It was a heckuva phrase.. By Arthur Spiegelman 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Call it the wrong phrase at the wrong time 
but "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" was named on Thursday as U.S. 
    
President George W. Bush's most memorable phrase of 2005. 

The ill-timed praise of a now disgraced agency head became a national punch 
line for countless jokes and pointed comments about the administration's 
handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster and added to the president's 
reputation for verbal gaffes and clumsy turns of phrase.

Paul JJ Payack, president of Global Language Monitor, a nonprofit group 
that monitors language use, says Bush's statement in support of the then-
director of the 
    
Federal Emergency Management Agency may be remembered for years to come.

"The 'Brownie' quote leads our 2005 list of Bushisms -- memorable phrases 
or new words coined by the president," Payack said, adding that Bush may be 
the foremost White House creator of new words, citing such past efforts 
as "misunderestimate" (to seriously underestimate) and "embetter" (to make 
emotionally better).

Ten days after Bush verbally patted Michael Brown on the back before the TV 
cameras, Brown resigned amid a public uproar over his qualifications and 
the administration's failure to get aid to New Orleans after the 
devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Although the president did not originate any new words this year, he had 
several notable statements, Payack said, citing the following:

-- "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over 
and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the 
propaganda," Bush said in explaining his communications strategy last May.

-- "I think I may need a bathroom break. Is this possible?" Bush asked in a 
note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a U.N. Security Council 
meeting in September.

-- "This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack 
Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the 
table," Bush said in Brussels last February.

-- "In terms of timetables, as quickly as possible - whatever that means," 
the president said of his timeframe for passing Social Security legislation 
in March.

-- "Those who enter the country illegally violate the law," Bush said in 
describing illegal immigrants in Tucson, Arizona, last month.

Global Language Monitor uses an algorithm to track words and phrases in 
print, electronic media and the Internet. The words and phrases are tracked 
in relation to their frequency, contextual usage and appearance in global 
media outlets. 

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