Word of the Year: "Hypermiling"

As 2008 officially draws to a close, the time has come for all of us to look back and remember what defined our lives for the last twelve months. For most Americans, and in fact the entire globe, fuel prices were very much responsible for how we lived our lives. That's why it's not at all surprising that Oxford Dictionary's Word of the Year for 2008 is "hypermiling."
For those outside the green movement, hypermiling is defined by the word-meisters of Oxford this way: "Hypermiling" or "to hypermile" is to attempt to maximize gas mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one's car and one's driving techniques. Rather than aiming for good mileage or even great mileage, hypermilers seek to push their gas tanks to the limit and achieve hypermileage, exceeding EPA ratings for miles per gallon.

So, there you have it. How long 'till hyper is replaced by wondermileage or excessivemileage? Thanks for the tip, Rebecca!

[Source: Oxford University Press Blog]

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