Eyjafjallajokull

Showing that easy pronunciation isn't a prerequisite for a word to catch on, "Eyjafjallajokull" was on the tips of tongues across the globe this year — particularly the tongues of beleaguered travelers. The buzzword you can't pronounce caught on in the spring, when Eyjafjallajokull — the Icelandic volcano whose name means simply "island mountain glacier" — erupted and sent a giant ash plume over Europe. Airports were closed, passengers were stranded, and nature proved most powerful.

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