Language Log: POTY

Why can't we all get along? Let's end the argument about whether the Word Of The Year should sometimes be a phrase by having a separate competition for Phrase Of The Year. And we can divide the POTY prize further into two categories: one category for phrases that remain entirely compositional in meaning, but are newly-common terms for newly-popular concepts; and another category for newly-popular phrases whose common usage is an opaque metaphorical or metonymic extension of its basic compositional meaning. This doesn't end all possible arguments — the boundary between words and phrases is historically as contested as the boundary between Germany and Poland or Armenia and Azerbaijan. But it should restore relative peace to the Language Log Senior Common Room, as well as giving lexicographers more journalistic shelf space by multiplying the number of linguistic X-OTY items to display. (Next: Catch-phrase Of The Year; Genericide Of The Year; … We can use all 26 letters of the alphabet, from Allomorph Of The Year to Zeugma of the Year, and then we can start on the likely initial clusters, like Structural Metaphor Of The Year. ) My nomination in the first POTY category is texting glove. Texting gloves are gloves that permit you to use capacitive virtual keyboards, whether by lacking fingertips entirely, by allowing the tips of the index finger and thumb to be uncovered, or by embedding conductive materials in the fingertips or throughout the glove. A particular design (or at least an ad for it) is targetted at snowboarders; and I've seen a phyrsical ad for a (nitrile?) medical-exam version, which for some reason I can't find on line. Fingerless gloves have been around for a long time; but the idea of calling them "texting gloves", and using them for that purpose, is new — as (I think) is the style of uncovering just the thumb and index finger, or of using silver-coated fibers or other conductive materials. And in the second POTY category, the obvious nominee is Occupy Wall Street. The floor — or at least the comments section — is open for further nominees.