The San Francisco Chronicle has returned with its annual
"Vote for the Word of the Year" challenge, this year allowing word combinations as well as single words. [At least one, receiving special notice thus far, has been discussed here: "dude".]

"Vote for Word of the Year"
San Francisco Chronicle, Wednesday, December 28, 2004

Extract:

"Here are the five words that got the most buzz among the several hundred people who responded to our call for nominations:

Wardrobe malfunction* -- This excuse, offered by Justin Timberlake for his and Janet Jackson's Super strip-tease act, became shorthand for a year of debate over what's fit for the airwaves, which led to the planned departure of Howard Stern for satellite radio.

Red state/blue state** -- This matched set from TV election-night maps became the shorthand way of expressing the country's deep political and cultural divisions.

Blog****-- This word has been around for awhile, but what could be more 2004 than the term for a web journal. Just ask Dan Rather.

Insurgents*** -- Terrorists? Rebels? Loyalists? Nope, the media-certified word for the other side in Iraq is about the blandest term possible.

iPod***** -- Five years after Napster, the future of downloadable music finally became clear with the success of the Apple music player.

A few other words received multiple nominations, including "low-carb," "girlie-men," "BALCO," and, with several spellings, "duuuuude."

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2004/12/22/word22.DTL

re BALCO
If anyone is wondering about "BALCO", as I was, it isn't an acronym* [even tho it is capitalized]. It is a reference to "Balco Laboratories" and the current "Balco investigation" into drug doping of Olympic athletes.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/special_packages/doping_scandal/10458499.htm?1c

* Perhaps it is an acronym, after all: BALCO - Bay Area Laboratories Company. In any case, if it isn't an acronym, it is now a synonym [for a sensational drug doping scandal].