#8: The Word "Fail"

Fail is an English verb that was commonly used as a noun on the Internet throughout the aughts. Its purpose is to sardonically highlight the mistakes of others. Often it was combined with another noun or phrase. For example, someone might see the picture above on a blog and type "google search fail" in the comments. This was theoretically funny.


"Would you describe Britney Spears' comeback performance at the 2007 VMAs as a 'fail' or an 'epic fail'?"
"Dude, I don't even know anymore."

#2: The Word "Meh"

Throughout the aughts, Simpsons references became so commonplace that people began referencing the show without even knowing they were doing it. One of these references was the word "meh," which was used to convey profound indifference. It even has its own Wikipedia entry.


"An unbelievably massive tsunami occurred in the Indian Ocean today. It killed almost 230,000 people in 14 different countries. The earthquake that triggered it reached 9.3 on the Richter scale, making it the second largest earthquake ever recorded. It was truly a disaster of epic proportions. I'm about to make a donation to the worldwide relief fund, wanna join me?"
"Meh."