LONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - He has the most-watched video in
Youtube history, become a pop sensation with a horse-riding
dance craze that has swept the world and now Korean singer Psy
may cement his place in popular culture with recognition from a
British dictionary.
"Gangnam Style," Psy's signature song, has been chosen along
with "fiscal cliff" and "Romneyshambles" as some of Collins
Dictionary's words of the year.
"We were looking for words that told the story of the year,"
said Ian Brookes, the dictionary's consultant editor.
"Some words are from events that have been and gone and so
are not likely to stick around ... but others are probably here
to stay."
Other headline entries centred on American politics.
"Fiscal cliff" has drawn a lot of attention as the deadline
for Congress and President Obama to agree on government spending
and tax plans draws nearer.
While the term "Romneyshambles" entered the British public's
consciousness after Mitt Romney's gaffe-ridden visit to London
in July in which he questioned Britain's readiness to host the
Olympics.
The inclusion of "47 percent" on the list after a leaked
video showed Romney telling donors that 47 percent of Americans
would definitely vote for Obama because of their dependency on
the government capped off a bad year for the losing presidential
candidate.
Collins received over 7,000 submissions on its online
database.
Twelve words of the year - one for each month - were then
selected on the basis of the frequency with which they were
spoken, how many places they appeared and their longevity in
public discourse.
Appearing on the Collins words of the year list is no
guarantee of insertion in the next dictionary.
But Gangnam Style stands a very good chance, Brookes said.
"It's obviously a craze, so there's the possibility it will
go away. But it's been heard by so many people that I think it's
probably earned the right to go into the dictionary."
Other words of the year include "mummy porn" after the
popularity of the "Fifty Shades of Grey" books, and "superstorm"
after Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc along the east coast of
America in October.
(Reporting By Peter Schwartzstein, editing by Paul Casciato)