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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Fake word to hate: "Recessionista".

I'm not a fan of any invented word, since it cheapens the language and leads to misuse of root words and suffixes. I really hate it when Miriam-Webster's liberal editors throw words like "woot" into the latest dictionary edition, or credit wrong word usage as "colloquial" or "popular use" (Case in point? Nauseous. It means "To cause nausea" yet most people use it to mean "To feel nausea". Recently MW allowed that definition as a popular usage. I find that disgusting...I feel like it's giving in. We don't give in for math or history and allow people to believe the French and Indian War is the same as the Boer wars, or that four is a prime number, so why do we give in on grammar and English?).
Ahem. Allow me to step down off this soap-box.
Anyway, my most recent hated made-up word is "recessionista". I hate this word for several reasons. The first is that it is a made up word, and tacks the silly suffix "ista" on to the end for know apparent reason (try tracing the etymology of that one, future generations!). The second is that it uses a negative connotation to describe smart shopping, dressing, and living that should be a part of every day life, not just life when the economy is in the dumps. It implies that someone is wise for making money-saving choices, since we are in this nasty recession. What we need is a word for someone who wisely makes good financial choices all the time, so that cutting back is not such a necessity - nor such a huge jump - in times of economic duress.
My last reason for hating this word is purely personal: I keep getting lumped into this category, and it's getting crowded. It used to be my secret little thing to shop at thrift stores and buy accessories at Super Ten. Now that everyone's doing it the Goodwill racks are looking a little picked-over. So back off, all you "recessionistas" and let me get first dibs at the new arrivals at the Salvation Army. I was here first!

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