So I put on my thinking cap and here are the terms I used, and what they found (total 31479)

viagra 1066 cialis 946 loans 2599 lesbian 891 tranny 253 juicy 40 girl 1719 teen 855 shoe 98 bisexual 33 smoking 81 diet 1750 phentermine 1786 britney 59 dvd 140 poker 2030 bondage 197 gucci 25 price 181 baseball 34 video 594 magazine 93 discount 172 wholesale 63 auto 1560 health 1359 medical 114 catalog 618 professional 35 pharmacy 1135 xanax 308 nude 1409 tit 1400 escort 97 photo 297 gay 510 free 2640 pics 126 anal 330 hentai 292 full 150 interracial 20 ballantine 2 rotary 14 aaa 97 outlet 35 casino 1799 hotel 201 election 4 news 3555 mp3 33 exercise 8 sex 3131 adult 67 homeowners 394 mortgage 851 music 82 pussy 599 ipod 33 america 330 home 1992 insurance 2770 rental 121 cheap 154 voucher 1 samples 2 designer 17 oral 60 mature 96 roulette 262 dog 77 puppy 12 cat 692 asian 108 hair 171 porn 258 amateur 96 visa 148 japan 53 black 437 actual 664 travel 59 bbw 42 buy 183 prozac 18 prescription 25 links 907 information 3486 reviews 601 bang 13 learn 12 texas 167 soma 43 movie 71 spam 289 shaved 15 cunt 67 naked 20 ass 378 fuck 20 indian 71 women 4 suck 14 pretty 3 cute 5 young 7 bible 16 site 1004 research 267 foto 10 pic 154 tattoo 19 ka-ka-sh-ka 3589 game 63 value 189 poem 4 car 1932 friend 192 beer 3 bar 37 store 26 bag 33 book 350 move 53 job 15 intro 225 myspace 11 source 80 tv 10 hot 327 http 2672

The last one was because I couldn’t think of any more actual terms to pull out of the gobbledegook with which I was left at this point, so I tried to capture all. As there happened to be under the maximum amount in the list at this point, it displayed all results, I unchecked legitimate comments, and thankfully deleted the rest.

Now to find wordpresses’ spam plug in…

The site has been around for almost ten years now, (and hence I feel a little bit behind the zeitgeist on this one), and the phrase has obviously recently come into such popular usage that a quick google of it reveals the following results: 1 and 2 are direct links to the site. 3 is a wikipedia definition. 4 is a wordspy definition. 5 an urban dictionary one. 6 an article from USA Today discussing the sudden popularity of the word. 7 another online definition. In short, most of the articles are concerned with the etymology of the phrase.

At university, my linguistics tutor had a passion for the development of the English language. I will always remember him – a man who is viewed as one of the foremost worldwide authorities on Beowulf, a man who eschewed college functions and could, by all accounts, more regularly be found in the seedier pubs playing pool with the townies, a man who habitually wore black trousers, a white shirt and white trainers, with his shoulder length, receding hair tied in a pony tail to give him the look of Bill Bailey – leaning forward in his chair, jumping up to pull down a book from the thousands which lined his rooms, hopelessly trying to convey to a couple of hung-over, coming-down undergraduates the dynamic, vital nature of a language which has evolved and grown over so many thousands of years.

Perhaps this seed eventually germinated, but I gradually (and way too late for it to be of any use to me in my degree mark) developed a similar passion, and while with me it is not supported by much scholarly research, I still admit to a frisson of excitement when I spot a new trend in linguistic development. Having such an interest at times makes me feel as though my default position is one of deep conservatism. I refuse to abbreviate in text messages, find smileys abhorrent, and still bristle when I walk into a cafe to be confronted with a sign offering me ‘2 egg’s, bacon and sausage’s.’ The English language is a glorious thing, and if I were to be appointed guardian of it, (arrogant, perhaps, but this comes vertiginously close to topping my all time dream jobs list) I would allow only judicious and witty rule breaking when it comes to its evolution.

But the English language is also a completely organic thing, and has always been subject to change due to popular movements. The same tutor once set an essay on dictionaries – whether they were prescriptive or descriptive. Samuel Johnson tried to write ‘a dictionary by which the pronunciation of our language may be fixed, and its attainment facilitated; by which its purity may be preserved, its use ascertained, and its duration lengthened’. It was an admirable but completely misguided task to set himself, and he soon realised that it would not be possible, and instead concentrated for the first time in recording the usage of words in print, drawing his definitions from how they had been used, not how he felt they should be. In the end, he had altered his stance so radically that he believed that “to enchain syllables, and to lash the wind, are equally the undertakings of pride”.

So I have to accept, it would seem, that changes to the language which I won’t particularly like are bound to pass into common usage. And that they will happen precisely because it is such a progressive force. And I will have to keep my mutterings to a minimum if and when the cafe owners win out and the incorrectly placed possessive apostrophe passes into wider usage. And modulate my voice when I complain ‘egg’s what?’ But in the meantime I can also celebrate when something gets added or changed, of which I wholeheartedly approve. And ‘jump the shark’, because it is an interesting, vibrant coinage; because it describes a phenomenon which is particularly of-the-moment, and because it is memorable and unique, is one such addition.

The site’s quite fun too.