Oxford's word of the year might make you feel old, but it's handy
Oxford Dictionary has released its 2023 Word of the Year, and it’s likely not a regular in your vocabulary if you’re not Gen Z or a younger millennial.
“Rizz,” a short version of “charisma,” is on everyone’s mind this year, but contextually, it might not be the charisma you use at a job interview.
Oxford describes the four-letter noun as “style, charm, or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner.” It can also be used as a word, like in the phrase “rizz up,” which means “to attract, seduce, or chat up” someone.
Oxford
According to Oxford data, the use of the word shot up in the summer when actor Tom Holland said, “I have no rizz whatsoever; I have limited rizz,” in a Billboard interview.
In October, Merriam-Webster added “rizz” to the dictionary, along with “simp,” “bussin’,” “thirst trap,” and “girlboss.” In September, dictionary.com updated its database, too, adding words such as “nepo baby,” “jawn,” and “Blursday.”
Oxford
Oxford’s 2022 Word of the Year was less of a word and more of a term — “goblin mode.”
The slang term is “often used in the expressions’ in goblin mode” or “to go goblin mode.”
It denotes “a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.”
Are any of these words common in your everyday life? If not, perhaps you should hang out with some young’uns or expand your friend circle.
If we can accept “fridge” for “refrigerator,” why not this one?
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