Word of the year: Bailout

So the word-of-the-year hit parade is starting, with Merriam-Webster naming bailout top on their list.

I was afraid I had, in fact, stumbled onto the list of words that we never wanted to hear again, as other candidates for the nod were rogue (as in “Sarah Palin’s going rogue”), bipartisan, vet, socialism, and my favorite, maverick (as in “is there really such a thing as a ‘team of mavericks‘?”).

Here’s more about bailout:

So how does Merriam-Webster define “bailout”? As “a rescue from financial distress.” But Morse says those who looked it up also seemed to want to know whether it had negative nuances or suggested irresponsibility or blame.

“People seem to have a general understanding of the word ‘bailout,’ but they seem to want to better understand its application, any connotations it may have and shades of meaning,” he said.

M-W chose the word because it was the one that was looked up the most often on its online dictionary.

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Bonus MRP moment: Who knew Merriam-Webster was so much fun? Check out Word Vault, a word jumble game, and a whole slew of other online word games.