Social networking is everywhere these days and that hasn"t escaped the lexicographers at the Oxford University Press. They have chosen "unfriend" as the 2009 Word of the Year.
Apparently nothing earth-shattering is expected during the next 6 weeks but it does give them a jump on rival Merriam-Webster who waits until December to reveal their own Word of the Year.
Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer of Oxford"s American dictionary program, describes unfriend as having "both currency and potential longevity." She also coined the quotation used in the title. Critics, meanwhile, maintain that unfriend will be a temporary flash in the pan (but don"t unfriend me for repeating that).