'Truthiness' Is Word of the Year

A panel of linguists has decided the word that best reflects 2005 is "truthiness," defined as the quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true.

The word was coined by Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert on the premiere episode of "The Colbert Report," a fact that the Associated Press neglected to mention in this article about the word of the year selection. The omission drew a hilarious response from Colbert, who declared the AP the "No. 1 threat facing America."

Watch a video clip or read the transcript of Colbert defining truthiness, and then watch this clip of Colbert taunting the AP.

Stephen Colbert on 'Truthiness'

And that brings us to tonight's word: Truthiness.

Now I'm sure some of the word-police, the "wordanistas" over at Websters, are gonna say, "Hey, that's not a word!" Well, anybody who knows me knows that I am no fan of dictionaries or reference books. They're elitist. Constantly telling us what is or isn't true, what did or didn't happen.

Who's Britannica to tell me the Panama Canal was finished in 1914? If I want to say it happened in 1941, that's my right.

I don't trust books. They're all fact, no heart. And that's exactly what's pulling our country apart today. Because face it, folks, we are a divided nation. Not between Democrats or Republicans, or conservatives and liberals, or tops and bottoms. No, we are divided by those who think with their head, and those who know with their heart.

Consider Harriett Miers. If you think about Harriett Miers, of course her nomination's absurd! But the President didn't say he thought about his selection, he said this:

President Bush: "I know her heart."

Notice how he said nothing about her brain? He didn't have to. He feels the truth about Harriett Miers. And what about Iraq? If you think about it, maybe there are a few missing pieces to the rationale for war. But doesn't taking Saddam out feel like the right thing...right here in the gut? Because that's where the truth comes from, ladies and gentlemen...the gut.

Did you know that you have more nerve endings in your stomach than in your head? Look it up. Now, somebody's gonna say "I did look that up and its wrong." Well, Mister, that's because you looked it up in a book. Next time, try looking it up in your gut. I did. And my gut tells me that's how our nervous system works.

Now I know some of you may not trust your gut...yet. But with my help you will. The "truthiness" is, anyone can read the news to you. I promise to feel the news...at you.

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