In the very first Colbert Report show on October 17, 2005, the witty faux Conservative media pundit, Stephen Colbert, unveiled the word “truthiness.” (Click here to see the video on the Colbert Nation website.)
He introduced it like this:
“On this show your voice will be heard...in the form of my voice. ‘Cause you’re looking at a straight-shooter, America. I tell it like it is. I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em. I will speak to you in plain simple English.
And that brings us to tonight's word: Truthiness.
Now I’m sure some of the Word Police, the wordanistas over at Webster’s, are gonna say, ‘Hey, that’s not a word.’ Well, anybody who knows me knows that I’m no fan of dictionaries or reference books. They’re elitist. Constantly telling us what is or isn’t true, or what did or didn’t happen. Who’s Britannica to tell me the Panama Canal was finished in 1914? If I wanna say it happened in 1941, that’s my right. I don't trust books. They’re all fact, no heart.”
In that brilliant bit, Colbert hit on the nature of much of today’s political rhetoric and punditry. It doesn’t matter what “the truth” is. Whatever is consistent with what you believe to be true is “the truth.”
Consider one example from the recent uproar over the Democratic Party’s health care legislation. Sarah Palin
The “death panel” phrase was then picked up and repeated by other Conservative Republican politicians, media pundits and their faithful ground troops – who showed up at town hall meetings to voice their anger about the Democrats’ plan to “kill Grandma.”
Of course, Democrats and Independents (like me) also have their own cherished “truthy” beliefs.
For example, I am a huge fan of Stephen Colbert. So, I believe he coined the word “truthiness.”
Elitist language experts have noted that the word “truthiness” already existed before Colbert used it and that earlier uses of the word date back to the early 1800s. Indeed, there’s a series of posts about this on the Language Log, a blog run by University of Pennsylvania phonetician Mark Liberman, with contributions from various linguists.
The “facts” in those posts apparently “prove” Stephen Colbert popularized the word “truthiness” but didn’t actually coin it. The wordanista responsible for those posts appears to be Benjamin Zimmer, a research associate at the Institute for Research in Cognitive Science at the University of Pennsylvania and consultant to The Oxford English Dictionary
As Colbert might say [loudly, while shaking his fist], “Damn you, Zimmer!”
Your elitist facts can’t shake my belief in the truthiness of my belief about the origin of “truthiness!”
Here are some of the other famous quotes and phrases linked to October 17:
• “This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius...” - On October 17, 1967, the rock musical Hair opened at the New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater, and Americans first heard the song “Age of Aquarius,” along with others from the show that helped define the public image and catchphrases of the Hippie era.
• Dana Carvey: “I’m Hans.” Kevin Nealon: “And I'm Franz.” Carvey and Nealon together: “And, we just want to pump…[clap]…you up!” - On the October 17, 1987 episode of Saturday Night Live, cast members Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon first performed their “Hans and Franz” skit and uttered their famous “pump you up” catchphrase. Start pumping, you “Girlie Men.”
