What was 2015 Word of the Year?

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See the 2013 Words of the Year HERE.
See the 2014 Words of the Year HERE.
​Will the 2015 Word of the Year be #TakeItDown? Or drought? Or "-shaming"?  Or perhaps something else entirely?

There's no mansplaining necessary as to why the WotY could be "man-cap," the larger-than-life head gear sported by Presidential candidate Donald Trump to let the world know who's boss.  Or maybe that's just pure applesauce and jiggery-pokery!

Join us throughout the month of December to review the Words of the Year -- leading up to the New Year's Eve announcement to the official "Word of the Year" for 2015!  
December 31:
LOVE  (#LoveWins)
Just as the popular 2015 hashtag proclaimed, LOVE wins!  In spite of all the nasty and awful stuff that happened in 2015, and in spite of the numerous nasty and awful people that made the headlines, LOVE wins!  In a year of numerous tragedies and acts of terror, it might seem peculiar or even a bit unwarranted that LOVE is the Word of the year, but LOVE, a many splendid thing, is what has carried us through this annus horribilis.
Love was seen in a street “dance off” with a cop. 
Love was heard in the voices of a community forgiving a mass killer.
Love was witnessed in the signing between a deaf girl and Santa Claus.
Love was revealed when Germany accepted thousands of refugees from Syria and Iraq.
Love was felt when countless individuals laid flowers at a memorial for innocent lives lost.
Love was realized when the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples can marry nationwide.
In a recent column in the Chicago Tribune, Rex Huppke noted that love (in the form of Santa Claus) "is that which gives us hope. And optimism. And the belief that the world, no matter how rough and miserable it might get around the edges, is, at its core, a good place. Filled with good people" (his column is HERE).

Even though 2015 had more than its fair share of trials and tribulations, tragedies and terror, and troubles and trepidations, LOVE wins!  #LoveWins

Honorable Mention for a Non-Verbal Communication Related to the 2015 Word of the Year: 

Two hands as a heart.
Honorable Mentions for Other Words from 2015:
In addition to the many Honorable Mentions throughout our countdown below from December 1 through December 30, here are a few other noteworthy words from the year:
Binge Watch:  When one watches multiple episodes of TV show in rapid succession (and a two-pound party-size bag of Doritos becomes a single serving).
Deconfliction: John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov held strained press conference in September to announce “deconfliction” talks.
Deez Nuts:  Both a sarcastic expression used to denote annoyanceand a satirical candidate running in the 2016 presidential campaign.
Gyrocopter:  A drone-like carrier that landed a man on the grounds of the US Capitol.
Net Neutrality:  In February of 2015, the FCC ruled in favor of net neutrality, the principle that Internet service providers should treat all data on the Internet without favoring or blocking particular products or websites.
Non-Traditional Crowning Moment:  A type of wardrobe malfunction at the Miss. Universe Pageant.
Preppers:  Pro-pepper people – among them, survivalists or, as they are called, “preppers,” and escaped convicts David Sweat and Richard Matt.  “Preppers” use pepper spray to evade search dogs.
Smartphone Separation:   Research in 2015 revealed that separation from one’s cell phone can have serious psychological and physiological effects on smartphone users.
Solar Impulse:  The Solar Impulse, a Swiss long-range solar-powered aircraft, hopes to achieve the first circumnavigation of the Earth using only solar power.

Honorable Mention for One Word Which Left Us in 2015:
Skymall:  In January 2015 Skymall, a company which sold products from an in-flight magazine,  filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  On April 1, the company was purchased out of bankruptcy court by C&A Marketing for $1.9 million; the new owners plan to re-launch the catalog with a new product selection.  Will it still be called “Skymall”?  Only time will tell.
December 30:
Trump-Speak (i.e., all the words related to Donald Trump & his campaign)
Trumpism:  Rick Perry said, "What Mr. Trump is offering is not conservatism, it is Trump-ism -- a toxic mix of demagoguery and nonsense."
Trump Effect
Trump Strategy (referring to what might be strategies of the other candidates for the first Republican debate)
Trump Factor
Trumpification
Summer of Trump
Honorable Mentions for Other Trump-Related Terms:
#TrumpYourCat
Media Oxygen:  Other Republican candidates are still gasping for it!

-est:  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary selected the suffix "-ism" as their Word of the Year:  "A suffix is the Word of the Year because a small group of words that share this three-letter ending (socialism, fascism, racism, feminism, communism, capitalism and terrorism)  triggered both high volume and significant year-over-year increase in lookups at Merriam-Webster.com. Taken together, these seven words represent millions of individual dictionary lookups." (Info HERE). 

In the same vein, we give an Honorable Mention to the superlative suffix "-est" as it relates to the campaign of Donald Trump --  he will be the strongest, the fairest, the wisest, the greatest, the mightiest -- and most certainly the rudest and the nastiest.

Presidential:  Donald Trump is redefining what the word "presidential" might come to mean.
December 29:
#BlackLivesMatter


The “Black Lives Matter” movement began in 2013 with the use of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin.  It grew in recognition following street demonstrations after the 2014 deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, and Eric Garner in New York City.
In January 2015, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was selected by the American Dialect Society as that organization’s Word of the Year for 2014.  ““Language scholars are paying attention to the innovative linguistic force of hashtags, and #blacklivesmatter was certainly a forceful example of this in 2014,” said Ben Zimmer, chair of the New Words Committee of the American Dialect Society.  For more information about the ADS 2014 Word of the Year, click HERE.

Honorable Mention for A Related Term:

The Ferguson Effect:  "In The Wall Street Journal, the Manhattan Institute scholar Heather Mac Donald wrote about an apparent rise in homicides and other major crimes in some American cities in recent months. She called this rise the Ferguson effect, a term she borrowed from St. Louis police chief Sam Dotson, and described it as a “current surge in lawlessness” caused by “the intense agitation against American police departments over the past nine months.” In other words, the heightened scrutiny of American law enforcement led them to hesitate more on the job, thereby driving up crime."  More info HERE.
December 28:
#JeSuisCharlie
After the January 2015 massacre where terrorists killed twelve people at the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the world came together in support of freedom of speech and freedom of the press by declaring "Je Suis Charlie,"  "I am Charlie."
Honorable Mentions for "Je Suis" Take-offs:
#JeSuisCecil
#JeSuisHitchbot
#JeSuisLeftShark
#JeSuisDickPoop
Also, the management of the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard) was also very appalled that the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Show  this past year neglected to included "best of" segments of Toonces the Cat, so we wrote a three-part exposé entitled "Je Suis Toonces."

For Part 1, click HERE.  For Part 2, click HERE.  For Part 3, click HERE.
December 27:
#TakeItDown
When it came to empty space ready for radicalization (see the entry below dated 12/26), Dylan Roof was a prime candidate.  Influenced by a symbol rife with contradictory messages of heritage and hate, Roof gunned down innocent church-goers at the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, SC, last June.  Though Roof had hoped to start a race war, the very opposite occurred.  People came together in grief and support, and ultimately, after a compelling and persuasive  "Take It Down" campaign, South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from their statehouse.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said, "We know that bringing down the Confederate flag will not bring back the nine kind souls that were taken from us, nor rid us of the hate and bigotry that drove a monster through the doors of Mother Emmanuel that night. Some divisions are bigger than a flag. The evil we saw last Wednesday comes from a place much deeper, much darker. But we are not going to allow this symbol to divide us any longer. The fact that people are choosing to use it as a sign of hate is something we cannot stand. The fact that it causes pain to so many is enough to move it from the Capitol grounds. It is, after all, a Capitol that belongs to all of us."  Her complete address is HERE.
Honorable Mention for a Related Term:
Another:  As in "another mass shooting."  To date, there have been over 350 mass shootings in the US this year. Info HERE.
December 26:
Radicalization
Wikipedia defines "radicalization" as "the process by which an individual or group comes to adopt increasingly extreme political, social, or religious ideals and aspirations that (1) reject or undermine the status quo or (2) reject and/or undermine contemporary ideas and expressions of freedom of choice." 

Another site noted, "but radicalization does not spread unless a space is provided for it to breed."  

We agree -- but we're talking about the space between one's ears!  A weak, feeble brain certainly seems to be a fertile breeding ground for radicalization.
December 25:
Refugee
It's purely coincidental that "refugee," the next word on our countdown, ended up on our list on Christmas day, a day devoted to "a story about a Middle East family seeking refuge."  Of course,  the reason it is on our list is because the Syrian refugee crisis -- which came about as a result of the country's civil war -- reached crisis levels in 2015.
Reaction around the world ranged from heartless to humanitarian responses.  Here, in the United States, Donald Trump suggested a re-write to the final lines of Emma Lazarus' poem "The New Colossus," inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty:
Original lines by Emma Lazarus:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
Suggested re-write by Donald Trump:

Spare me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to a no-fly zone.
I’m snuffing my lamp and locking the door!
Honorable Mention for Another Related Term:
Deportation Force:  Donald Trump said that one of his first actions if elected president would be to eliminate the Department of Education, and surely his next move would be to establish a national Deportation Force.  Hmmm....I wonder.  Maybe his next move would be to build  the wall with the beautiful door -- and then establish the Deportation Force.    No, he'll eliminate the Department of Education first, then bomb the hell out of ISIS.  Next, he'll build the wall with the beautiful door, and then he'll make America great again.  Then he'll establish the deportation force.   Oh wait -- maybe he'll be the greatest jobs president that God ever created first -- and then establish the force?  Well, I suppose the order in which he'll do all of these things really won't matter.  I just bet the Deportation Force will have some super sweet uniforms!
December 24:
Transgender
At the 72nd Golden Globe Awards last January, "Transparent" (below left) won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series -- Musical or Comedy, and Jeffrey Tamblor won a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Television Series -- Musical or Comedy and later an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of  Maura Pfefferman (born Morton Pfefferman),

Later in the year, the world met Catilyn Jenner (below right), formerly Olympic winner Bruce Jenner (below center).  Since 2007, she has been appearing on E!'s reality television program Keeping Up with the Kardshians and is currently starring in the reality show I Am Cait, which focuses on her gender transition.

For more information on Bruce Jenner in the news in 2015, click HERE.
Honorable Mentions for Other Transition Related Terms:
Singular "They":  Though the use of singular "they" has been around for years, it gained prominence and importance in 2015 as people explored its use as a pronoun that is neutral between masculine and feminine. 
Mx:  A title like Mr., Ms., etc. that does not indicate gender, Mx. was included in the Oxford English Dictionary this year.
Transracial:  The word "transracial" took center stage when Spokane, Washington, NAACP president Rachel Dolezal resigned following allegations that she had lied about her racial identity as well as other aspects of her biography. 

Pictured at the right:  Rachel Dolezal
December 23:
–shaming
“Shaming” was very prevalent in 2015, but not just general shaming by wagging your finger and saying “shame on you” or “you ought to be ashamed.”  No, in 2015, shaming became very specific, like fat-shaming, and it was often through the use of social media, like posting pictures of people watering their lawns in drought-stricken California through drought-shaming. 

Here are a few of the numerous ways "shaming" took place in 2015:

Almond-shaming (due to amount of water needed to grow almonds)
Drought-shaming
Fat-shaming (Ariana Grande’s motivation for licking donuts)
Make-up-shaming
Public-shaming (Jeb Bush’s preferred method for dealing with unwed mothers)
Salt-shaming

To be honest, 2015 proved that every possible noun could precede “-shaming” except one:  Trump.  Evidently, Trump-shaming does not exist.  There just isn’t a way to make that man feel ashamed.
December 22: 
Climate Change
Although it was just  a few weeks ago that representatives from 196 countries arrived in Paris to resolve one of the world's most pressing problems -- climate change -- it wasn't until the start of this year that the U.S. Senate passed a measure stating that "climate change is real and is not a hoax" by a margin of 98-1.  The lone no vote was from Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi (pictured at the right).

In the middle of the year, when Pope Francis released an encyclical letter on climate change, Senator Rick Santorum said, “The church has gotten it wrong a few times on science, and I think that we are probably better off leaving science to the scientists and  (referring to the Catholic church) focusing on what we're really good at, which is theology and morality."  Leaving science to the scientists?  Gee, I wonder what scientists think about global warming and climate change?
Below left:  Land & ocean temperature trends, 1985 - 2014.  Below center:  A vision of the future of Alaska.  Right:  Climate change expert, Rick Santorum.
Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) was quite a visionary about climate change.  He wrote the poem "It can't be 'Summer'!" (below on the left), about the U.S. Senate's reaction to and lack of action against climate change.  Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to write a poem by the same name (below on the right).
By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

It can’t be “Summer”!
That – man made!
It’s hotter – now – than “Spring”!
Where’s that long gown of White – that’s gone –
When did the Canary sing?
It can’t be “Man-ufactured”!
It’s a Ruse –
The Diehards try to Shock –
So the Senate shut the statement down
Rebuffed the “Man-made” talk!
By Emily Dickinson:

It can't be "Summer"!
That—got through!
It's early—yet—for "Spring"!
There's that long town of White—to cross--
Before the Blackbirds sing!
It can't be "Dying"!
It's too Rouge--
The Dead shall go in White--
So Sunset shuts my question down
With Cuffs of Chrysolite!
December 21:
Email
Bernie Sanders got it right at the Democratic debate last October when he grumbled to Hillary Clinton, “The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails."

Pictured below:  A screenshot of Clinton's email account leaked to the press by Bernie Sanders' campaign.  Clinton insists that no classified information was sent via her personal email account.
The Clinton email controversy reminded us of a poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson entitled, "The last of Summer was a Pain" (below on the left).  His poem inspired third cousin Emily to write "The last of Summer is Delight" (below on the right).
By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

The last of Summer was a Pain –
Deterred by Side Effects.
’Tis Misery’s revealed Review –
Advancement’s Circumspect.
 
To cause it – senseless as it was –
Without secure Email –
Audacious as without a thought
To "send" without a Trail
By Emily Dickinson:

The last of Summer is Delight –
Deterred by Retrospect.
'Tis Ecstasy's revealed Review –
Enchantment's Syndicate.

To meet it – nameless as it is –
Without celestial Mail –
Audacious as without a knock
To walk within the Vail.
December 20:
Twenty-Sixteen

With a presidential election on the horizon in 2016, no words were uttered more on broadcast and cable news programs throughout the year than the word 'twenty-sixteen."  Or course, when 2016 does roll around, focus will shift to 2020.  As a matter of fact, thanks to Kanye West, it already has.

Pictured at the left:  The crowded Republican field for the 2016 election.
Honorable Mentions for Other Terms related to "Twenty-Sixteen":
Early Onset Clinton Fatigue
Happy Hour Debate and Kids Table:  Referring to Republican debates broadcast earlier than the prime-time debates since all of the candidates could not fit on the stage.
Brokered Convention:  Only time will tell if the Republican Convention in 2016 will turn on Donald Trump and turn out to be a brokered convention.
Bro with No Ho: Senator Mark Kirk's assessment of unmarried Republican candidate Lindsay Graham.
Twenty-twenty: Kanye West was the first to announce his candidacy.
December 19:
Fix This Now
Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed –at her request) used to say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  That was not the case in Indiana last March when the front page of The Indianapolis Star said it all:  “FIX THIS NOW.”  They were talking about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act which opened the door for blatant discrimination against anyone, particularly those in the LGBT community, by anyone or any company.  Days earlier, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, surrounded by church elders as if at some sort of medieval religious inquisition, signed the bill into state law.  Changes to the law were announced on April 2nd.

Pictured at the right:  The Indianapolis Star:  FIX THIS NOW

Below:  Governor Mike Pence signs the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in a scene straight out of the Dark Ages. 
December 18:
Deflategate
There was a lot of talk about balls at Super Bowl XLIX, but it wasn't because of a wardrobe malfunction.  Instead, it all to do with air pressure in the footballs, after it was discovered that someone had deflated footballs for the New England Patriots during the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts on January 18, 2015.

The  NFL announced in May that it would suspend Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for four games in the 2015 regular season for his alleged part in the scandal. However, that was later overturned because  "the requisites of fairness and due process" were missing from the process leading to the imposition of the penalty.

For more on "deflategate" -- including a poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) -- click HERE.
Honorable Mention for Another "Gate" from 2015:
Gamergate:  The gamer world was all abuzz about  Gamergate in late 2014, and it trickled out to the non-gaming world in 2015.  You can read all about it HERE.  In a nutshell, Ms. Pacman was pissed.
December 17:
Anchor Babies
Anchor Babies  (a term used to refer to children born in the U.S. to noncitizen mothers so that the children are afforded U. S. citizenship) took center stage in the 2016 GOP campaign trail when Donald Trump told a cheering crowd in Dallas that the United States has become a dumping ground for violent gang members and “anchor babies.” 
Trivia:  What was the name of the first anchor baby born in America?

Answer:  Virginia Dare.

NOTE:
 "Anchor babies" should not be confused with "Anchorage Babies," used to refer to children born to Bristol Palin as she tours the country to promote abstinence.
Honorable Mention for Another Ignoble Idea of Trump's from 2015:
Muslim Registry:  Responding to a reporter's questions about keeping America safe, Donald Trump stated that he would establish -- or at least he would consider using -- a registry for all Muslims (just not at Macy's, since Macy's had dumped him earlier for his insults against Mexicans).
December 16:
Tie:  H and Jeb!
Below left:  When Hillary Clinton unveiled her campaign logo, pundits, politicians and political junkies all yelled, “What the H?”  The issue at question was the red arrow – was it pointing forward? Or was it pointing to the right? 
 
Below center:  Jeb Bush also introduced a new logo for his foundering campaign, and it included an exclamation point after his name to add a little bit of excitement and pizazz to an otherwise dull, almost comatose campaign. 
 
Below right:  Donald Trump has even experimented with a variety of logos and posters, and his most recent choice certainly seems to fit him to a “T”!
 
For more information on the Hillary “H,” the Bush exclamation point, and the new Trump campaign posters, click HERE.


Right:  Jeb Bush was not the first presidential candidate to use an exclamation point.

Far right:  Trump tries out his new posters at a rally in Phoenix.
Honorable Mentions for a Political Hashtag from 2015:
#JebCanFIxIt:  Jeb Bush tried to instill a bit of life into his cataleptic campaign with the hoped-to-be revitalizing slogan "Jeb Can Fix It."  The Twitterverse (Twittersphere?) went wild with hilarious take-offs on what Jeb could fix.
December 15:
#thedress
 "The dress" took the Internet by storm last February with people arguing about its color:  White and gold?  Or black and blue?  My wife and I thought the entire debate was entirely bogus because we both saw white and gold, until one photograph of the dress was flashed on the evening news.  From our different angles in the room, I continued to see white and gold, but my wife saw black and blue. 

What color do you see in the photograph at the right?  Keeping your head in the same position, pivot your screen away from you.  Does the color change?

Pictured a the right:  The dress.
Interestingly enough, a similar debate about Emily Dickinson's dress went viral in the 1800s.  Was it white (pictured at the left)?  Or was it light blue (pictured at the right)? 

For more information about the Dickinson dress debate, click HERE.

Honorable Mentions for Other Notable Garments from 2015:
Bread Bags (below left): In the Republican rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, freshman Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa reminisced about her childhood.  She spoke with pride about how she would wear bread bags on her feet on her way to school on rainy days.   “But I was never embarrassed,” she said – because the school bus was filled with other Iowan children with bread bags on their feet.
"Make America Great Again" Man-Caps (below center):  If Donald Trump can do this for head gear, imagine what he could do for the underwear industry!  For more information on Trump's bestseller "Caps For Sale," click HERE.
Athleisure wear (below right):  Is it athletic wear?  Is it leisure wear?  Or is it both?
December 14:
Swipe Right / Swipe Left
Some scientists predict that as humans evolve, we are likely to lose our little toes.  There just seems to be no reason for them -- unless there is some hidden purpose in a good stubbing!  Conversely, there is good news for our thumbs:  Now that we are all addicted to iPhones, humans will certainly develop strong, muscular thumbs in the future as we continue to scroll up and down through countless feeds of pictures, information, articles and data.

Now though, with the introduction of online dating sites like Tinder, we have augmented all of the up-and-down scrolling with left and right swiping -- so not only will our thumbs be powerful and strong, they will also be more versatile.

Swipe Right:  Shows your acceptance of something. On the Tinder app, swiping right means you approve of a male/female after looking at his or her picture.

Swipe Left:  Shows that you find something unacceptable or that you find someone unattractive.

Pictured at the left:  Players of the vintage game "Mystery Date" were at the mercy of the game board to determine if one ended up with a "dream" or a "dud."

Note so with Tinder:  "Swipe right" for a dream, and "swipe left" for a dud.
Honorable Mentions for Other Notable Descriptive Terms from 2015:
Fleek (or On Fleek):  Awesome; on point.  If someone is "on fleek," you gotta swipe right.
Salty:  Not reserved for old seamen any more, "salty" means someone who looks or is upset, agitated or bitter.  Most likely, if someone looks salty, you should swipe left.
December 13:
Misremember
When Brian Williams anchored the NBC Nightly News, he would always sign off by saying, “ I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”  People never understood why – until this year – which brings us to the next word our countdown:  “Misremember.”  Misremembering was the excuse offered up by Williams for his various false claims (including being in a helicopter that took fire in Iraq, inventing the transistor radio, winning the marathon in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and originating the recipe for blueberry pancakes).
 
Note:  Bill O’Reilly offered no excuse for his misrememberings, such as photographing Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald, finding “balloon boy” Falcon Heene in his attic, designing the 2014 Starbucks Christmas cups (NOT the 2015 generic, red holiday-season cups for 2015), and co-writing “The War on Christmas March” with Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request).

Pictured below, left and right:  The signs were there all the time:  NBC Nightly News with Lyin' Brian Williams and the O'Really Factor. 

For more on the Brian Williams' scandal, click HERE.
Honorable Mentions for Other Notable Misremembered Terms from 2015:
#FoxNewsFacts:  Twitterers were not slow to react when a not-so-expert Fox News' "terror expert" gave information that Birmingham, England, is a "no-go zone" for "non-Muslims."  Some Emmett Lee Dickinson scholars state that it was Dickinson's classic poem "Facts -- are not the Realm of Fox" (below on the left) that inspired the hashtag #FoxNewsFacts.  His poem also inspired his third cousin Emily to write "Distance -- is not the Realm of Fox" (below on the right).
By Emmett Lee Dickinson:
 
Facts – are not the Realm of Fox
Nor Certainty of Source –
Clamorous reports
Until their Anchors all go hoarse.
By Emily Dickinson:
 
Distance – is not the Realm of Fox
Nor by Relay of Bird
Abated – Distance is
Until thyself, Beloved.
December 12:
Awakens
The origins of the idea to film a continuation in the Star Wars saga turned out to be a bit serendipitous:  Elliott Gould hosted a bachelor party for George Clooney shortly after Clooney had popped the question to Amal Alamuddin.  Harrison Ford was there as was George Lucas, and they were all binge-watching “Mad Men” on Netflix. Ford was downing a 24-pack of PBR, and the drunker he got, the more he’d holler, “May the force be with you, George.”
 
In the middle of Episode 6 of Season 1 of Mad Men, Elliott Gould noticed that Ford had passed out in a lazy boy chair across the room.  He was snoring and his mouth was gaping like an open sewer.  Gould started throwing white cheddar cheese puffs into Ford’s mouth.  When he hit the target, Ford jerked up and choked on the cheese puffs.  George Lucas laughed and joked, “Looks like the force awakens.”  Peter Mayhew was there and bellowed, “George, I think you've got something there. I really think you've got something there" -- and he let out a howl like Chewbacca.

Filming of Episode 7, "The Force Awakens," started just two weeks later in Trenton, New Jersey.
Honorable Mentions for Other Notable Sci-Fi Movie Terms for 2015:
Flux Capacitor: October 21, 2015, was known as "Back to the Future Day," because the Flux Capacitor in "Back to the Future II" was set for that date.
Hoverboard: Hoverboards turned out to be the hot holiday gift in 2015  (though they weren' quite like Marty McFly's) -- and they became even hotter when news broke that they were very likely to explode and catch fire!
BB-8:  The newly released episode of Star Wars introduced a new droid named BB-8, played by Meryl Streep.  Critics raved about her VERY convincing performance!
December 11:
Red Cup
Opening rounds on the War on Christmas came early this year when Starbucks revealed the company’s red cups for the holiday season...er, Christmas season.  Some people (who, really?) protested that the cups, dubbed “Satan Sippers,” did not include any symbols of the coming holiday… er, Christmas. 

Pictured at the left:  The 2015 Starbuck's Satan Sippers.  Hmmm...I just noticed a star above the mermaid's head.  A Christmas star?  Huh? Huh?  Or just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill holiday star?
Turns out that Starbucks was merely joining ranks with the real “Satan Sippers,” the Solo red cups for beer pong (note the holiday tree arrangement…er, Christmas tree arrangement…on the cups on the Beer Pong kit) – a not-so- subtle hit in the War on Christmas. 

Pictured at the right:  Beer Pong Kit with non-Christmassy Red Cups
 
Later, Donald Trump joined the offensive in the War on Christmas with his campaign’s “Make Christmas Great Again” red cups (pictured at the far right).
For more information on the War on Christmas (which was begun by Emmett Lee Dickinson, Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request), click HERE.
Honorable Mention for Another Holiday-Related...er, Christmas-Related Term from 2015:

Christmas Creep:  No, it's not a new moniker for Santa.  Instead, the "Christmas Creep" is a merchandising phenomenon in which merchants and retailers exploit the commercialized status of Christmas by introducing Christmas-themed merchandise or decorations before the traditional start of the holiday season (now known as the Shopping Season) on the day after Thanksgiving (now known as Thanksgetting).
December 10:
#RaceTogether
Oy! Donald Trump seems to be single-handedly driving people apart based on religion, when we already have more than enough issues to deal with when it comes to race. Can't we all just live by Rodney King’s lamentation, “Can’t we all just get along?” 
 
Instead, race issues seem to be handled like the weather in the classic line of Emmett Lee Dickinson’s, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it” – with the caveat that when it comes to issues dealing with race, we don’t even talk about it – let alone do anything about it. 
 
In 2015 Starbucks tried to change all that.  The company promoted the slogan and hashtag “Race Together" in an  attempt to get us all to discuss views on race relations.  Did the promotion work?   Let’s just say that it was about as popular as a cold pot of last week’s coffee.
In 2015 Starbucks tried to change all that.  The company promoted the slogan and hashtag “Race Together" in an  attempt to get us all to discuss views on race relations.  Did the promotion work?   Let’s just say that it was about as popular as a cold pot of last week’s coffee.
Honorable Mention for Another Discussion-Related Term from 2015:
Walk back:  To retract information or to make an attempt to withdraw a previous statement, as in "Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump sought to walk back his support for a database of Muslims living in the U.S. after receiving criticism from religious groups as well as his fellow candidates."
December 9:
Tie:  Finish & Boston Yeti
As a result of Boston's record snow fall in 2015, two words emerged from winter's blast, and both made it onto our countdown of Words of the Year:  "Finish" and "Boston Yeti."

Below left:  Though Boston set a all-time record snowfall for the 2014-2015 season -- with 108.6 inches -- one valiant snow shoveler kept the "finish" of the Boston Marathon route free from snow -- or, at least, as free from snow as possible.

Below right:  As a result of the record snowfall, Bostonians suddenly began to catch glimpses of the Boston Yeti running loose in and around the city.


Pictured at the right:  The Boston Yeti turned out to be actress America Ferrera who was filming in locations around the city for a new pilot called "Ugly Yeti."

For more on the record snowfall in Boston -- and it's connection to Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) -- including his poem "Nature can still do more" (the inspiration for Emily Dickinson's poem "Nature can do no more" ) --  click HERE.
Honorable Mentions for Other Notable Weather-Related Terms from 2015:
Four of the "honorable mentions" below made our list because they were new terms to us in 2015.  One ("drought") made the list due to the severity of the phenomenon in 2015. .
Dry Thunderstorm: 
A thunderstorm that produces thunder and lightning, but most or all of its precipitation evaporates before reaching the ground.
Fire Rainbow: 
Rainbows that seems to be turned into wispy clouds, making them look like sky fires.
Drought: 
With California facing one of the most severe droughts on record, it's easy to understand how "drought" ended up on our countdown for 2015.
Manhattanhenge (above left) and Super Henge (above right):
* Manhattanhenge, sometimes referred to as the Manhattan Solstice,  is an event during which the setting sun is aligned with the east–west streets of the main street grid of Manhattan, New York City.
* Super Henge is the remains of a massive stone monument, 15 times the size of and just 2 miles from the site of Stonehenge.
December 8:
Free-Range Parenting
What is "free range parenting"?  Well, way back in the 1990s and in all the decades prior to that, it was just called "parenting," but now, "free range parenting" is "the concept of raising children in the spirit of encouraging them to function independently in proper accordance of their age of development with a reasonable acceptance of realistic personal risks."

In 2015 the news focused on "free range parenting" after a couple from Maryland were charged with neglect after they allowed their children (ages 6 and 10) to walk home alone from a park.  This, in a year in which  we also celebrated a free range chicken in a Geico Insurance television commercial.  #justsaying

Below left:  Doolittle, Geico's free range chicken.  Below right:  Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn and Richard Dreyfus as himself in Geico's TV spot featuring Doolittle, the free range chicken. 
December 7:
TIDAL
Owned by Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, TIDAL is a subscription-based music-streaming service that combines lossless audio (from data compression that allows original data to be perfectly reconstructed from compressed data) and high definition music videos with curated editorial.  It all had something to do with restoring the value of music in the digital age. 
 
Has TIDAL been a success?  Well, maybe it’s too soon to tell.  Though “TIDAL” made it onto our 2015 countdown, for the most part, it’s been nothing but low tide for the service so far.

Honorable Mention for Another Organization's Name:.
The name Daesh -- which suddenly seemed to surface in the latter part of 2015 -- is a "loose acronym" for al-Dawla al-Islamiya al-Iraq al-Sham, a pejorative name for ISIL, the IIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant -- and one that ISIL does not favor.
December 6:
Man Hug

When the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Detroit Lions in a thrilling 24-20 come-from-behind victory, the real news had nothing to do with Dallas’ rare playoff victory.  Instead, coverage focused on the man hug shared between Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones and New Jersey governor Chris Christie.
 
Though CBS escaped fines for the 2004 Super-Bowl half-time show wardrobe malfunction with Janet Jackson, this time they were met with hefty penalties  -- brought on by a class action suit by the American Council for Family, Morality, and Human Decency -- for broadcasting Christie’s awkward man hug.

Honorable Mentions for Other Notable Man-Words from 2015:
Dad Bod:  The round and soft body of a father -- built upon the notion that, once married, a man no longer has to worry about his physique.    Below left:  New Jersey Governor Chris Christie shows off his dad bod at a press conference.

Man Bun:  A hairstyle when a man with long hair wraps his hair into a rounded bun.  Below right:  Chris Christie rocked the man bun when he sported Princess-Leia-type man buns after he heard that part of Star Wars 7 was to be filmed in Camden, New Jersey.
December 5:
Jiggery-Pokery

In his dissenting rant against the Supreme Court's majority decision to let Obamacare stand, Justice Antonin Scalia employed a bit of argle-bargle when he included the little-used British phrase “jiggery-pokery”:   

"The Court's next bit of interpretive jiggery-pokery,” wrote Scalia, “involves other parts of the Act that purportedly presuppose the availability of tax credits on both federal and state exchanges.” 

The effect?  Pure applesauce -- and a spot on our countdown for the 2015 Words of the Year!


Pictured at the right:  Justice Antonin Scalia getting jiggery wit it!
Honorable Mentions for Other Notable Argle-Bargle from 2015:

Pure Applesauce:  Justice Scalia’s description of the 6-to-3 majority in favor of keeping Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Nunatak:  The final word in the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee, which ended in a tie between Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kan., and Gokul Venkatachalam of Chesterfield, Mo.
December 4:
Squad
The earliest entry for “squad” that I could find in the Urban Dictionary was posted by Taylor Swift back in 2003, so “squad” as a replacement for “gang” (as in “the gang’s all here”) has been around for a while.  As a matter of fact, even Shakespeare used "squad" in Act I, Scene 3, of Hamlet when Polonius said to his son Laertes, "To thine own squad be true."  However, the use of the word “squad” as a replacement for “posse” or “crew” took off in 2015 – thanks, of course, to Taylor Swift -- and the likes of Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé, Neil deGrasse Tyson,  Jimmy Kimmel and Flo from Progressive Auto Insurance.

Pictured at the left:  Taylor Swift's entry in Urban Dictionary for "squad."

Pictured below:  Flo from Progressive Insurance and her squad at the 2015 BET Hip Hop Awards.
December 3:
Dick Poop
When the American Name Society meets soon to decide the Name of the Year for 2015, we suspect that the next entry on our 2015 Words of the Year countdown will be on their short list:  Dick Poop.
 
Back in January, when Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, revealed the nominees for the 2015 Academy Awards, she erringly pronounced the name of cinematographer Dick Pope as “Dick Poop.”  The world certainly had a good laugh, and social media and late night comedians went crazy – but all at the expense of the real Dick Poop, an event planner for the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts (DOPE). 
 
“You might think I’d be used to this type of ridicule by now,” said Poop (pictured at the left), “but it never ends – and it always hurts.”
For more information on Dick Poop and the 2015 Dick Poop scandal, click HERE. 

Honorable Mentions for Other Notable Names of 2015:
Kim Davis, friend of Pope Francis and frequent guest on the TV game show The Newlywed Game.
Kepler-452b, the Earth's doppleganger orbiting the G-class star Kepler-452.
Britt Medler, principal choreographer for singing sensation & teen heart-throb Justin Bieber.
Hitchbot, who was overwhelmed if not overpowered by the City of Brotherly Love.
The Left Shark, principal choreographer for singing sensation Katy Perry.

American Pharoah, who won the Triple Crown (with races sponsored by Burger King with commercials to introduce their new product, horse nuggets).
December 2:
Hello
After her last string of hits and her lorry full of Grammys a few  years back, Adele said "goodbye" to the recording studio for a while, but this past October she said "hello" once again.  Well, she didn't say "hello."  She sang it -- much to the delight of her adoring (and waiting) fans (which seem to number in the billions).

Above left:  Adele dedicated "Hello" to her favorite poet, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) as evidenced by her cover photograph where she is in the classic pose of Emmett Lee Dickinson, America's greatest poet.

Above right:  "Hello" is Adele's American version of her British hit "'Ello."
December 1:
The Twitter Heart
The first word on our list of Words of the Year for 2015 is a pictogram.  A few months ago there was a disturbance in the force – or at least a disturbance in the the Twitterverse – when Twitter announced that it would replace their “star” for a favorite tweet with a “heart.”  Reaction from Twits (or is it Tweeps?) from around the world was certainly heartfelt – but they weren’t singing “You Gotta Have Heart.”

Honorable Mentions for Other Pictograms for 2015:
The "tears of joy" emoji face was the OED Word of the Year for 2015.
The eggplant emoji was very popular in 2015 (for reasons we won't discuss). 
The soft-serve chocolate ice-cream emoji is always a popular emoji!
The Paris Peace Sign, which emerged after the Nov. 13th terrorist attacks on Paris.

NOTE THE NEW FORMAT:

We put our countdown in reverse chronological order so that you don't have to scroll through the entire list each day! 
If you missed today's word, scroll back up to the top!  ; )