THE ONLY WORD THAT PERFECTLY DESCRIBES THIS COLUMN

Time to do my part to prod along the evolution of the English language. According to The Guardian newspaper in London, the chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary has opened a file on the word “meh.” While not yet considered popular enough to enter the OED, if the popularity of meh continues to grow it may just become official in the near future. So what the heck is meh? Meh is used ubiquitously online as the ultimate retort of dismissal. Meh is blah, whatever, who cares, ho-hum. Not surprisingly, the Simpsons have done the most to encourage the word in popular culture, for example when Bart interrupts Marge’s discussion of weaving with a “meh” and when Homer asks the kids if they want to go to Blockoland and receives the reply “meh.” The first example of meh in print occurred in 2003 when the Edmonton Sun rant the headline “Ryan Opray got voted off Survivor. Meh.”