‘Jump the couch’ is top gun of slang in '05

Tom's Oprah antics help the phrase cruise to Slang of the Year honor

Chris Pizzello / Reuters file

Keep reaching for the stars: Tom Cruise tries to get in the last laugh about his "Oprah" appearance on a June "Tonight Show" appearance.

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updated 1:11 p.m. ET Jan. 6, 2006

NEW YORK - When Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah’s couch, a new slang term was born. And now, “jump the couch” has been named the Slang of the Year by the editors of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang.

The dictionary defines “jump the couch” as exhibiting “strange or frenetic behavior.”

Runners-up for Slang of the Year include Floodweiser, which is the canned water Anheuser-Busch donated to hurricane victims, and Spokesweasel, which is a PR spokesperson.

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