Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke perform "Blurred Lines" during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards in New York August 25, 2013.
Today, Oxford Dictionaries Online announced the latest batch of words that are being invited off the street and into their database. The 65 terms and definitions added to their reference this quarter cover everything from resurgent ’80s fashion to gadgets to questionable dance moves.
In line with other updates in recent years, many of the new entries have evolved from our technology-obsessed lives, like click and collect, digital detox, emoji, supercut and phablet. Others are condensed forms of words and phrases, like srsly, as well as apols, BYOD, FOMO, grats and vom. And another set may speak to the growing influence of Hispanic culture on the English language, from ese (a term used to address a man) to carnitas (a shredded pork dish).
Here is a selection of other new additions with cross-references provided by NewsFeed. Like it or not, these words are symbols of culture as we know it in 2013:
badassery (n.): behavior, characteristics, or actions regarded as intimidatingly tough or impressive. See: Seal Team 6; people saving other people from sharks; most things done by Samuel L. Jackson
buzzworthy (adj.): likely to arouse the interest and attention of the public. See: a notorious dictator resigning; Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; Kate Middleton wearing a hat of any kind
food baby (n.): a protruding stomach caused by eating a large quantity of food and supposedly resembling that of a woman in the early stages of pregnancy. See: most Americans on the fourth Thursday in November; unfortunate situations in which a woman is mistakenly assumed to be with child
jorts (n.): demin shorts. See: the 1980s; country-music fans; those afflicted by “never nude” syndrome
omnishambles (n.): a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterized by a string of blunders and miscalculations. See: Richard Nixon circa 1974; Bill Clinton circa 1998; Charlie Sheen circa 2011
selfie (n.): a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. See: Anthony Weiner circa 2013
twerk (v.): to dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance See: things you do at da club; Miley Cyrus’ recent performance at the MTV Video Music Awards
It’s important to note ODO is not the same as the Oxford English Dictionary, though they are part of the same family. Oxford’s online reference is more adaptable, a little faster and a little looser with the words that they include. After all, their mandate is to focus on current English and modern meanings. The OED is more of a stickler, primarily a historical record that is slower to adopt words and typically requires more established usage. That’s part of the reason, for example, that the OED was just adding tweet in 2013, while ODO is today including TL;DR—an abbrev that may say more about these fragmented, hurried times than any other entry in the bunch.
This is an edition of Wednesday Words, a weekly feature on language. For the previous post, click here.