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free bird1711669071and appears on just this listwas added by tankhughes and appears on just this list
scofflaw1711669070and appears on 59 listswas added by tankhughes and appears on 59 lists
phubbing1711669065and appears on 10 listswas added by tankhughes and appears on 10 lists
About
People often host contests polling the public to answer the call for a new word for an "there oughtta be a word" concept.
However, contest winner words rarely become regularly used. (For example: I like ickpocket from a contest to remove one letter from a word and redefine it, but it hasn't gone viral.)
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tankhughes commented on the list contest-winner-words-that-actually-got-popular-9vivPkKN-NieFQ12dfVV4
phubbing was a 2013 creation for the Australian dictionary MacQuarie: https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/phubbing-words-we%27re-watching
free bird is a Boomer redefinition of empty nester that was an answer to a reader query on BetterAfter50.com. (I think - research in progress) https://betterafter50.com/re-defining-the-empty-nest/
scofflaw was a 1924 contest about prohibition violators sponsored by wealthy liquor hater Delcevare King from Massachussetts.
March 28, 2024