Say e0hw fhOwz to the top 10 buzzwords of 2010

It was the year of PNoy and PCOS, of jejemons and bekimons, and other major, major words that created a lot of buzz. Looking back on the year that was, GMANews.TV drew up this list of words and expressions that we think made a mark in 2010, based on usage and impact on the lives of Filipinos. Click here for larger version 1O. Tuhmuh! - nasal way of expressing approval In 2010, approval didn’t come from the bottom of the heart, but from the nose. The Filipino word “tama" (correct) retained its original meaning, but the way it is said changed a lot this year, becoming very nasal and deliberately goofy. How and why this happened, no one knows for sure, but as long as it feels right, you can just go ahead and say, “Tuhmuh!" 9. Damaso - fictional friar’s name turned battlecry of RH bill advocates Who would have thought that Rizal’s iconic abusive friar would be a buzzword again more than a century after the novel “Noli Me Tangere" was published? This, of course, was the achievement of iconoclastic tour guide Carlos Celdran, who aptly dressed like Rizal and hoisted the word in front of bishops last September to denounce their meddling in public policy debates over reproductive health. 8. Ikaw Na! - phrase used to refer to someone who is an epitome of something When you meet someone who feels like he or she is the embodiment of a character trait or a concept, then this is the expression to use. Delivered in an ironic manner, “Ikaw Na!" gives the impression that you are resting your case, and that no other person can top the self-confidence he or she exudes. For example, you say this to someone who feels like she is the queen of the world: “Ang dami-dami mo namang manliligaw, Tita. Ikaw na talaga ang maganda! Ikaw na!" 7. Bieber - cutesy tween idol known for his manbangs He got us all singing “Baby, baby, baby, oh" this year, and fan girls all over the world went ga-ga his boy-next-door charm. Canadian pop idol Justin Bieber was such a hit this year that the word “Bieber" has become not just a household name, but an adjective as well (as in “Bieber bangs"). The Bieber fever was undeniably on in 2010! 6. Bekimon - gay lingo in the age of Web 2.0 Watching YouTube videos was made more fun and gay this year by “Bekimon"— the quirky character popularized by Bern Persia on the video streaming site for his funny antics and his heavy use of gay lingo. The videos got a lot of attention, and before we knew it “Bekimon" became the new name for “gay language." And when you put gay lingo this colorful online, you’d expect it to spread like wildfire. No wonder even straight males used the expressions “waley" (none), “aura" (to steal the scene) and “have na have" (attractive) in 2010. 5. Charice - international singing sensation from the Philippines, where it’s sunny everyday (except during monsoons) This year, no other Filipina celebrity shone as brightly as Sunshine Corazon. From her humble beginnings as runner-up in a local singing competition, Charice conquered the international scene, thanks of course to YouTube, Ellen Degeneres, Oprah, and Vicky Belo. Her name is already being used in gay speak as a replacement for the expression “Charing!" (as in “Hindi naman yata totoo yung sinabi niya. Parang Charice lang!"). The whole country is surely looking forward to her next appearance in the hit TV musical show “Glee" and is expecting her career to reach greater heights, like a pyramid. 4. PCOS - automated machines that count shaded bilog na hugis itlog Forget the iPad. The PCOS (Precinct Count Optical Scan) machines were the gadgets to beat in 2010. We entrusted our country’s future to these counting machines, and they left us in a state of suspense right up to the crucial hours before the casting of votes began. Luckily, they delivered, sparing us the agony of waiting days for the election results. Why, they even managed to tweet while counting votes. PCOS machines may have forever changed how polls are held in our country. 3. Major major - poised manner (think beauty queen) of describing the superlative Ma. Venus Raj may not worn the crown in this year’s Miss Universe pageant, but she sure won a spot in our vocabularies this year. The expression she used during the pageant’s Q&A portion was an instant hit, becoming the new way of describing something extreme (as in “Ang major major fail ng tweet ni Mai Mislang!"). We’re quite sure that uttering this expression during the pageant wouldn’t count as the biggest mistake in this Filipina beauty’s life. 2. PNoy - casual way of calling our country’s first ever bachelor president PNoy is certainly less formal, and perhaps more endearing, than GMA or FVR, and right up there with Erap and Cory as user-friendly nicknames, except that with the P, the prestige of his office is attached to the abbreviation for Noynoy. And it's just his luck that PNoy is almost exactly the same nickname for his entire constituency. The next five years will tell us if he deserved it. 1. Jejemon - brave new breed of youngsters that got the whole country saying “e0hw fhOwz" Eat your hearts out jejebusters – 2010 was the year of the jejemon phenomenon. Their weird way of texting, speaking, and dressing up got everyone’s attention; even officials from the Department of Education once declared an “all-out war" against them. Despite the criticisms, the jeje-craze dominated pop culture, with TV shows and movies getting inspiration from this new breed of youngsters. The jejemons can keep their heads (with jejecaps on) held high, and give a victory “j3jeJeje" laugh as the year ends, because 2010 is definitely their year. There were also some words that almost made it to our countdown, but didn't quite make the cut: * Plagiarism – because even a Supreme Court associate justice (who used a word processor that didn’t have "malicious intent") got away with it this year * VillArroyo – this year’s synonym for “death by association" * NoyBi – term used to refer to the 2010 elections’ winning combination * Kay Ganda! – a tourism slogan not considered beautiful * Grand Lotto – game of chance that got Pinoys of all classes queuing for more than P700 million in cash * Azkals – the lovable mutt of a Philippine football team that made the country forget boxing and basketball for a few days in December And in case you missed them, here are our top buzzwords of 2009 – YA/HS, GMANews.TV