The Monday, January 8, 2007 article headline in recognition of "plutoed" being named the 2006 Word of the Year reads: "Pluto's New Fame: Word of the Year"
The Associated Press story reads as follows:
Anaheim, Calif. - Pluto is finally getting some respect - from wordsmiths.
"Plutoed" was chosen 2006 Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society at its annual meeting Friday.
To "pluto" is "to demote or devalue someone or something" much like what happend to the former planet last year when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto did not meet its definition of a planet.
"Our members believe the great emotional reaction of the public to the demotion of Pluto shows the importance of Pluto as a name," society President Cleveland Evans said. "We may no longer believe in the Roman god Pluto, but we still have a sense of personal connection with the former planet."
"Plutoed" won in a runoff against "climate canary," defined as "an organism or species whose poor health or declining numbers hint at a larger environmental catastrophe on the horizon."
Other words in the running included murse, man's purse; and flog, a fake blog that promotes products.
The 117-year old group included linquists, grammarians and historians. In conducting the vote, members do so for fun and not in any official capacity.
