Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader noticed today that the AP news wire was running one of those fluffy stories it runs every year about the new words added to the Webster’s dictionary. This year new words appear to include: bollywood, sudoku, crunk, smackdowns, grey literature, and everyone’s favorite - ginormous. Apparently abbreviations like IED and DVR also make it into the new dictionary. Excursus: Are abbreviations actually words?

Now, your Maximum Leader is no gamy-handed postmodernist who feels that words can be ascribed any meaning you want; but he does recognize that language changes and words get added - and words fade from use. All in all, he is pleased with new words. He is particularly fond of ginormous in fact. He doesn’t use it very much in this forum, but he does use it from time to time with his kids (which makes the word more accepted among younger people and probably goes a long way towards promulgating the word further). Excursus: Sometimes in this forum he likes using the word “embiggen” when he uses a thumbnail image and wants you - the loyal reader - to click on the thumbnail to see the image made larger. He supposes that “embiggen” is an etymological cousin of ginormous.

He wonders if the popular (intentional mostly but unintentional sometimes) typo “teh” will one day make it into the dictionary. He will fully admit that “teh” doesn’t float his boat. Perhaps he doesn’t fully understand the concept of “teh.” Perhaps “teh” just upsets him because it causes him to face his own spelling issues.

At any rate, your Maximum Leader congratualtes “ginormous” for attaining the lofty status of “being in the dictionary.” May it last longer than “bootylicious” in our popular lexicon.

Carry on.