Was 2017 a Year of Reckoning? .

Next week, on January 8, the American Dialect Society will pick the “Word of the year” for 2017.

One of the top candidates is “reckoning”, a word which nominator Mary Schmick of the Chicago Tribune said “Has been everywhere.” According to Wall Street Journal writer Ben Zimmer the word “reckoning” “suggests a settling of accounts, especially for past misdeeds.” He states that the world dates back to 14th-century English, “referring to the last judgement.” Indeed, 2017 has been a…