w00t is 3rd Favorite Non-Dictionary Word

Jay writes "The word has been getting out apparently. No longer just a word for gamers, 'woot' now appears as #3 in Merriam-Webster's What's Your Favorite Word (That's Not in the Dictionary)? contest. It was beaten out by ginormous and confuzzled."

Cromulent

[Profane MuthaFucka]

All of those words in the list look perfectly cromulent to me.

Obligatory Critic Quote

[MagicDude]

(Duke, Marty, and Jay are playing scrabble)

Duke - Kwizibyck.

Marty - That's not a word.

Duke - Get Webster on the phone. Noah, how ya doing? It's Duke. How much would it cost to make kwizibyck a word? I don't know what it means. Uhh, how about a big problem? Great. How 'bout that other word I invented, Dukelicious? No one's using it? What a Duketastrophy!

Re:Obligatory Critic Quote

[Anonymous Coward]

[playing scrabble game]

Bart : Kwijybo. I win, I'm outta here.
Homer: Wait a minute, you little cheater. You're not going anywhere 'til you tell me what a Kwijybo is.
Bart : Kwijybo. A big dumb balding North American ape. With no chin.
Marge: And a short temper.
Homer: I'll show you a big, dumb balding ape.

Re:Obligatory Critic Quote

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.public.asu.edu/~thomas98/CALVIN/chscrab ble.jpg [asu.edu]

Re:Obligatory Critic Quote

[dtungsten]

Let us not forget the Red Dwarf one:

In one episode, Cat uses the word 'Jozxyqk' in a Scrabble game, claiming it to be a cat word meaning, "the sound you get when you get your sexual organs trapped in something."

Re:Cromulent

[mikeage]

All of those words in the list look perfectly cromulent to me.
Are you trying to embiggen our language?

woohoo!

[rogabean]

W00t!!!!

Re:woohoo!

[goodie3shoes]

And all along, I thought that "w00t" was an Elmer-Fudism: "Wats. I have to wog in as w00t."

Re:Woohoo

[EvilFrog]

You're right, it isn't redundant.

Unfortunately it isn't funny either.

Confuzzled?

[TomHandy]

I've heard w00t of course, and ginormous, but where are people using the term "confuzzled"?

Re:Confuzzled?

[rogabean]

So you're saying that you are confuzzled by the use of the word confuzzle?

Re:Confuzzled?

[TomHandy]

Exactly...:)

Re:Confuzzled?

[nacturation]

Orafucked: Verb. When someone screws you over so bad that it feels like they raped your every orifice.

Isn't that when the Oracle database goes down and you're the DBA?

Re:Confuzzled?

[FidelCatsro]

Your guess is as good as my guestimate(, im confuzzeld over the cromulance though i feel embigand having the bestest grasp of the situsation

Re:Confuzzled? THATS OLD!!

[gorim]

I was hearing confuzzled way back in 1995. Isn't there anything new ? :)

Re:Confuzzled? THATS OLD!!

[Guy LeDouche]

Bush'd

Re:Confuzzled?

[UserGoogol]

It's a perfectly cromulent word.

Re:Confuzzled?

[Crazieeman]

Confuzzled is heavily used in the Central US. Its not generally used seriously either, just a cute term for puzzled confusion mostly among good friends.

Re:Confuzzled?

[saigon_from_europe]

Is 'u' in 'confuzzled pronounced like in 'confused' or like in 'puzzled'?

Re:Confuzzled?

[Crazieeman]

The 'fuzzled' part is indeed pronounced like 'puzzled'.

Re:Confuzzled?

[Mold]

I've heard confuzzled for as long as I can remember.

Honestly, I had the same reaction with "ginormous" before. That was new to me.

Re:Confuzzled?

[Skye16]

This lady at work keeps using ginormous in meetings and everytime she does, I have to remind myself that stabbing her in the face probably isn't the best way to handle my rage.

I fucking hate that word...

Re:Confuzzled?

[beeplet]

I use the word confuzzled all the time... Mostly in reference to my cats, though, since they're often puzzled or confused, and always fuzzy - hence "confuzzled".

Confoxed, not Confuzzled...

[HermanAB]

Never heard confuzzled, confoxed, yes.

Re:Confuzzled?

[Alsee]

Google 67,500 hits. [google.com]

Apparantly most people pronounce it like 'puzzled' just swapping the 'p' for a 'con', but I always pronounced it as confoozled. For what it's worth I'm from New York. Seems to be mostly a US usage.

-

Huh?

[EvanED]

I'm confuzled as to how w00t didn't get first place. I don't see any of the other words -- combined -- as often as w00t, at least when I'm chillaxing with my friends. I think they mad a ginormous mistake.

Re:Huh?

[Alkaiser]

Most the other words on that list suck. Gription? Hey...how about "grip"? It means the same thing and it's less letters.

The only ones I approved of were w00t, ginormous, and phonecrastinate.

Re:Huh?

[krunk4ever]

people hardly say w00t in real life. maybe we shoud get out more. it just reconfirms how geeky we are. i see w00t on instant messages all the time, but i don't think i've heard it more than once or twice in real life, while the other words like ginormous or confuzzle i can see people using it and saying, is this a real word?

Re:Huh?

[pyro_dude]

I use the word to my father when he gets uppity and asks me too many insignificant questions about things during the day. "Chill, relax, chillax."

If w00t made the list then...

[bryan8m]

n00b should too!

Re:If w00t made the list then...

[jakosc]

n00b should too!

Nah. n00b hasn't been around long enough...

Re:If w00t made the list then...

[Mahou]

n00b is just an "encrypted" version of newb which is short for newbie which is of course an actual word that is in fact in the dictionary

Dictionary subject to trends?

[Sv-Manowar]

Obviously these words haven't been included in the mainline dictionary, but its an increasing trend for modern slang and shortened terms to enter the dictionary. Whether such words should be included in dictionaries, which are important reference works is subjective, but I feel there is a danger that as more words that are subject to current conditions are added, dictionaries will have to become more dynamic and possibly lead to faster evolution of the language.

Re:Dictionary subject to trends?

[EvanED]

...its an increasing trend for modern slang and shortened terms to enter the dictionary

Do you have any actual evidence that this is the case other than a feeling/speculation?

Re:Dictionary subject to trends?

[forkazoo]

What do you mean "increasing?" Are you saying that dictionaries should only use Old English? You know, the dead language which used "thorn" as one of the letters. Ever try to read an original excerpt of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, for example? Language references must always grow and adapt with the language. Otherwise, they couldn't include a definition for computer which talked about a machine, or include the word "television." All words were new at some point. Some will fall out of use and sto

Re:Dictionary subject to trends?

[donscarletti]

Way to miss the point dude. The grandparent was talking about the evolution of the language accelerating not just progressing. There quite obviously has to be a rate at which if language change becomes any faster, communication will become harder and harder. Human languages are very similar to computer standards in many ways. HTML for example has changed a fair bit, yet cannot change too fast otherwise browsers will become incompatible. Computers have an upgrade cycle of usually less than 4 years, humans ha

Re:Dictionary subject to trends?

[poopdeville]

Uhhhh... dictionaries are historical records of words that have entered the lexicon. A word is added to the dictionary when it has shown its importance in the development of the lexicon. Of course slang should get into the dictionary -- at least once a slang word has shown its importance in culture. Slang is how the English language has developed through the centuries. Pick any English word you'd like -- it was slang at some point in history.

So yes -- the dictionary is subject to trends. Because it

Re:Dictionary subject to trends?

[lgw]

Dictionaries, however, make a point of trying to avoid recording slang which is only used in one area, or that is abandonded without becoming part of the language long term. While many words in English were once slang, for every word in English there are probably 20 slang words which didn't enter the language.

When slang becomes broadly adopted and looks like it will persist in the language, and not be merely a 1-generation fad, it makes sense to record it in a dictinary.

W00t!

[NightWulf]

Woot, While I was chillaxing with my peeps, avoiding eating the snirt. We were phoncrastinating until my buddy John called. So I pwned him by hanging up after discussing the fact that i'm so confuzzled about the ginormous lack of english comprehension!

What about Fugly

[multi-flavor-geek]

Fugly, (Fuh-glee): adj The inherant nature of someone to be F*cking Ugly. Usage, generally at bars, after a few drinks, but before the beer-goggles kick in.

My other favorite is Gigantor, that being a person (there was someone in particular) who s so huge that they have developed a Godzilla like reputation, and the ablity to block sunlight. Or in the case of this person break concrete steps while walking up them.

Re:What about Fugly

[Reverend528]

Gigantor [wikipedia.org] is actually the name of a manga (and subsequent anime tv series) about a giant robot.

Well thats just craptastic . .

[code shady]

I use w00t way more then I use ginormous or confuzzled. In fact, I think that both of those other words are dumbpendous.

Call me old fashioned

[serutan]

... but I'm sticking with ginormous.

When it gets corporate backing...

[MacFury]

When it gets corporate backing, it will be in the dictionary.

The proposal to create a "Name Change Task Force" originated with Peter Machno, manager of Seattle's sludge program, after protesters mobilized against his plan to spread sludge on local tree farms. "If I knocked on your door and said I've got this beneficial product called sludge, what are you going to say?" he asked. At Machno's suggestion, the Federation newsletter published a request for alternative names. Members sent in over 250 suggestions, including "all growth," "purenutri," "biolife," "bioslurp," "black gold," "geoslime," "sca-doo," "the end product," "humanure," "hu-doo," "organic residuals," "bioresidue," "urban biomass," "powergro," "organite," "recyclite," "nutri-cake" and "ROSE," short for "recycling of solids environmentally." [19] In June of 1991, the Name Change Task Force finally settled on "biosolids," which it defined as the "nutrient-rich, organic byproduct of the nation's wastewater treatment process." [20]

The new name attracted sarcastic comment from the Doublespeak Quarterly Review, edited by Rutgers University professor William Lutz. "Does it still stink?" Lutz asked. He predicted that the new name "probably won't move into general usage. It's obviously coming from an engineering mentality. It does have one great virtue, though. You think of `biosolids' and your mind goes blank." [21]

Toxic Sludge is good for you [ejnet.org]

I am feeling bitter today

Presented definition of squinching incorrect!

[forkazoo]

see http://oemagazine.com/newscast/012401_showdaily03 . html [oemagazine.com]

It is pretty sad when the dictionary people don't know the real meaning of a word. They say in their introduction that it is merely to fit into a small space. That is not squinching. Dag nabbit. Also, the definition of w00t mis-spells the word, and gives no explanation. It is subtler than what they claim. more useful, and intriguing.

Back in my day...

[Garrett Combs]

I remember when l33t sp34k was underground. Damn you Webster.

The nature of dictionaries

[Capt'n Hector]

Dictionaries are supposed to be descriptive and not proscriptive, so if these words are used so much, why are they NOT in the dictionary? A recent example of this would be the alternate pronounciaton of nuclear as "nookyoulure." Stupid as hell, yes, but it's in the dictionary.

Re:The nature of dictionaries

[UserGoogol]

Well, although dictionaries are descriptive, there's always the question of how much they are supposed to describe. Are dictionaries supposed to describe ever niggly bit of the language, (which could be time consuming, because slang can evolve rather quickly) or should they only describe the parts of the language which are considered acceptable in formal writing?

Re:The nature of dictionaries

[Babbster]

Unless dictionaries are to be designated the domain of only those with college degrees, they should probably be the former. It would seem that someone with the capability of writing "formally" would be someone who can choose their words to best serve their immediate purpose...someone who doesn't need to worry about accidentally using a word like "woot" (or "w00t") in important business correspondence just because it appears in a dictionary.

Re:The nature of dictionaries

[poopdeville]

Neither. They're supposed to describe the bits of language that are actually used by large populations. Slang and jargon are covered in slang and jargon dictionaries unless they reach critical mass and enter the popular lexicon. Most dictionaries screen for historicity also, so that if a word newly coined word is incredibly popular for a week but fades into oblivion, it doesn't enter. This [oed.com] is a good reference -- note the menu on the right of the page.

Re:The nature of dictionaries

[chromasia]

While "proscriptive" is a word, it doesn't mean what you think is means and propably isn't the word you were intending to use!

Re:The nature of dictionaries

[Capt'n Hector]

hahaha yeah you're right. per is the prefix I'm looking for. *hangs head in shame*

Whatever happened to

[idonthack]

"pwnt", "noob", "frood", and "haxor"?

A few favorites

[miyako]

Just thought I'd list a few of my favorite non-words, in no particular order.

• Frienemy
• Asshat
• Sexcapade
• teh
• borked
• burninate
• pwned
• pathetisad
• craptastic

Re:A few favorites

[swb]

We used sexcapade in college in the mid-80s, it's been around for a while.

The only one missing from your list is automagic.

Re:A few favorites

[interstellar_donkey]

Odd, your list contains far more words that I know, and even have used with some frequency (asshat and burninate being two I've been known to utter), then this other list. In fact, the only word I reconized there was "Woot" (and yes, I use that quite often, but oddly enough only in text format. I don't think I've ever said it out loud).

A few more I'd like to see:

- Broked (as in "They done broked me"
- Fucktard (excuse the profanity)
- Interweb (a purposly missspoken word used when talking as someone who t

Re:A few favorites

[rinkjustice]

Good list miyako. I'll add a few of my own.

• spork: a spoon and fork combined
• feh: a variation of meh, I guess
• assclown: insult derived from WWF wrestling
• j00: leetspeak for you. Yeah it's old, but it cracks me up. "I pwn j00!"
• out-creature: to outdo someone eles, especially in respects to appearance
• bank: "ebonics" for money (ebonics... hehe)

Ok.. Ok.

[rogabean]

I made my funny little comments in here. But what honestly frightens about all this woot, confuzzled, OMGWTFR2D2BBQ, LOL crap is that it's come to the point where I find myself actually saying this crap in real life talking to people.

Especially the word "woot". "LOL" being the scariest one I use in real life sometimes in place of actually... oh I dunno... *gasp* laughing!

It's all very confuzzling.

Re:Ok.. Ok.

[Gibsnag]

W00t is acceptable to say in real life conversations imo... However saying "lol" in real life is possibly the most embarrasing thing ever. Especially since everyone actually knows what it means, so you can't fob it off as just a random noise anymore.

How about...

[Stormwatch]

...automagically?

Re:How about...

[Teja]

Haven't heard that one yet, you mean like this? [wikipedia.org]. If it's in Wikipedia, it is probably used quite a bit.

Re:How about...

[RichardX]

I've always been quite fond of 'automagically'. It makes a great shorthand for "This happens automatically by a process that's complicated enough that it probably wouldn't be worth your while to try and understand it, hence you can just assume it happens by magic" - basically any process that looks like magic due to various hidden complicated processes taking place in the background.

Re:How about...

[centipetalforce]

For some reason that word makes me want to kill evertything In sight.

Never heard of Chav then?

[plusser]

The non-dictionary word of the moment in the UK is Chav - or at least it isn't in the Oxford Dictionary yet, although it might be tomorrow.

Gynormous

[bobetov]

They missed a great chance with ginormous. I think this is much better:

gynormous (adj): Carting around a whole lot of junk in the trunk while female. An extra helping of woman.

"Yeah, she's cute, but the chick she's with is gynormous!"

Slashdot

[bsquizzato]

Slashdotted is definitely my least favorite verb. Who would ever want such a horrendous thing occur to them :o

Obscure reference, but...

[VValdo]

"Ginormous?" "ESPN-onage"?

Rich Hall must be rolling in his grave right now. That is, if he's dead.

If not, surely his career is rolling in its grave...

W

Me and my friends always use

[Adrilla]

Frabernackle [urbandictionary.com]

Which basically means beyond bullshit.
"Did you see the frabernackle the MPAA is trying to pull with this broadcast flag proposal?"

Then again, me and my friends say a lot of dumb things.

On Language

[natrius]

I think this is a good time to point out how irrational some grammar nazis are, particularly the ones who always find it necessary to correct people when they "misuse" the word irony. When someone says a word and everyone understands what they're saying, guess what? That's what the word means. It's only a problem when the misuse of a word results in confusion, but if a particular incorrect use of a word is so common that everyone understands it, it's now a correct use of the word. That's the way language wo

Re:On Language

[HalfFlat]

The point isn't just the success or failure to communicate an idea. Depending on the language chosen, outside from any 'factual content', there is also conveyed: the writer's opinion of the reader; the writer's opinion of themselves; ancillary flavour; and more besides.

Text that is ungrammatical reads as sloppy thinking, or causes the reader to expend undue effort to decode the content, which can be irritating. It can gives the impression that the writer doesn't care at all about the reader, making the writer look careless, conceited or arrogant.

Language use is also a social marker. Phrases such as 'could care less', and 'lol' in written text are shibboleths, just as much as using the word 'shibboleth' is.

So if you wish to appear uneducated and arrogant, and annoy your readers, feel free to be slack with grammar.

Why do people complain so about poor grammar use? I think mainly because they feel that these extra channels of communication, and the fine distinctions that precise grammar use can distinguish, are important parts of the language. People clamouring for the acceptance of sloppy writing are seen as barbarians massing at the gate, wanting to loot and sack the culture while blind to the things that make it worthwhile. It's not just the ignorance which is affronting, but the way that such ignorance is seen to be becoming acceptable, with the concomitant blurring of expressive power and subtlety. It's like being forced to use Windows 95, because it's "good enough for everyone else".

woot == excitement? :-\

[ZeroExistenZ]

3. woot (interj): an exclamation of joy or excitement

If I'm not mistaken woot is the abbrivation for We Own the Other Team, and was introduced with multiplayer games.

Re:woot == excitement? :-\

[Eric119]

Well, actually the origin of w00t is not known for sure. Wikipedia gives a number of ideas on where w00t came from.

See the Wikipedia article [wikipedia.org].

Re:woot == excitement? :-\

[The One and Only]

If THAT was the origin, than it would be spelled "WPOT" for We Pwn the Other Team.

Re:woot == excitement? :-\

[wolfgang_spangler]

You most likely are mistaken.
It is interesting how people always assume that some word started somehow in the first context in which they encountered it.
I know I have seen it used in NannyMUD since 1992 or so. I always assumed that it started there and was some Swedish slang. That is of course because I first encountered it there in 1992 :)

Woot; the acronym.

[Agilo]

The word "woot" (also; "w00t") has been said to be an acronym, not just a word, meaning:
We Own the Other Team

Re:Woot; the acronym.

[vagabond_gr]

Actually there are at least 10 different explanations [wikipedia.org] about the origin of "w00t", ranging from Quake to Daffy Duck. I guess the truth will remain a mystery.

Finally! The recognition I deserve!

[Da w00t]

(Just visualise it: all the packets on both Internets all come together to chant "Speech! Speech! Speech!&quot. Aaahhh.)

I'd like to thank all the people who helped me get where I am today, all the script kiddies, my coworkers, O'Reilly & Associates, Linus Torvolds for making Linux, Bill Gates for making Windows, and all the really smart people out there at MIT for making X11.

We've come along way from Athena widgets, nobody in their right mind uses Motif anymore, and everything is a beautiful drab KDE and Gnome gray. We've had SCO try to poison our spirits, but that which does not kill you only makes you stronger.

Way to go folks. You've done well. (note to mods: this is funny, look at my uid)

Which language?

[gallir]

Sinevaseusariasky

Re:Which language?

[multipartmixed]

Is that when the doctor who is supposed to be performing your vasectomy accidentally makes a sinusoidal cut, making you sing sky-high arias?

phonecrastinate

[ArbitraryConstant]

"phonecrastinate"

You've got to be fucking kidding me. This is the first time I've ever seen that.

Spelling - it is w00t, dumbass!

[HermanAB]

They are a dictionary and they can't even spell w00t - sad, really sad.

What about W's favorite word ...

[SengirV]

... Strategory

microsoft's definition of w00t

[Bob Cat - NYMPHS]

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/children/ kidtalk.mspx [microsoft.com]

A parent's primer to computer slang ...

Other common leet words: ...
"w00t" or the smiley character \o/: An acronym that usually means "We Own the Other Team," used to celebrate victory in a video game. ...

What about misunderestimate?

[Snaller]

Surely its unpatriotic not to include it? ;)

Re:We need a new word now.

[PsiPsiStar]

Geeks have lots of words that noone else uses. "Stereochemistry, Hexadecimal, Defrag"

We don't need to make stuff up to be misunderstood.

Re:We need a new word now.

[NanoGator]

"Geeks have lots of words that noone else uses. "Stereochemistry, Hexadecimal, Defrag"

They also don't know how to spell fuck.

Re:We need a new word now.

[falzer]

Try these obscure new slang words on for size:

w00t > Jubilation!
thx > Gratitude!
gj > Felicitations!

Now you get to be different from the mainstream once again.

Re:We need a new word now.

[Furry Ice]

You missed the ever important:

bj > Fellatitations!

Re:We need a new word now.

[zkn]

Gamers, not geeks(Though most gamers assume they are geeks because they are fat and greesy) need new words. w00t was never a geek word, from day one it was "hey misunderstand me please"-slang. Geeks use words simpelminded people don't know of. And the people whining about Aim'girl stealing their slang should shape up and come to the conclusion that playing CounterStrike 24/5 doesn't make you good at computers. And ofcause stop trying to impress all the Aim'girlhotties(or fatties) with all their mighty geek

Re:We need a new word now.

[shellbeach]

Woot was invented by pencil-and-paper gamers, it wasn't originally oline speak. It's first use was a pleased exlamtion of "what?!?" through a mouthfull of Cheetos, and sort of caught on.

Eh? The Jargon File [catb.org] would disagree - see the entry for w00t [catb.org] :

"An interjection similar to "Yay!", as in: "w00t!!! I just got a raise!" Often used for small victories the speaker dies not expect to be of special interest to anyone else. Some claim this is a bastardization of "root", the highest level of access to a system (particularly UNIX), originated by script kiddies as a 133tspeak equivalent of "root", and said as an exclamation upon gaining root access. Others claim it originated in the Everquest multiplayer game as an abbreviation of "wonderful loot". Still other claim it on originated on IRC as the "Ewok victory cheer"] Adj. w00table has the sense of "cool" or "nifty". This is one of the few leet-speak coinages to have crossed over into non-ironic use among hackers."

Re:We need a new word now.

[shellbeach]

The "root" explanation and any sort of acronym-based exoplanation are almost certainly urban legend

I've always rather liked the "root" explanation - it fits with the hacker ethos rather nicely, and I can see how it would arise and spread throughout the community. I'm much more sceptical of any game based abreviation, but I can imagine that an exclamation like "woot!" is pretty easy to come up with for many different areas.

Almost no words came into English as acronyms, but people love to imagine such o

Re:We need a new word now.

[liquidsin]

I dunno. Most of the twelve year olds that use 'w00t' can't even AIM and need a bot to do it for them. Then they act like they're teh pwnz0r j00 anyways. Fucking campers.

Re:Shinatz

[FidelCatsro]

I think it was helped by my near heroic input of whisky tonight , somehow when i reduce my IQ via Whisky i seem to have a supernatural understanding of 1337 sp3ak. ;) i think i just found of a corelation

Re:slashdot's favorite non-word

[rokzy]

>Or at least one of the most commonly misspelled.

imo the most common is "insure" instead of "ensure", though I think that's technically retardedness not misspelling since even if they read their own posts they wouldn't spot it.

Meh!

[Nick Driver]

Teh word "teh" is prolly teh most favorate misspelled non-word here becuase it;s used more often than any others. LMAO, w00r!

Re:What's funnier than all of these fake words....

[interstellar_donkey]

Yes, because nothing's more unforgivable then misspelling a fake word.

Re:Does anybody even know

[poopdeville]

Team based deathmatch. "We pwn3d the other team."

Re:Does anybody even know

[DarkEdgeX]

I always thought it was just a different spelling of "whoo". :P

Re:Does anybody even know

[poopdeville]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the acronym was designed to sound like the "cheering woo." Makes sense, considering that it's a rallying call.

Re:Ginormous

[be-fan]

Not anymore you arent...