# And the American Dialect Society "Outrageous Word of the Year" is... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 19, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-american-dialect-society-outrageous-word-of-the-year-is/285604 "2005-01-19T20:01:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guy\_Incognito\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@Guy\_Incognito\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Incognito_1)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-american-dialect-society-outrageous-word-of-the-year-is/285604/1 "2005-01-19T20:01:00Z")
[…santorum](http://www.americandialect.org/2004_WOTY_Final_Vote_.pdf) (warning: PDF) 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 ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-american-dialect-society-outrageous-word-of-the-year-is/285604/2 "2005-01-19T20:07:32Z")
> [@Guy\_Incognito](#): > > **ass-hat** : noun, a thoughtless or stupid person Our plan worked! It has made it out to the general population. What word or phrase do you suppose should be next? ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Incognito\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@Guy\_Incognito\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Incognito_1)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-american-dialect-society-outrageous-word-of-the-year-is/285604/3 "2005-01-19T20:11:40Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > Our plan worked! It has made it out to the general population. What word or phrase do you suppose should be next? Definitely **cow-orker**. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-american-dialect-society-outrageous-word-of-the-year-is/285604/4 "2005-01-19T20:53:19Z")
Hey! I have a **lawn mullet**! I’ve never heard that term, but it certainly fits and I shall adopt it right this minute. I’m not lazy, I’m growing a lawn mullet. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-american-dialect-society-outrageous-word-of-the-year-is/285604/5 "2005-01-19T21:15:02Z")
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](http://www.thestranger.com/2003-06-12/savage.html) column (last item), in honor of [Sen. Rick Santorum](http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/04/22/santorum.gays/). ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-american-dialect-society-outrageous-word-of-the-year-is/285604/6 "2005-01-20T00:07:08Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > 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](http://www.thestranger.com/2003-06-12/savage.html) column (last item), in honor of [Sen. Rick Santorum](http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/04/22/santorum.gays/). 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!”) Also: > [@Guy\_Incognito](#): > > hilarious-nymous This word is amazigly fun to say out loud. ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Incognito\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@Guy\_Incognito\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Incognito_1)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-american-dialect-society-outrageous-word-of-the-year-is/285604/7 "2005-01-20T01:56:44Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > 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](http://www.thestranger.com/2003-06-12/savage.html) column (last item), in honor of [Sen. Rick Santorum](http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/04/22/santorum.gays/). If you haven’t already, you really should go to the website that perpetually stirs the froth: [www.spreadingsantorum.com](http://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. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-american-dialect-society-outrageous-word-of-the-year-is/285604/8 "2005-01-20T03:21:00Z")
I don’t know how long this has been true, but santorum is the number one hit when you look for [Santorum](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=santorum) on Google! ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-american-dialect-society-outrageous-word-of-the-year-is/285604/9 "2005-01-20T03:44:42Z")
If santorum is the word of the year, then I’m gonna personally push for “duckbutter” next year, since that involves another orifice. ---
**Author:** ![Alonzo\_John\_Blitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@Alonzo\_John\_Blitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alonzo_John_Blitz)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-american-dialect-society-outrageous-word-of-the-year-is/285604/10 "2005-01-20T04:19:05Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-american-dialect-society-outrageous-word-of-the-year-is/285604/11 "2005-01-20T04:32:04Z")
Well then… Duckbutter is a precursor to fuckpuddle - 1, since it hasn’t dripped or oozed out of the orifice just yet.