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Friday December 30, 5:20 am ET


NEW YORK, Dec. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- When Tom Cruise celebrated his new-found love by cavorting on Oprah's sofa like a deranged monkey, he did more than just become fodder for late-night comedians. He also unwittingly spawned a new phrase -- "jump the couch," meaning "to exhibit strange or frenetic behavior." After scouring the soft white underbelly of the English language, from bathroom walls to the Internet, the editors of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang have chosen "jump the couch" as the Slang of the Year for 2005.
"Jump the couch" began popping up just a few weeks after Cruise excitedly professed his love for new flame Katie Holmes by leaping onto the guest couch during the May 23, 2005 Oprah Winfrey Show. The phrase has since appeared in The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News, and innumerable blogs around the world.

The term builds on the older slang term "jump the shark," meaning, "to diminish in quality; to outlast public interest or popular support." To "jump the shark" stems from an episode of the 70s TV show Happy Days, in which uber-cool Fonzie flies over a shark on water-skis.

"A new slang term was obviously needed to describe this behavior. Jumping up and down on Oprah's couch, in front of millions, is truly bizarre," noted Grant Barrett, project editor of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang.


Runners-up for 2005 Slang of the Year include:

Floodweiser, drinking water distributed in cans as disaster aid by the
Anheuser-Busch corporation on the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast and
elsewhere.

spokesweasel, a public relations spokesperson.

girlfriend experience, also the acronym GFE, behavior by a female
prostitute in which she acts as a male client's girlfriend or shows
(artificial) emotional intimacy beyond the sex act. This term arose out
of the jargon of sex workers and quickly spread to their customers.

facebook, to participate in the Facebook web site, a hugely popular
friend-of-a-friend (FOAF) network for college students.

Lexicographers at Oxford University Press -- publishers of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary -- trawl trillions of words every year as they compile the four-volume Historical Dictionary of American Slang.

"Language moves so fast and people are so clever at inventing new terms, it takes an army to keep up," Barrett said. "Suggestions from correspondents are always a good starting point-they give us something to investigate." Submissions can be made to dictionaries@oup.com.




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Source: Oxford University Press