Millionth English word 'looming'

Anglophone lexicographers around the world have reacted with disbelief at claims that the English language is soon to coin its millionth word.

GLM, a US Internet traffic monitoring company announced: "the millionth English word is looming."

"This is nonsense," scoffed a representative of the Oxbridge English Dictionary (OED), "the word 'looming' has been in use since the 16th Century and remains popular to this day in newspaper headlines such as: Poll Defeat Looming for Gordon Brown."

GLM clarified their announcement: "we don't literally mean the 1,000,000th word will be 'looming', what we meant was that it is imminent."

"No, no, no," said a leading dictioneer, "the word 'imminent' isn't new at all, it's used every day in phrases like: Election Imminent as Brown Blunders Again."

GLM later explained, "these fusty old dictionary writers are deliberately misinterpreting our claim, we think that the millionth word was misunderstood."

"Misunderstood?" screamed a spokesperson from the English Lexicon Society, "that's been in the language for hundreds of years, journalists use it all the time e.g. Brown Misunderstood Voter Anger But Will Hang On Just In Case They Change Their Minds Anyway."