The English language is an ever-evolving thing, but do you rate the latest additions to the dictionary as “awesomesauce” or are you “butthurt” at the widespread acceptance of such terminology?
This week, Oxford Dictionaries announced its latest additions… and we’re all guilty of making some of these terms more popular than they should be.
Additions to Oxford Dictionaries is separate to those of the historical Oxford English Dictionary, and are based on pop culture and Internet slang.
Some of those that made the cut this year…
awesomesauce ( adjective): extremely good; excellent
bants (noun): playfully teasing or mocking remarks exchanged with another person or group; banter
beer o’clock (noun): an appropriate time of day for starting to drink beer
brain fart (noun): a temporary mental lapse or failure to reason correctly
bruh (noun): a male friend (often used as a form of address)
butt dial (verb): inadvertently call (someone) on a mobile phone in one’s rear trouser pocket
butthurt (adjective): overly or unjustifiably offended or resentful
cakeage (noun): a charge made by a restaurant for serving a cake they have not supplied themselves
fast-casual (adjective): denoting or relating to a type of high-quality self-service restaurant offering dishes that are prepared to order and more expensive than those available in a typical fast-food restaurant
fat-shame (verb): cause (someone judged to be fat or overweight) to feel humiliated by making mocking or critical comments about their size
fur baby (noun): a person’s dog, cat, or other furry pet animal
hangry (adjective): bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger
MacGyver (verb): make or repair (an object) in an improvised or inventive way, making use of whatever items are at hand
manic pixie dream girl (noun): (especially in film) a type of female character depicted as vivacious and appealingly quirky, whose main purpose within the narrative is to inspire a greater appreciation for life in a male protagonist
manspreading (noun): the practice whereby a man, especially one travelling on public transport, adopts a sitting position with his legs wide apart, in such a way as to encroach on an adjacent seat or seats
meeple (noun): a small figure used as a playing piece in certain board games, having a stylized human form
mic drop (noun): an instance of deliberately dropping or tossing aside one’s microphone at the end of a performance or speech one considers to have been particularly impressive
microaggression (noun): a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority
mkay (exclamation): non-standard spelling of OK, representing an informal pronunciation (typically used at the end of a statement to invite agreement, approval, or confirmation)
Mx (noun): a title used before a person’s surname or full name by those who wish to avoid specifying their gender or by those who prefer not to identify themselves as male or female
pocket dial (verb): inadvertently call (someone) on a mobile phone in one’s pocket, as a result of pressure being accidentally applied to a button or buttons on the phone
rando (noun): a person one does now know, especially one regarded as odd, suspicious, or engaging in socially inappropriate behaviour
weak sauce (noun): something that is of a poor or disappointing standard or quality
wine o’clock (noun): an appropriate time of day for starting to drink wine
Hat Tip: Time Magazine
