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Posted at 8:53AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Wow, I'm first!

Although I was at the back of the queue to understand what rofflenui means - thanks for the explanation Russell.

I think the phrase credit crunch is very satisfying. Both positive ("Credit!" Credit is good right? and satisfyingly crunch-y. Like a chocolate bar.

In fact, a chocolate bar or breakfast cereal named "Credit Crunch" could be a goer.

Posted at 9:00AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Oh and BTW, the winner of the other case of wine -- the random draw from the list of voters -- was Jack Elder.

Posted at 9:03AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

I am crunched that we didn't vote rofflenui on top. "Credit crunch"... meh. It's not even one word!

Posted at 9:06AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

I am crunched that we didn't vote rofflenui on top.

Well, Islander did her best ...

Posted at 9:11AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Well, Islander did her best ...

Yes, I'm kicking myself for not working out you could vote three times for the same word. I was attempting some silly single-transferable-vote-like trickery to bring up words that would have few chances of succeeding, besides rofflenui. And the solution was staring me in the face the whole time!

Enjoy the wine, Sacha, never case was more richly deserved.

Posted at 9:14AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Yes, I'm kicking myself for not working out you could vote three times for the same word.

I didn't know either, till it happened

Posted at 9:18AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

__Yes, I'm kicking myself for not working out you could vote three times for the same word.__

I didn't know either, till it happened

Islander: Author, linguist, and hacker.

Posted at 9:29AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Och!

Vote for the same word! So obvious. And, to quote Mr Tiso,

"Credit crunch"... meh

won..!

But I'm glad credit (of the non-crunch kind) was given where it was due: when roflnui turns up in the OED it can clearly sourced to Sacha.

Posted at 9:49AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

when roflnui turns up in the OED it can clearly sourced to Sacha.

And in the meantime, he can drink to his own good health. I thought the case he's getting was just Vavasour's basic sav blanc, but it turns out to be stuffed with recently prize-winning wines. Hoorah!

Posted at 9:51AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Party at the Elders!

Posted at 9:52AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

What seems zeitgeist-y, if you like, about credit crunch is the euphemistic, weasel-ish quality of it. Without the context, would anyone translate it to mean "financial catastrophe" or "Great Depression Redux"? Taken at face value, the phrase doesn't even seem to be negative. It's that kind of disconnect between the language itself and what the language represents that seems very 2008 to me.

Or as Anne Karpf said in the Guardian back in July, "Recessions are serious, but credit crunch sounds like a cheery breakfast cereal - a helping of financial reality that will do us all good."

Posted at 10:04AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Oh and BTW, the winner of the other case of wine -- the random draw from the list of voters -- was Jack Elder.

W00t!

Posted at 10:07AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

W00t!

Assuming, on sober reflection, that it's actually me and not my namesake, the ex-Minister of Police. That was particularly embarassing when I was a student - his personal number was unlisted, mine wasn't, leading to a number of "hilarious" phone calls.

Posted at 10:07AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Recessions are serious, but credit crunch sounds like a cheery breakfast cereal - a helping of financial reality that will do us all good.

Duncan Black's "Big Shitpile" (specifically coined to describe the CDO mess that sparked this all off) was certainly more evocative.

Posted at 10:11AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

of course "Credit Crunch" will probably see a new life in 2010 as a breakfast cereal ...

Posted at 10:18AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

pffft, i was hoping rofflenui was some shabily spelt portmanteau contraction of ROFL and the french ennui

because geek speak spelling and acronyms are appallingly dull

or am i wrong and ROFL is a backronym - an acronym created backwards from original meaning?
discuss at your leisure over +mas lunch...

Posted at 10:21AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

There is nothing more more annoying than a word pedant but these words and phrases have bugged me this year:

"Fabulous" - everybody seems to be saying it in all sorts of inappropriate ways.

"Closure" - any resolution of some tragic circumstance is immediately pronounced an opportunity for this magical thing.

"In terms of..." - this meaningless linguistic fad has made a come back in 2008 after reaching epic proportions a few years ago when absolutely every body in the English speaking world seemed to be saying it: BBC announcers, politicians, reporters, bureaucrats, fire chiefs policeman, etc. Kathryn Ryan says it constantly.

Posted at 10:22AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

W00t!

Stop W00Ting and send me your delivery address!

Posted at 10:23AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

pffft, i was hoping rofflenui was some shabily spelt portmanteau contraction of ROFL and the french ennui

As I recall, "rofflennui" was canvassed in the original discussion thread.

Posted at 10:31AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Stop W00Ting and send me your delivery address!

Done!

Posted at 10:39AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Jonathan, what are your feelings about "awesome"? Apparently visitors to NZ can't get over how often we say it and how multi-purpose it is. It's a word I've come to hate, personally.

Posted at 10:44AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Oh, and while we're on the credit crunch, here is the best of many credit crunch songs to feature this year on YouTube:

Genius.

Posted at 11:39AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Awesome - no.

Oarsome - yes!

It's so dumb it's cool, kind of Outrageous Fortune Munteresque.
Munterese?
Munteresque Thompson?

Posted at 11:46AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Jonathan, what are your feelings about "awesome"? Apparently visitors to NZ can't get over how often we say it and how multi-purpose it is. It's a word I've come to hate, personally.

Appaaaaaaaaaaaaaarently, the word 'awesome' was used quite a few times in presenting the Wellingtonista awards the other night, so if anyone has a problem with its usage, I might have to blacklist them.

Posted at 11:59AM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

of course "Credit Crunch" will probably see a new life in 2010 as a breakfast cereal ...

It's already the case, no? Witness the following true exchange recorded recently amongst Kellog's executives.

"Look at these sales figures! The results of our new cereal are extraordinary. How do you explain this?"

"I credit crunch."

Posted at 12:45PM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

i feel inspired to whip up a batch of caramelized chili almonds, thus saving money whist being crunchy.

Posted at 12:46PM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

if it's O for awesome is it ok?

Posted at 12:50PM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

Credit Crunch on You Tube? I liked this one:

Posted at 1:58PM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

..."awesome"? Apparently visitors to NZ can't get over how often we say it and how multi-purpose it is. It's a word I've come to hate, personally.

I used to use it quite a lot, but strictly in an ironic kind of way. In the sense that the thing I'd be calling awesome was cheesy or ridiculous or somehow almost admirably absurd.

You know, like if they ever made a cereal that was called Credit Crunch, that would be awesome.

Personally, I have a real dislike of the phrase (very common in corporations these days) "going forward". I don't know exactly what it is about it, but it is certainly not awesome, not in any sense.

Posted at 3:31PM on 22 Dec 08. Permalink.

@rochelle: Superb! Roflnui!