Words for 2012?

I’m currently in South Carolina, where there is a lot of coverage of the Republican presidential nominee process. This reminded me there’s an election this year, and got me wondering what new words the election may bring.

The US News & World Report has some political words/phrases as some of their 10 new words learned in 2011.

Supercommittee (noun)

Origin: U.S. debt ceiling crisis

1. Colloquial term for Congress’ Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, formed to forge bipartisan agreement around the debt-ceiling crisis. 2. Sometimes used ironically; given the committee’s ultimate failure, “super” suddenly seemed like an unfortunate misnomer.

 

Endgame (noun)

First known usage: 1881; recent notable usage: countless news articles about the Europe sovereign debt crisis.

1. The final actions in a larger process. 2. The eagerly-awaited roadmap for how the European sovereign debt crisis will play out, thus allowing the rest of the world to breathe easily again.

 

“Oops.” (interjection)

First known usage: 1933; recent notable usage: Rick Perry

1. Expression typically expressing dismay or an apology, often at a mistake. 2. The sound of one of the biggest presidential debate gaffes ever.

 

I wonder if these will continue to be used this year? Whether they are or not, I’m sure the election will throw up some interesting new phrases.