Summary: Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 18, 2014 is: hoopla \HOO-plah\ noun 1 : excited commotion : to-do 2 : exaggerated or sensational promotion or publicity Examples: In my opinion, the movie didn't live up to the hoopla surrounding it. "There was no formal introduction, no hoopla as the leading scorer in Maryland men's basketball history took a seat behind the bench for the first time in his new role." From an article by Don Markus in The Baltimore Sun, November 29, 2013 Did you know? In French, the interjection "houp-là" is used roughly the same way as English's "upsy-daisy" or "whoops-a-daisy," as one might say when picking up a child. (This usage can be found in English, too, in such works as Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons and James Joyces Ulysses.) In the early 20th century, the word, playing on the syllable "hoop," gave its name to a ring-toss game played at carnivals. But before that, "hoopla" was used in American English to refer to a kind of bustling commotion, and later, as a term for sensationalist hype.
