Fifteen years ago, I wrote about the Oxford English Dictionary’s latest additions to their tome on this blog.
I thought it would be amusing to review the list and my reactions to those new words more than 5,000 days later.
New words added in 2008 that I am still using today:
- catastrophizing
- matchy-matchy
- frenemy
- soft skills
- wardrobe malfunction
I like all of these words and phrases and am happy to use them when needed. It’s kind of amazing to think that they are less than two decades old.
Side note:
I’m well known for anti-catastrophizing – a relentless attempt to rein in the tendency of people to assume that their life is especially difficult, this moment in history is one of the worst, and a particular problem is unsolvable (or even relevant) – but that word (anti-catastrophizing) has yet to be deemed worthy of dictionary inclusion.
Probably because so many damn people are too busy catastrophizing.
New words added in 2008 that I don’t use but are still in the modern lexicon and used with relative frequency:
- chillax
- chill pill
- fussbudget
- vuvuzela
I hate both “chill pill” and “chillax,” but sadly, I hear them a lot.
I especially hate words and phrases that seem to exist more because of a rhyming scheme than out of necessity.
“Chill pill” fits this despised criteria.
“Vuvuzela” had its moment during the World Cup years ago, but I still remember the word well and assume you do, too. And since it’s the name of a musical instrument, the word should still exist, even if the instrument is used only to annoy people.
Words added in 2008 that I haven’t heard used in any way whatsoever, and rightfully so (I’ve included the definitions, assuming you needed them, too):
- bargainous- costing less than is usual or than might be expected; cheap or relatively cheap
- cool hunter- a person whose job it is to make observations or predictions about new styles and trends
- automagically- automatically and in a way that seems ingenious, inexplicable, or magical
I wonder:
Does the OED recognize the mistake they made with words like these and quietly (or publicly) remove them from the dictionary? I’d hate to think that future generations might believe that we were using words like “bargainous” with any frequency.
New words are announced quarterly. These days, up to one thousand new words are added to the dictionary every year. The June 2022 list, for example, is too long to comment on as I did back in 2008, but it’s still a fun list to read through.
As always, I can’t believe that some words (ankle bracelet, bobsledding, saucepot) weren’t in the dictionary already.
I’m also thrilled to see words added that I didn’t expect to find (Dunning–Kruger, hypersexual, sharesies, sportswashing).
I’m also appalled that some words actually made it into the dictionary (anothery, sharenting).
I think the OED would benefit from a Minister of Stupidity, whose job it would be to declare certain words to be too stupid to include in the dictionary.
“Sharenting” definitely meets this criterion.
If anyone at the OED is reading and thinking this a good idea, I’d be more than willing to become the first Minister of Stupidity. Not only did I create the position, and not only do I think I’m highly qualified for the post as an author, columnist, blogger, teacher, and public speaker, but I love telling people when they are being stupid.
I’m sort of made for the position.
