Dictionary Additions are Da Bomb
How many new words can we fit in this article?
Monday, September 13th, 2010
Have you ever defriended a hater on the Interweb? Attempted to organize a tweetup during your staycation? Or felt too matchy-matchy when both your frenemy and you wore similar LBDs? If you have ever used any of those words, The Oxford Dictionary of English (ODE) salutes your vocabulary.
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“The dictionary reflects the way the language has changed over the last few years," said Catherine Soanes, head of online dictionaries at Oxford University Press to “Time” on August 19.
Now, you can see the latest Apatow movie with your bromance without feeling like sheeple—the *ODE* recognizes your relationship.
Outdated slang that was likely coined after 2002’s second edition, including chill pill, cheeseball, wardrobe malfunction and chillax are also included.
Vuvuzela, the instrument of choice at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was also added to the *ODE*’s pages, even though several stadiums and Premier League clubs banned the noisy horns.
The definitions are just as exciting as the new terms. Some, like automagically (“automatically and in a way that seems ingenious, inexplicable, or magical”) are so fitting that you want to use them immediately, while others, like turducken (“a roast dish consisting of a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey”) are just plain weird.
It isn’t all fun and games in the newest edition, however. Political terms like exit strategy and surge (of troops) have been added after constant use, while toxic debt and overleveraged reflect the financial crisis.
So stop overthinking, be a cool hunter, and call that fussy friend a fussbudget—it is in the dictionary, after all.
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