the buzz log
The Right Word for the Wrong Lyrics
Finding the right words is a popular online pursuit. Amid the usual rush to find out the lyrics to Lil' Wayne or Paramore's latest, we've noticed searches for "webster dictionary online lyrics," up 69% this week.
Have wordsmiths taken on tune-smithing as well? Nah. More likely, the interest has been perked by Merriam-Webster's September Word of the Month: mondegreen, "a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung—and the word mondegreen is itself a mondegreen." So if it's just like you to wander off in the mondegreen park slowly searching for any signs of the right words, rest assured you're not alone.
Filed under: Music, Words, Lyrics, Dictionaries
Defining Moments
Searching for definitions online has long been a quick and dirty method to finding meaning. It's tempting, though, to read something deeper into the seemingly random patterns of "define."
For instance, questions about "define nursing paradigms" likely stem from an educational assignment, but is there deep societal frustration that gives rise to the flurry of "define complacent" or "define apathetic" queries? Are people looking for standards once and for all when they inquire, "define what is blogging"? What Parker spurred the aggrieved "define nosey"? And can there be a succinct response to "define what is man"?
These questions, and less, come from pondering words out of context. Take a look at some definitions people have sought in the past 30 days. This should be the last word on the subject of words, for the time being.
| Disciplined Queries | Million-Dollar Words | |||
| 1. | Define What Is Physical Education | 1. | Define Obsequious | |
| 2. | Define Chemistry | 2. | Define Pugnacious | |
| 3. | Define Technology | 3. | Define Cantankerous | |
| 4. | Define Physics | 4. | Define Pulchritudinous | |
| 5. | Define Biology | 5. | Define Magnanimous | |
| If You Have to Ask... | Deep Thoughts... Really Really Deep | |||
| 1. | Define Research | 1. | Define Love | |
| 2. | Define Ethics | 2. | Define Presence | |
| 3. | Define Antidisestablishmentarian | 3. | Define Reminiscing | |
| 4. | Define Integrity | 4. | Define Melancholy | |
| 5. | Define Provocative | 5. | Define Optimistic |
Filed under: Words, Dictionaries, Meaning
Word Up
At a time when technology keeps shortening words to four letters or fewer, are dictionaries still meaningful? You betcha. Even when school's out (for most), searches for dictionaries are up 14% compared to this same period last year. Throw in foreign language look-ups, and the need to know goes up 18%.
Besides vocabulary, searches for medical dictionaries rose 63% compared to last year. And we thought "cyberchondria" was so last year. (No, that word isn't part of Merriam-Webster's new batch. Yet.) The Urban Dictionary remains the second most consulted specialty dictionary, but WDR, the lingo to know is text messaging, a newby search this summer. Wordsmiths also boosted Scrabble's dictionary, possibly thanks to a fabulous Facebook application... although look for a war of words with the official version launched Monday.
Among international languages, Spanish is still numero segundo (after English), despite its 10 percent drop in searches compared to last summer. Farsi (spoken in Afghanistan and Iran) has become the fastest rising newcomer among languages. More people are also trying their tongues in Hebrew, Russian, Hawaiian, and Tagalog than last year. Fo' real, bruddah.
| Top Searched Specialty Dictionaries, Past 30 Days | Top Searched Language Dictionaries, Past 30 Days | |||
| 1. | Medical | 1. | English | |
| 2. | Urban | 2. | Spanish | |
| 3. | Dream | 3. | Tagalog | |
| 4. | Rhyming | 4. | French | |
| 5. | Scrabble | 5. | Japanese | |
| 6. | Slang | 6. | German | |
| 7. | Legal | 7. | Chinese | |
| 8. | Bible | 8. | Latin | |
| 9. | Text Messaging | 9. | Russian | |
| 10. | Crossword | 10. | Arabic |
Filed under: Words, Languages, Dictionaries, Definitions
Scrabble Scramble
Philologists, rejoice. Wordsmiths worked themselves up in a lexical lather after Merriam-Webster recently added more than 100 new words. Now their wordly obsessions can reach a new level with Scrabble's new online game.
Or will they? Hold your Qs and Js... isn't there already a fabulous, albeit contentious, version made popular by Facebook? After all, Scrabulous probably spurred the leap in "scrabble dictionary" searches, about double what they were compared to this same time last year.
Some observers thinks the official Scrabble version is too North American-centric and comes too late. Will words fail them, or could this version drag high-stakes, tile-loving spellers into social networking? Either way, wordiness wins.
Filed under: Words, Wordplay, Games, Spelling, Dictionaries
How Long is Indefinitely?
Indefinite, adjective: "A. not definite: typically designating an unidentified, generic, or unfamiliar person or thing.
B. not precise : VAGUE.
C. Having no exact limits"
—Merriam-Webster
When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell handed down an indefinite suspension to disgraced quarterback Michael Vick, some searchers were baffled. They weren't confused about the reason for Vick's banishment—it was Goodell's choice words that sent fans scrambling for the Search box.
Searches on "define indefinitely" topped our definition search chart as folks tried to pin down a day when Vick could return to the league. However, it's difficult to get your arms around something that has "no exact limits." The commish deliberately left his wording vague just in case any new information in the sordid Vick case comes to light.
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nidal Malik Hasan | Breakout! |
| 2 | Fort Hood Shooting | Breakout! |
| 3 | Tyrannosaurus Rex | Breakout! |
| 4 | Fort Hood | 43518% |
| 5 | Tropical Storm Ida | 4377% |
| 6 | Willie Aames | 3325% |
| 7 | Shannon Dedrick | 3299% |
| 8 | Gretchen Rossi | 2702% |
| 9 | Epic Mickey | 2583% |
| 10 | Lee Harvey Oswald | 1907% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danica Patrick | +194 | 207 |
| 2 | Fort Hood | +185 | 185 |
| 3 | Angelina Jolie | +114 | 164 |
| 4 | Rihanna | +39 | 157 |
| 5 | New York Yankees | +54 | 154 |
| 6 | Alicia Keys | +139 | 153 |
| 7 | +1 | 153 | |
| 8 | NFL | +6 | 138 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.