Merriam-Webster chooses 'w00t' as the word of the year

[prophetik music]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071211/ap_on_re_us/word_of_the_year

go figure.

comments?

[Morrack]

Really?

W00t!

[Harmony]

I have no idea why anyone would think w00t "sums up" 2007. What was so w00t about it?

"blamestorm," a meeting in which mistakes are aired, fingers are pointed and much discomfort is had by all.

that I can see.

[Arek the Absolute]

W00T is frigging 04/05.

Noone says that word anymore.

GJ keepin up with the times Webster.

[anosou]

These kind of things just makes me sad in the eye :/

[Murmeli Walan]

For technophobes, the word also is familiar from the 1990 movie "Pretty Woman," in which Julia Roberts startles her date's upper-crust friends with a hearty "Woot, woot, woot!" at a polo match.

Ah, I didn't know Halo and WoW players were such big fans of Julia Roberts films.

[Neo Samus]

I heard this on the News this morning. I laughed so hard I almost spit out my cereal everywhere. I mean, I use w00t on occasion but......good grief Webster.

[Amayirot Akago]

W00T is frigging 04/05.

Noone says that word anymore.

I do. W00t!

[Steben]

I remember w00t. From about seventh grade.

That'd place it about eight or nine years ago. Dang. I remember it was much later that it hit mainstream, but I kind of thought it had disappeared by now..

[Wintermute]

W00t.

But seriously, it's a rather stupid choice. I'd much prefer blamestorm.

[Antipode]

Truthiness (the 2006 pick) is a lot more modern than woot. Also I thought the original usage of "woot" before it turned into a "yay" or "all right" substitute was an acronym for "we owned the other team"? But nothing seems to say anything about that.

Also, I HATE "woot" with a passion. Just saying.

[MechaFone]

It's all a ruse, a TIME ruse. See, w00t was actually chosen about four years ago as the word for whachu talkin' 'bout. They put it up in this day and age to annoy the public. Fucking haxxors.

edit: I know that was incredibly cheesy, and I probably didn't even get half a giggle, but I've got nothing else to do.

[Broken]

It's actually kind of funny that this happened because I only really began to use this word (phrase?)after reading what it stands for in a wiki article.

There's nothing like the angry confused look you get from people when you scream "woot." Too much fun.

Well, actually using captain Falcon's taunt on people irl is probably better.

[prophetik music]

falcon's taunt should have been the word of the year

[prophetik music]

in soviet russia, the word of the year picks you

[friendlyHunter]

Hmm, I don't think any of the top picks were any good. "Truthiness" was definitely a good choice though.

Oh weird, the article specifically mentions the obscure spelling of "w007" for some bizarre reason. And "w007" is only one character away from "2007". Arg, that must have been their justification for choosing it over the other equally-crappy words. Now I'm sad...

Was "word" the word of the year yet?

[q-pa]

Was "word" the word of the year yet?

Now that dates back to the early 90s at least!

[vindkast]

My first thought was also "didn't people stop saying that 5 years ago?"

Then again, it seems like most internet jargon only becomes interesting 5 years too late. That's about the time that the 12 years olds have finished giddily beating it to death, and the more cynical folk have started to resurrect it by using it insincerely to mock the original meaning.

[Rambo]

Now that dates back to the early 90s at least!

word.

But seriously, like Antipode said: "We own other team" Quake arena.

How the Fuck was Pretty Woman referenced and not this game? Perhaps Bournalism should be the word of the year.

[I-n-j-i-n]

My first thought was also "didn't people stop saying that 5 years ago?"

Then again, it seems like most internet jargon only becomes interesting 5 years too late. That's about the time that the 12 years olds have finished giddily beating it to death, and the more cynical folk have started to resurrect it by using it insincerely to mock the original meaning.

I thought the same, but sadly, it's still used insanely too much in online games with text chat (just about all FPS games ever and MMORPGs). And now the blog sites are all about using annoying l33t.

[prophetik music]

i would have thought that leet would have made more sense than woot. hell, anything would, not only does no one say it but dumb blondes, it's not even cool. never was.

[Kirie]

...People still say w00t?

Who knew?

[q-pa]

...People still say w00t?

Who knew?

I know that Hawk over at Applegeeks still uses it semi-frequently--at least in his comic persona.

[Lemonectric]

Gamers commonly substitute numbers and symbols for the letters they resemble, Morse says, creating what they call "l33t speak"

Please don't tell me they just said that.

[Velocifero]

actually saying "woot" out loud is pretty nerdy. i used to think "ftw" was ok on forums and such, then i heard someone say in person and it sounded like the dorkiest thing. i dont even type it now.