New Words and Phrases

The Australian arm of McDonald's has urged the national Macquarie Dictionary to include "Macca's" -- the brand's local nickname -- in its next edition.

"Omnishambles" was named Britain's word of the year Tuesday after being coined by BBC political comedy television series "The Thick of It" to describe a totally mismanaged situation.

English words like "email" and "networking" pepper digital and economic parlance in the French-speaking world, to the chagrin of the attendees at the first French Language World Forum, who are struggling to find French alternatives.

LONDON (Reuters) - Are you familiar with the brabble of cockyolly birds in the growlery?

Brittany Novotny, who mounted a bid for Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern's seat, has reached out to troubled gay teens. Brittany Novotny, who mounted a bid for Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern's seat, has reached out to troubled gay teens. In a new It Gets Better video, Novotny says she recognized she was living in the wrong body at a very early age. ?One day when I was in third grade, a boy I went to school with in Moore, Oklahoma came to school using a new word he had come up with: transsexual,? she says. ?I was one of the targets of this new word.? ?I remember going to bed as a kid and praying at night for God to make me wake up as a little girl. I just knew there had been a big mistake.? Novotny adds that she tried to bury her feelings in high school, but after college she was ready to accept her reality. ?I graduated law school in 2005 and almost immediately I set out to complete my gender transition.? ?Now, I'm 30 years old. I have my own law practice in Oklahoma,

After riots and strikes, 'austerity' selected as Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. As Greece faced a debt crisis, the government passed a series of strict austerity measures, including taxes hikes and cutting public sector pay.

Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year. Merriam-Webster's annual Words of the Year dating to 2003, when the publisher started making the selection:

Runners-up to Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year. The runners-up to Merriam-Webster's 2010 Word of the Year ? austerity ? with definitions from the publisher's collegiate dictionary and, when applicable, the news event or story that generated the interest in the word:

The latest technological trends have also been captured among the dozens of new inclusions, which were revealed Wednesday, with "tweetheart," "tweet tooth," "tweet-out," "iPad" and "intexticated" all entering the lexicon.

Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year. Merriam-Webster's annual Words of the Year dating to 2003, when the publisher started making the selection:

Runners-up to Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year. The runners-up to Merriam-Webster's 2009 Word of the Year (admonish), with definitions from the publisher's collegiate dictionary and, when applicable, the news event or story that generated the interest in the word:

It's no lie: 'Admonish' wins Word of the Year after Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst. When the U.S. House admonished Rep. Joe Wilson for shouting "You lie!" at President Barack Obama during a health care speech to Congress, it not only lit up talk show lines, but also sent many people scurrying to the Internet in search of a definition.

Unfriend is New Oxford American Dictionary's 2009 word of the year. What word sums up 2009? How about unfriend?

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - "Unfriend" has been named the word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary, chosen from a list of finalists with a tech-savvy bent.

Unfriend is New Oxford American Dictionary's 2009 word of the year. What word sums up 2009? How about unfriend?

The New Oxford American Dictionary named "unfriend" -- as in deleting someone as a friend on a social network such as Facebook -- its word of the year on Monday.

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Australian English went green in 2009 as growing concern about climate change made its mark on the nation's language, according to latest version of Australia's largest dictionary.

Witness says he saw suspect with assault rifle shortly before 7 people were slain in Ind.. A witness says he saw a man accused of killing seven people holding an assault rifle on the front porch of their Indianapolis home minutes before the slayings.

American Samoa gets own US quarter. U.S. Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart was in Pago Pago for the launch of the American Samoa quarter.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - "Locavores" can officially take a "staycation" this year, being among 100 new words to feature in the 2009 edition of a leading U.S. dictionary, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.