The fine folks at the New Oxford American Dictionary, known world-wide a ‘Lord of the Word’, announced their 2009 Word of the Year. Ladies and gentlemen, the word of the year is…
unfriend, (un-friend), verb: To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.
Yes, thanks to the internet and the rise of social networking, the language of online introduces another word into the mainstream. With any new word I hearken back to grade school and the days of the teacher saying, “Use it in a sentence.” The word unfriend can be used in many ways…
Oxford’s example: “I decided to unfriend my roommate on Facebook after we had a fight.”
Matter of fact: “I unfriended the guy.”
Threatening: “Keep up the spam buddy and I’ll unfriend you.”
Showing concern for one’s feelings: “I hate to unfriend her. Can I do it without her knowing?”
Longingly: “Wow, I wish I could have unfriended this guy in high school.”
Wouldn’t it be fun to add the “un” to other words?
Healing: “I just unstubbed my toe.”
Wishful thinking: “Hey boss, would you please unfire me?”
Realistic: “I need to unwaste some time on Facebook.”
Do you have some you’d like to add?
Be Sociable