Calignosity and niddering, and more

Good week for:

Major shocks, after former American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken revealed to the world that he is, in fact, gay.

Calignosity, niddering, fusby, and olid, which are among two dozen archaic words that a British dictionary publisher has promised to retain in its next edition if the public can be persuaded to use them more regularly. The words mean darkness, cowardly, squat, and foul smelling, respectively.

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Promotions, after Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, buoyed by her popularity on the campaign trail, said that life would be better in “a Palin and McCain administration,” and repeatedly referred to McCain as her “running mate.”

Bad week for:

Joe Biden, whose penchant for gaffes reportedly landed him in Barack Obama’s doghouse. In just one week, the Democratic vice presidential nominee contradicted the Obama campaign several times, vowing in coal-rich Ohio to close all the coal-burning plants and saying of an Obama ad mocking John McCain’s ignorance about the Internet: “I thought that was terrible.”

Dirty magazines, after more than 100 Christian bookstores hid the new issue of Gospel Today behind the counter because the cover features five female pastors. Many Southern Baptists believe it is offensive and un-Christian to let women preach.

Online bragging, after a group of college students hyped their party business on MySpace by saying they’d hosted more than 100 events. When the state of Oklahoma then hit them with a $320,000 tax bill, the students insisted they’d hosted only 20.