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Obamamania: The English language, Barackafied

JabarackyThe latest addition to Slate's dictionary of Obamaisms.

By Chris Wilson
Posted Wednesday, July 9, 2008, at 11:59 AM ET

Today's Obamaism:

Jabaracky (jah-bah-ROK-ee) n. A fictional creature spawned from political fairy tales, characterized by nonsensical phrases and policies.

Example: In certain Republican circles, the phrase "Beware the Jabarack, my son!" is a shorthand for apprehension about Barack Obama's compelling personal story.

Since Slate first launched its Encyclopedia Baracktannica in February, more than 800 readers have written in with their own Obamaisms, from "Barack Ness Monster" to "Post-Baracalyptic." The best of these entries, along with Slate's original Obama neologisms, are collected in a new book: Obamamania! The English Language, Barackafied, available now.

In conjunction with the publication of the book, we will be publishing a new Obamaism every morning and adding it to the Obamamania widget above, which you can add to your Facebook or MySpace profile or Web site.

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Chris Wilson is an editorial assistant at Slate in Washington, D.C.
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