The Truthiness of These Words Coined by Celebrities

Monday, May 201 min read

Famous folks can start all kinds of trends, from hairstyles to clothing to, yes, even words. We're still trying to make "fetch" happen, but here is a batch of celebrity-coined words that have actually caught on with the public.

Smize

Tyra Banks introduced the concept of “smiling with your eyes” during her reign as the host and producer of "America’s Next Top Model." Wannabe models in future seasons who nailed the art of “smizing” managed to give off a genuine look of happiness, even when they weren’t actively smiling for a photo. The word is ubiquitous enough that you might get praise for your smize in your next selfie post.

Truthiness

Stephen Colbert is the famous TV show host behind this tongue-in-cheek term, used to describe politicians who try to pass off gut feelings, intuitions, or preferences as fact. Colbert debuted the word in the pilot episode of The Colbert Report back in 2005, and it is still used to this day.

EVOO

Extra virgin olive oil is such a staple in your kitchen that it deserves its own nickname. Much like RSVP or YOLO (the latter of which was promoted by rapper Drake), EVOO is understood as a standalone word, thanks to cooking show host Rachael Ray’s love for the oft-used ingredient. And before you say this isn’t a word – the OED would disagree, having added it to the dictionary after Rachael blew up the term.

Amazeballs

Perez Hilton, the OG celebrity blogger, is given credit for bringing this combination of amazing and, well, balls into the mainstream. "Amazeballs" was added to the Collins Dictionary in 2012 with the definition of “an expression of enthusiastic approval.” Next time you eat one of your friend's chocolate chip cookies, you can use this exclamation.

Photo credit: LPETTET/ iStock

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