Last Week's Word: Showmance

Technically this was supposed to be the word of the week, but I didn't have time, so oh well ...

So, my favourite new slang word of last week is "showmance". Apparently it originated on Big Brother (the U.S. version, I think), and it's supposed to mean a crush - possibly real, but mostly publicly generated - between two single people, usually (a) of somewhat public stature and (b) in a public venue, ie. in front of the cameras (digital, video, take your pick).

This is apparently something that happens from time to time. The most current - and craziest - showmance happened last week, when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came north of the border to meet our foreign minister, Peter MacKay. It was a big love-in between the two -- both greeting each other with double-kisses on the cheek; MacKay taking Rice to a Tim Horton's for beverages (total photo-op), introducing her to his family, etc. She also spent the night in his riding - at a hotel, of course.

MacKay apparently is the closest thing we have to single and studly under 40 in Parliament (I'm just repeating hearsay), so it was only a matter of time before the jokes about him and the perpetually single Rice (made out of pure boredom) turned into innuendo-laden gossip.

Rice has been said to have a good chuckle at all the goss a-flyin', and MacKay has probably been too busy burying his nose in other matters to take on the gossip hounds.

But the pinnacle of the "MacKay-Rice" affair had to be on Thursday, when Stephen Colbert got ahold of it with both of his truthy little hands.




My favourite part:
"Kiss me."
"We can't!"
"Jimmy, make them kiss!"