From Fortune Magazine
In grim times, hoping for 'reset'
By Lawrence Delevingne
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Doom and gloom were everywhere in 2008. It's not surprising, then, that people are longing for a return to normal, or at least to something a little less painful.
Accordingly, a new buzzword is making the rounds among business and political leaders — reset, as in that wonderful button on video-games that lets frustrated players start from scratch....
Why do terms like 'reset' enter the lexicon so suddenly?
Geoffrey Nunberg, a linguist at University of California at Berkeley: "It isn't surprising that the word has caught on so quickly. Everybody loves to use a new word, with the implication that it's bringing a new concept along with it, particularly when it has a technical ring to it. Although usually, the word itself is all that's new."...
What does 'reset' mean?
Nunberg: "For [President] Obama it seems to mean, 'restore to its earlier -- and presumably, normal -- state,' like the reset button on a computer or video game that clears the memory and reboots the device. The implication being, I think, that we want to put all this uncertainty behind us and get back to where we were."...