'Bling' isn't cool -- can you dig it?

WASHINGTON — The word "bling" has been overused by every two-bit jeweler selling cubic zirconium. It has been worn out by virtually all fashion publicists -- who for the last five months have been chirping, "Bling in the New Year!" -- and by every morning TV host trying to make the umpteenth holiday shopping segment sound fun and nifty. Use of the word has become like a nervous tic, as persistent as a dry cough and as annoying as old people who say "phat" and "You go, girl!"

If the word "bling" is never again uttered by an aging cultural observer -- some well-meaning baby boomer or a mainstream news organization proud to have incorporated "edgy" lingo into its coverage -- then 2006 will be a fine year.

Bling -- as a noun and a verb -- originated in the early part of this century with hip-hop performers, those arbiters of cool and practitioners of conspicuous consumption. It used to be that "bling" was reserved for jewelry, decorative wheel rims or gold teeth -- all of it excessively flashy and expensive. It referenced accessories so bold and glittering that looking at them was equivalent to staring directly into a thousand camera flashes. Click, whir, bling!

From the beginning, folks exuberantly embraced the word. It quickly entered the mass communication lexicon: the pages of weekly magazines, newspaper headlines and the latte chatter of soccer moms. There was little concern for its correct usage. It was applied to anything with the slightest sparkle. A brooch sprinkled with cheap rhinestones could be referred to as bling. There was no self-editing, no recognition that with all of the bling-bling-blinging it was all starting to sound embarrassing.

Still, for a while, it was tough to argue with the overuse. It seemed to be called for. Everything coming down the runway, squeezed into overcrowded department stores or sold from the back of a panel van seemed to be encrusted with something that glittered. If the word didn't apply to a single garment, it certainly applied to the overall fashion of the times.

In the last few years, designers such as Miuccia Prada were at the forefront in celebrating elaborate glitz during the daylight hours. Prada embellished grandpa cardigans and heavy cable-knit pullovers. She decorated tweed shoes, leather handbags, camisoles and dresses.