THE STUDY appears in the scholarly journal formerly called English Usage. It was retitled Condit Weekly as of this week. “We knew that people were saying ‘Condit’ a lot, but we had no idea how much they were saying ‘Condit,’” says Prof. Irvin Harburg, one of the language experts who was consulted for the study. “What we are finding is that they are saying ‘Condit’ a lot, and saying ‘Condit’ more often than they are not saying ‘Condit’.”
The average American uses the word “Condit” in every other sentence, the study says. That usage is somewhat higher on the Fox News Channel, where every other word uttered by commentators over the last three weeks has been “Condit.”
During the past month, the word “Condit” has been used more than 8 trillion times, the study says, easily outdistancing such perennial favorites as “and,” “the” and “is.”
The Condit usage findings are expected to have a profound impact on the writing of textbooks and crossword puzzles in the future, Harburg says.
“We don’t see the ‘Condit’ usage trend ebbing at all,” says Harburg. “Over the next few weeks, all you’ll be hearing is Condit, Condit, Condit, Condit, Condit.”
In Condit-crazed Washington, Rep. Gary Condit had no comment on the Condit usage report, but a spokesman for the congressman indicated that an official Condit camp statement about the Condit usage issue would be released soon.
