Word of the Year for 2006 Announced

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colbert-s-truthiness-pronounced-word-year-2006.html

STEPHEN COLBERT'S " TRUTHINESS " IS PRONOUNCED THE *WORD OF THE YEAR*

FOR 2006

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - After 12 months of naked partisanship on

Capitol Hill, on cable TV and in the blogosphere, the word of the

year for 2006 is . . . " truthiness. "

The word - if one can call it that - best summed up 2006, according

to an online survey by dictionary publisher Merriam Webster.

" Truthiness " was credited to Comedy Central satirist

Colbert, who defined it as " truth that comes from the gut, not

books. "

" We're at a point where what constitutes truth is a question on a

lot of people's minds, and truth has become up for grabs, " said

Merriam-Webster president Morse. " 'Truthiness' is a playful way

for us to think about a very important issue. "

Other Top 10 finishers included " war, " " insurgent, " " sectarian "

and " corruption. " But " truthiness " won by a 5-to-1 margin, Morse

said.

Colbert, who once derided the folks at Springfield-based Merriam-

Webster as the " word police " and a bunch of " wordinistas, " was

pleased.

" Though I'm no fan of reference books and their fact-based agendas,

I am a fan of anyone who chooses to honour me, " he said in an e-mail

to The Associated Press.

" And what an honour, " he said. " Truthiness now joins the

lexicographical pantheon with

wordslike: 'squash,' 'merry,' 'crumpet,' 'the,' 'xylophone,' 'circuit

ous,' 'others' and others. "

Colbert first uttered " truthiness " during an October 2005 broadcast

of " The Colbert Report, " his parody of combative, conservative talk

shows.