'Jump the Couch' is the Slang of the Year

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.
SOURCE Oxford University Press