The Global Language Monitor put it best when it said that "narrative" is "virtually replacing the need for a party’s platform." The word blanketed midterm election coverage, perhaps because one of the major players in the election wasn't even an official party and didn't have a platform. Narrative seemed to work well enough for the tea party, though, and took the No. 3 spot this year on the top words ranking.
Meanwhile, global economic troubles, chugging along since 2008, fueled the rise of the phrase "The Great Recession" to the third most-popular phrase in the world. A triumph for economics writers, perhaps, but not such good news for, well, the world.
