Check ’em out: “The Buzzwords of 2008.”

You’re sure to find a favorite.

Here are ones I think will last:

• Frugalista: A person who is frugal but fashionable.
• Nuke the Fridge: To ruin a movie franchise; usually attributed to the arrogance of a successful producer or director. The term was coined based on a scene in the latest Indiana Jones movie, in which the hero survives a nuclear blast by hiding in a refrigerator. The term is patterned after jump the shark, coined a few years ago to refer to anything that had peaked in popularity or quality and was now on a downward slide toward ridiculousness and irrelevancy. However, I think “Jump the Shark” will be the preferred term.
• TBTF: An initialism for “too big to fail,” used to describe very large financial institutions that many believe should be protected from financial collapse. Unfortunately, this will survive long after this recession.
• DWT: Driving While Texting. You know you shouldn’t do it, but it’s difficult not to multitask. The situation will improve when we can do speech-to-texting. Look for that in 2010.
• Staycation: A vacation from work or school that does not involve traveling. This term will survive 2008. but it still won’t be as much fun.

Here are some I don’t think will survive:

• Recessionista: A person who stays fashionable during an economic downturn without spending a lot of money. Too similar, and longer way to refer to a Frugalista.
• Terrorist fist jab: A knuckle-to-knuckle fist bump. If the Obamas continue to use that gesture, expect it to be referred to by its initials: TFJ.
• Hockey Mom. Was 2008’s Soccer Mom. But in the U.S., more children play soccer than plan hockey so expect to see Soccer Mom prevail as the term of choice in the next election cycle. (That’s when pundits talk about demographic groups.)
• Sister Wife: A woman who shares a husband with another woman. Used by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Texas and other polygamous groups. Will retreat to the shadows unless there’s another raid on a polygamist home(s).

Interestingly, I had thought buzz words were two words, but the Times considers it to be a single world.