Yes, for those of you who haven’t heard, the eponymous, synonymous, hilarious-nymous (?) “santorum,” - “that frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex” - has moved one step closer to permanently cementing itself into the American-English lexicon, having been chosen by the American Dialect Society as the “Outrageous Word of the Year.”
The Overall Word of the Year? Blue-State, Red-State, Purple-State, etc.
Other fun words:
cliterati: (collective noun) prominent feminists or woman-oriented writers or opinion-leaders
ass-hat: noun, a thoughtless or stupid person
torture lite: noun phrase, torture short of bodily harm
pajamahadeen: n., bloggers who challenge and fact-check traditional media
hillbilly armor: n., scavenged materials used by soldiers for improvised bullet-proofing and vehicle hardening, esp. in Iraq
lawn mullet: n., a yard neatly mowed in front but unmowed in the back
I was about to ask about the etymology of “santorum,” since that’s not exactly the meaning I would have guessed on first hearing the word. But a little googling revealed its origin in a Savage Love column (last item), in honor of Sen. Rick Santorum.
I remember reading the article in which he announced that contest. I’m very proud - nay, smug - at having been at the forefront of this linguistic milestone. Someday, I’m going to tell my grandchildren about it. (“C’mere, kids. Let grandad tell you about the frothy byproduct of anal sex!”)
If you haven’t already, you really should go to the website that perpetually stirs the froth: www.spreadingsantorum.com It’s the site Savage set up, and it has the original story, plus a blog and a newstracker through which users can keep tabs on usage.
Savage once ran a contest offering - I think - a trip for two to Vegas for anyone who could get Senator Santorum to comment on the record about the word. The Senator never did, of course, but I imagine his staff had a good time handling the calls… Hilarious.
At the risk of censure for submitting my own neologism (if a compound word can be defined as such), I recommend:
fuckpuddle - 1. n: The soupy mess of bodily fluids resulting from the energetic sexual activity of two or more persons. 2. n: A shallow, muddy hole in the ground used for the energetic sexual activity of two or more persons.