It’s a word – no it’s a phrase
The first visual that popped into my mind when I read the 2011 word of the year was nearly everything designed by the prolific Karim Rashid.
Last week, the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year (WOTY) 2011 was revealed:
I know what you’re thinking. I had the same reaction. That’s not a word, and did I miss its usage?
I think of that phrase as a condition, and that’s quite different from a lexicographic (is that a word?) entry. Slate’s David Haglund wrote a terrific post on this very subject. I could not have expressed my thoughts better on why 2011’s WOTY is a loser.
“Occupy” summed up 2011 for me. Both as a word, and if you want to get technical, as a condition.
Far more interesting was the 2011 List of Banished Words. Oh, here were the frontrunners and the 2010 WOTY and 2009 WOTY, as a point of reference.
Images © Karim Rashid: Matryoshkarim Nesting Furniture, 2011; K-8 Dogbowl, 2003; Totem Desktop Landscapes, 1999