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Mum's the word

The British Council marked its 70th anniversary with a survey to determine the seventy favourite words in the English language. As reported in the Guardian, they are:
1 Mother 2 Passion 3 Smile 4 Love 5 Eternity 6 Fantastic 7 Destiny 8 Freedom 9 Liberty 10 Tranquillity 11 Peace 12 Blossom 13 Sunshine 14 Sweetheart 15 Gorgeous 16 Cherish 17 Enthusiasm 18 Hope 19 Grace 20 Rainbow 21 Blue 22 Sunflower 23 Twinkle 24 Serendipity 25 Bliss 26 Lullaby 27 Sophisticated 28 Renaissance 29 Cute 30 Cosy 31 Butterfly 32 Galaxy 33 Hilarious 34 Moment 35 Extravaganza 36 Aqua 37 Sentiment 38 Cosmopolitan 39 Bubble 40 Pumpkin 41 Banana 42 Lollipop 43 If 44 Bumblebee 45 Giggle 46 Paradox 47 Delicacy 48 Peekaboo 49 Umbrella 50 Kangaroo 51 Flabbergasted 52 Hippopotamus 53 Gothic 54 Coconut 55 Smashing 56 Whoops 57 Tickle 58 Loquacious 59 Flip-flop 60 Smithereens 61 Oi 62 Gazebo 63 Hiccup 64 Hodgepodge 65 Shipshape 66 Explosion 67 Fuselage 68 Zing 69 Gum 70 Hen night
Of all these great "names" it seems that the single category that has secured the most is "social networks" or, in street lingo, dating and mating websites: Passion, Love, Cherish, Tickle and Zing. But not Sweetheart, Gorgeous or Sunshine.

A few of these words are well-known brands, like Bumble Bee Tuna and Cosmopolitan Magazine. A couple are founders surnames long established as company names, like Grace and Bliss.

Others are names well-suited to their brands. Freedom is another word for a chain of newspapers, as is their right under the First Amendment. Gorgeous is a women's health and beauty directory. Smile is a dentistry directory. Aqua is a water information center. ShipShape provides organizing services. Giggle is an Internet Joke Site.

Many of these great words appear to be held as general directories until they find good homes on the worldwide web. A few excellent names are being offered for sale. Some will see opportunities.

Fantastic is, apparently, not so fantastic at the present time. Sadly, in the dotcom world there's no Enthusiasm and no Hope. Destiny is "Coming Soon"—that's good—Eternity ceased operations on April 12th, 2002.
Posted by abnu on Friday, November 26, 2004 @ 11:46 AM [ + ]

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