'Brokeback' named Hollywood word of the year

Tue Feb 28, 2006 10:33 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - And the winner for Hollywood's word of the year is "Brokeback," thanks to all the talk around the water cooler and Internet jokes that have turned a film about two gay cowboys into a cultural phenomenon.

The nonprofit group Global Language Monitor placed "Brokeback" -- as in the film title "Brokeback Mountain" -- at the top of its list of Hollywood words and phrases that captured attention this year.

Paul JJ Payack, the head of Global Language Monitor, said the movie became a cultural phenomenon that generated a million jokes, according to Google. Overall, a Google search shows more than 38 million references to the film, although only about 10 million people saw the movie.

In second place was "Brangelina," the hybrid name given to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as Hollywood's hottest new couple. They beat out "TomKat," bestowed on Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and "Vincifer," a hardly used term referring to Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn.

Placing third on the list was "petronoia," a phrase inspired by the film "Syriana" and meaning an irrational fear of the collapse of the oil industry followed by global economic crisis.

In fourth place was "tuxedo," a reference to the nature film "March of the Penguins." Payack said, that "while the dialogue, not to mention the stars, were a bit stiff, the chronicle about Emperor penguins in their breeding trek across Antarctica flew to remarkable heights."

Payack said the term "pimping" was fifth on his list, thanks to the film "Hustle & Flow," which is about a pimp's dream of becoming a rap star.