We all know too well that language is continually expanding. Now a whole new slew of words have been added to the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary, and some may surprise you.
For example, manspreading, used to describe when men sit spread their legs on public transportation, has just been added, as has butt-dial, hangry, beer o’clock and wine o’clock and awesomesauce.
While those don’t seem so out of the ordinary, and are pretty commonly used these days, a few additions do seem a little much. For example:
cat cafe, n: a café or similar establishment where people pay to interact with cats housed on the premises
fatberg, n: very large mass of solid waste in a sewerage system, consisting especially of congealed fat and personal hygiene products that have been flushed down toilets
cakeage, n: an added charge made by a restaurant for serving cake that they have not supplied themselves
rage-quit, v: angrily abandon an activity or pursuit that has become frustrating, especially the playing of a video game
Now if you think adding such slang terms to the dictionary dumbs down the English language, those behind the additions don’t agree. “There’s always been new slang words. I just think we are more aware of them because of the ways in which we consume and live our lives now,” said Fiona McPherson, senior editor of Oxford Dictionaries. “We are bombarded with more and more avenues where those sort of words are used and we just think that there are more of them. I don’t necessarily think that’s the case.”
