger sometimes)

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  2. Truthiness already made it to Wikipedia by Eideewt · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.

  3. I preferred the word from Firefly by Beryllium+Sphere(tm) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "I'm feeling truthsome": Malcolm Reynolds to Inara.

  4. Not a new word by verloren · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Truthiness dates from 1824 or earlier:

    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/archiv es/002586.html)

    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.

  5. Re:'truth that comes from the gut, not books.' by roystgnr · · Score: 3, Interesting

    'truth that comes from the gut, not books.' We've already got a word for that -- it's called instinct.

    Instinct and truthiness are not quite the same. Instinct refers to general inborn behaviors and motivations; truthiness applies to specific propositions and can be learned. They're often related, though. "When in danger rally behind the alpha male" and "I should trust what my parents teach me" are instinct; "Bush did a great job after 9/11" and "I know the Church is true" are truthiness.

    And it's often not related to genuine truth at all.

    Are you sure? How could Stephen Colbert steer me wrong?! But now that I think about it, I once heard a rumor that Colbert wasn't even a right winger; could you check up on that one for me too?

  6. Dare to be True? by PeterAitch · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.

  7. Merriam-Webster got played by khallow · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.