"frisson"!

What a marvelous word! It is now the official Word of the Year for 2008, and it is a word that is going to be on everyone's lips, I am sure. Anyone who is anyone at all is going to be casually slipping the word "frisson" into their conversations in 2008.

I feel sure that Tom Cruise uses it now and then, not to mention Meryl Streep.

What does it mean? Ah, you ask! Well, it's a French word. It means...

"a sudden, passing sensation of excitement; a shudder of emotion; a thrill"

And isn't it wonderful that it should mean that, because that is exactly what I felt upon seeing the word "frisson" for the first time, neatly ensconced in a post by Amos.

Yes, I felt a frisson! Rather akin to the frisson that some people experience when they unexpectedly sight a triple rainbow gleaming over their town.

So, now that you know about it, be sure to work the word "frisson" into your conversations over the next 12 months, and give it the French accent when you do, for heaven's sake! Give your friends and associates a frisson of their own. Do it. You know you can.