As a cunning linguist in training (constantly plagued by our rivals the Fellow Ratios over in the Math department), I listened with interest to Geoff Nunberg's story on Fresh Air yesterday. He was talking about the "Word of the Year." Webster's chose theirs (overshare), as did Oxford (hypermiling). Mr. Nunberg chose "Joe" as in "average Joe" and "Joe six-pack" as his most important word of the year. So we here at Mango Haiku checked with the office staff (consisting of two cats and a ball of lint) and decided that the word of the year is "arugula." Arugula is the new take-down for out of touch merlot-sipping kale-huffing wasabi-pea popping liberals like Geoff Nunberg (and the staff of Mango Haiku, excepting the ball of lint who is a Libertarian). Watch Jon Stewart comment on it. Like the "six-pack" for Joe, arugula can be joined with a name -- Annie perhaps? For example:

"I don't know about all the Annie Arugulas out there, but we Average Joe's don't like tax-and-spend socialist ideas like health care for children."

"NPR-totbag toting Annie Arugula may want gays to ruin her marriage, but we Joe Six-packs uphold the sanctity of 'traditional' marriage by stoning* our wives."

Arugula has just made its way into our previously iceberg lettuce chewing little suburb of Oak Park via hated arugula and berry tea peddler Trader Joe's. (Of course, it's located next to Borders.) Oak Park is being overrun with Annie Arugulas and Kyle Kales.

Liberal foodstuff of yesteryear: Carob instead of chocolate.
Liberal foodstuff of 2008: Arugula
Liberal foodstuff of 2009: Stevia

*(start at verse 13 for the stoning bit)

The arugula pic below is from this fine article.