New words! In the Oxford dictionary! So exciting! If there were
only a word to describe just howexciting.
Wait, there is
... it's on the list!
Awesomesauce!
That term,
meaning extremely good or excellent, is just one of the couple dozen new words,
prhases and acronyms added Thursday to the Oxford Dictionaries online version.
The words
represent newer terms judged most significant and likely to stand the test of
time, according to Oxford University Press.
The additions
include terms such as cat cafe,
manspreading, onboarding and terms drawn from current events, including
"Grexit" and "Brexit," references to the possible exits
from the European Union of Greece and Britain, respectively.
A cat cafe, the dictionary explains, is an "establishment
where people pay to interact with cats housed on the premises."
Manspreading
refers to "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."
And onboarding
comes from the colorful world of human relations, describing the "action
or process of integrating a new employee into an organization or familiarizing
a new customer or client with one's products or services."
We also get
recognition for several new terms with -y endings, including cheffy
("characteristic of a chef"), melty ("melting or partially
melted), cidery (no, not tasting of cider, but a place where the stuff is made)
and cupcakery ("a bakery that specializes in cupcakes.")
Surprisingly
"MacGyver" and "holodeck" -- although feeling a bit like
words from another century -- also made the cut, referring respectively to the
art of "making or repairing (an object) in an improvised or inventive
way" and the (so-far) fictional "chamber or facility in which a user
can experience a holographic or computer-simulated physical environment."
Other words on
the list:
Kayfabe:
"The fact or convention of presenting staged performances as genuine or
authentic." It's largely used in pro wrestling circles, natch, but the
dictionary says its origin is unknown, except possibly as a reversal of the
phrase, "be fake."
Rando: "A
person one does not know, especially one regarded as odd, suspicious, or
engaging in socially inappropriate behaviour."
Mkay: A
non-standard way of spelling, or saying, "Okay," often used, Oxford
says, "to invite agreement, approval, or confirmation."
Hangry:
"Bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger."
Beer o'clock and
wine o'clock: Terms referring to the appropriate time to start drinking.
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