Because Language

Via the New York Times:

After a year dominated by upstart words like “selfie,” “bitcoin” and “twerk,” the American Dialect Society’s Word of the Year for 2013 seems slightly banal: “because.” Ben Zimmer, chairman of the dialect society’s new words committee, explained that casual online usage had transformed “because.” “No longer does ‘because’ have to be followed by of or a full clause,” he said in a statement. “Now one often sees tersely worded rationales like ‘because science’ or ‘because reasons.’ You might not go to a party ‘because tired.’ As one supporter put it, “because” should be word of the year ‘because useful!’” The society also hung laurels on a number of other words.”Sharknado” won the “most unnecessary” category with 162 votes, crushing second-place finisher “cronut” (18 votes, presumably cast by people who have so far been able to secure one of the sought-after croissant slash doughnuts). “Catfish,” meaning to misrepresent oneself online, won in the “most creative” category.

(Via JMG reader James)