“It’s a great illustration of the limitless potential of linguistic innovation,” Ben Zimmer, chair of the ADS New Words Committee and language columnist at the Wall Street Journal tells Rolling Stone.
Of course, “-ussy” did have its detractors, and sparked “animated debate,” though none quibbled with its air of obscenity or reliance on a base word. The organization takes an “expansive” view of the lexical landscape, so crass terms are always on the table, along with “compounds, phrases, and affixes,” Zimmer explains.
“I didn’t hear many objections to ‘-ussy’ on the grounds of vulgarity,” says Zimmer. “After all, this is a selection made by descriptive linguists who aren’t trying to impose restrictions on how language should be. Rather, the dissenting voices had other concerns: that the ‘-ussy’ prefix isn’t widely known beyond the chronically online, and that there might be other choices that better express the zeitgeist of 2022, like ‘quiet quitting’ or ‘Slava Ukraini.
So perhaps the internet conferred an advantage on “-ussy” supporters. And why not? It’s the primary driver of linguistic evolution in the 21st century. No sense complaining about how vocabulary changes — all you can do is try to keep up. In fact, “-ussy” went on to win top honors after dominating the sub-category of “Most Creative Word of the Year,” which goes to show the power of novelty.
There’s no denying that sex sells, too. “I think the subversive nature of using a mildly profane word related to
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