“Stay The Course” Voted Top Catch Phrase Of 2006
Posted December 22, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
His “Stay The Course” has been voted the catch phrase of 2006 by a group that tracks the use of English.
The Global Language Monitor notes there’s more than a tinge of irony in the choice of the words, which were used to describe the ongoing U.S. policy in Iraq. “It makes number one because it was declared inoperative,” explains the group’s Paul JJ Payack.
But at least that phrase existed. The number two entry really didn’t.
It’s “If I Did It”, which would have been the title for the O.J. Simpson “fictional” confession book that caused such an uproar it was pulled from shelves before even reaching the stores.
The item in third place isn’t even a word at all. It’s a so-called emoticon used in email and text messages. “# – )” supposedly means “wasted” to those in the know.
The fourth place occupant belongs to a hybrid. “Airline Pulp” is a Chinese-English bon mot that’s supposed to describe food served onboard a flight.
And rounding out the top five is another technologically-inspired phrase. “Serial Texter” is meant to take into account the widespread growth of the text messaging trend among youth.
The words replace the 2005 champs, which included “Out of the Mainstream,” about a political opponent, and “bird flu” or “Avian flu,” whose predicted pandemic status has thankfully not come to pass.
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