The power of popular culture: 'unfriend' officially enters the American language
Did you even know that there was a New Oxford American Dictionary? I didn't. But with their recent addition of 'unfriend' to the American language, that might soon change. Maybe this was their way of leaving the realm of obscurity... and into hilarity!"It has both currency and potential longevity," says Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford's US dictionary program. She goes on to add that it has real 'lex-appeal'. Quite. I get the nagging feeling that the senior lexicographer for the NOAD might be short and blonde and very American. Here in England, new words don't enter the language without ratification by a round-table of 12 bearded and wizened lexicographic geriatrics.
There's quite a long list of runners-up. Amongst others: hashtag (always thought this was a bit ambiguous... but perhaps that's my drug-dealing background...), sexting (don't make me explain this one), zombie bank (sadly not a L4D reference), deleb (a dead celebrity apparently). A complete list is available on the Oxford University Press blog, if you want a bit of a giggle.
I wonder why they opted for 'unfriend' rather than 'defriend'. Or maybe defriend is British-English, and unfriend is 'Merkin-English...
What other words do you think we can expect to see in the New Oxford American Dictionary in the coming years? Retweet? Bloggable? ('Weblog' is already in the NOAD!)
I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before.
Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sitruc said 9:52AM on 11-19-2009
I'm surprised you aren't going on and on about "tramp stamp" as posters on el Reg did. I was just surprised that took so long when forgotten words like birther and teabagger are going in. Teabagger is going in for the political meaning....
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Sebastian Anthony said 1:08PM on 11-19-2009
Yeah, I read about the teabagger/teabagging thing...
I had NO idea it had a political definition...
Bradley said 1:08PM on 11-19-2009
'Merkin-English? pubic wig English? I think you meant 'Merican-English.
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Sebastian Anthony said 1:08PM on 11-19-2009
It was an intentional mistake... :)
musicmancz said 4:24PM on 11-19-2009
'Unlike' definately has to be next
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Sebastian Anthony said 4:39PM on 11-19-2009
You know, I almost suggested that... until I realised that 'unlike' is already word... :P
Muffin_man said 5:52PM on 11-19-2009
Is Google a word as in a verb, to "google it". They already have names of products as nouns for the device itself eg Hoover instead of vacume cleaner.
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KarlW said 12:59AM on 11-20-2009
It's in the OED. It arrived along with 'iPod' and 'Blairite' a few years back.
Unlike other european languages (French, German..etc), there is no body that governs the English language. What people say is categorically correct.
Sebastian Anthony said 11:33AM on 11-20-2009
Ooh, considering your email address... I like to think you might be a bit of an authority on the matter...!
Almostnakedape said 8:51PM on 11-19-2009
Incidentally, were you aware what a Merkin is when you used the phrase 'Merkin-English?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkin
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Sebastian Anthony said 9:04PM on 11-19-2009
Ya, it's a term I often use to describe Americans on my own personal blog.
I like double entendres...!