BINDERS FULL OF WOMEN In explaining during a debate that he often sought to hire women while he was governor of Massachusetts, Mr. Romney said he was given “whole binders full of women” to consider as candidates for government jobs. The comment was widely ridiculed, since it made it seem as though he knew so few qualified women that others had to find them for him.
DOGA Yoga with a dog.
DOX To find and release all available information about a person or organization, usually for the purpose of exposing their identities or secrets. “Dox” is a longstanding shortening of “documents” or “to document,” especially in technology industries. In 2012, the high-profile Reddit user Violentacrez was doxed by Adrian Chen at Gawker to expose questionable behavior.
EASTWOODING Talking to an empty chair as if President Obama were sitting in it, as Clint Eastwood did at the 2012 Republican National Convention.
FISCAL CLIFF The tax increases and spending cuts that will take effect Jan. 1 if Congress does not pass legislation to block them. One worry is that a plunge would stall or reverse the nation’s climb out of the recession.
FRACKING Hydraulic fracturing, a method of extracting natural gas or oil from shale formations. Although the word is not new, it became commonplace as the extraction practice grew more widespread, producing an abundance of natural gas but also raising concerns about possible environmental and health risks.
FRANKENSTORM The storm that hit the East Coast in October, a few days before Halloween.
GANGNAM STYLE The manner and attitude ascribed to the affluent Gangnam District of Seoul, South Korea. This term came to the attention of the world when the Korean pop star PSY released the song and video “Gangnam Style.” His signature “galloping pony ride” dance was the macarena of 2012.
HIGGS BOSON An atomic particle whose existence was confirmed in July by scientists at the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva.
LOVE PENTAGON The tangle of relationships among Gen. David Petraeus; Paula Broadwell, with whom he had an affair; Gen. John Allen; and several others. A play on “love triangle.”
LEGITIMATE RAPE A confirmed rape. In August, Representative Todd Akin of Missouri, the Republican Senate candidate, was asked whether he believed abortion was justified in cases of rape and replied that rape rarely resulted in pregnancy. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down,” he said. His comment drew widespread ridicule. Mr. Akin apologized for his remarks but lost.
MAN CAMP A temporary housing facility for oil workers.
MIKE DROP OR DROP THE MIKE Literally, to drop a microphone on the floor in a showy way when finished with speaking or singing, especially after an outstanding performance. Figuratively, to quit a job or undertaking after an outstanding performance, especially when failure was predicted.
MOOC An acronym for a massive open online course, an online class that allows students from anywhere to view lectures and receive instruction, usually for free.
NOMOPHOBIA Fear of losing or forgetting one’s mobile phone, or of being outside of the phone’s signal area. From no more (phone|phobia).
N.P.Z. An abbreviation for “no power zone,” referring to the parts of New York City that lost electricity as a result of Hurricane Sandy.
OBAMALONEY The Romney campaign’s name for what it called distortions and misrepresentations of Mr. Romney’s policies and accomplishments by the Obama campaign.
PET SHAMING, CAT SHAMING OR DOG SHAMING Posting a picture of one’s pet to a social media site with a sign in the picture that details some mischief or wrongdoing by the animal.
POLL TRUTHER Someone who refused to believe poll numbers or statistical predictions that President Obama had a very strong probability of winning a second term.
SNOR’EASTERCANE A nickname for the October storm that struck the East Coast. Blended from the words “snow,” “nor’easter” and “hurricane.”
SOPO An acronym for south of power, the area of downtown Manhattan that was without electricity after Hurricane Sandy.
SUPER PAC A political action committee that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money for ads on behalf of political candidates, as long as it does not coordinate its activities with the candidates or donate directly to them, their campaigns or political parties.
SUPERSTORM Yet another name for the massive storm that pummeled the East Coast in October.
SWAG A stylish and confident demeanor or attitude. A shortening of “swagger.” This term has been used in recent years but became huge this summer following its repeated use in pop songs and by large numbers of (mainly) young men. Its popularity has since fallen.
UNSKEW To adjust data to suit one’s beliefs or a desired outcome. The verb evolved from the name of the Web site unskewedpolls.com, which adjusted polling findings to reflect what the results would look like if more Republicans had been questioned.
UNWINDULAXIN Unwinding, chilling out, relaxing. Used on an episode of the TV sitcom “30 Rock.”
WAITRESS MOM A poor, white working mother without a college education. The term first rose to prominence among political demographers and marketers in the 2010 midterm elections. Its usage increased sharply in October around the presidential debates.
YOLO An acronym for “You Only Live Once.” Used as an interjection when someone is considering doing something risky or ill-advised. The expression took off this year after the hip-hop star Drake’s song “The Motto” became a hit in 2011.
Compete Source NYTs
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