# ZMFG! Teh 1337zors are taking over! "w00t" named Word of the Year **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 12, 2007, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725 "2007-12-12T10:43:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/1 "2007-12-12T10:43:52Z")
[“woot” crowned word of year](http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071212/wr_nm/usa_language_dc;_ylt=AgOYbyVHpW3r39qm9oMK8YcjtBAF) Merriam-Webster, Inc. on Tuesday declared “w00t,” an expression of joy coined by online gamers, as its word of the year for 2007. It was chosen by visitors to its website from 20 of the most frequently looked-up words on the site. Runner-up was “facebook,” which means to look up people on [facebook.com](http://facebook.com) or to add friends to one’s list. ph33r teh 1337!!!1!111 ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/2 "2007-12-12T10:48:25Z")
I must say I quite like “woot”. Not that I can ever remember using it, mind, but I like it. I hope that, when 1337 is dead and gone and nobody spells it “w00t”, that “woot” gains its place as a legitimate word, as used by little old ladies and such. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/3 "2007-12-12T10:54:18Z")
I love the word woot. I use it in everyday speech, as deadpan as possible. Makes the teenagers exercise their eyeball muscles. “Hey, Mom, I finished my homework --” “woot.” :rolleyes: “…so I’m going over to Nick’s house.” “rockors.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/4 "2007-12-12T11:28:55Z")
Yes, that’s the ticket, **WhyNot**. Deadpan is definitely the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/5 "2007-12-12T16:13:41Z")
I do that too. Drives the library teenagers nuts. “Yeah, looks like you got pwned.” I pronounce it “p’ned.” Once, when we had some computer trouble in the form of a vile young man, somebody “haxored our boxors, sorry.” Heh. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/6 "2007-12-12T16:33:08Z")
I sometimes wonder about the comedic potential of names like Winds0r - and what the Royals think of it. ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/7 "2007-12-12T16:44:01Z")
I may need to adopt w00t. My customary reply of ‘woohoo’ is a tad slow when employing the text function. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/8 "2007-12-12T16:51:41Z")
[Woot.com](http://www.woot.com/) has done much to make the word a permanent fixture in my vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/9 "2007-12-12T18:05:09Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] I love the word woot. I use it in everyday speech, as deadpan as possible. Makes the teenagers exercise their eyeball muscles. “Hey, Mom, I finished my homework --” “woot.” :rolleyes: “…so I’m going over to Nick’s house.” “rockors.” :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] I’ve gone just a smidge farther than this and gone with the ironic use of “woot.” Manager: So, the client came back with another 3 pages of changes that are due tomorrow. Me: Woot. Actually, this isn’t quite true, since I rarely use it at work (though I do use it this way in the presence of my fellow gaming coworkers), but you get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/10 "2007-12-12T18:11:35Z")
2002 called – they want their slang back. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/11 "2007-12-12T18:56:10Z")
So this word was born as a 1337 thing? I had no idea. I always figured it was Midwestern, since I never heard it until I went away to college in Cubbie Country. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/12 "2007-12-13T03:22:16Z")
The word of which year, 2002? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/13 "2007-12-13T03:34:44Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] The word of which year, 2002? :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] **Ludovic** called, he wants his joke back. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/14 "2007-12-13T03:56:59Z")
I love and use w00t regularly, usually via email and messenger or other typed word, but I’ve used it for a good 8-9 years now. It seems odd to have documented pop culture lagging almost a decade behind you, linguistically speaking. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/15 "2007-12-13T05:28:58Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] **Ludovic** called, he wants his joke back. [/QUOTE] :smack: I swear to Og I didn’t even see that. How, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/16 "2007-12-13T06:50:48Z")
Place your bets as to which presidential candidate first uses w00t in a sentence so as to appear hip with the youngsters… ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/17 "2007-12-13T07:42:55Z")
Stephen Colbert. He is America, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/18 "2007-12-13T16:34:58Z")
[QUOTE=ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies] It seems odd to have documented pop culture lagging almost a decade behind you, linguistically speaking. [/QUOTE] Not “documented” so much as “mainstreamed.” From that point of view the lag isn’t all that surprising. Savvy? ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/19 "2007-12-13T18:22:28Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] Not “documented” so much as “mainstreamed.” From that point of view the lag isn’t all that surprising. Savvy? [/QUOTE] Along similar lines, the word “fark” was used as a question in the game show Says You this week (for the bluffing round, naturally, for those of you who tune in). ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zmfg-teh-1337zors-are-taking-over-w00t-named-word-of-the-year/429725/20 "2007-12-13T20:07:40Z")
[hijack] Does anyone else read “1337” as “Thirteen-Thirty-seven?” I tend to gag slightly if I read it as “leet” [/hijack]