The Oxford Dictionary Adds ‘Binge-Watch,’ ‘SMH,’ and ‘Live-Tweet’ to Its Online Edition
Ah, so *that’s* what “side boob” means. (Thinkstock)
The Oxford Dictionary Online doesn’t want to “humblebrag,” but it thinks it’s pretty hip to how cord-cutters are communicating these days.
The authority on the English language added a slew of new words to its archive, ranging from elegant descriptors such as neckbeard (“A growth of hair on a man’s neck, especially when regarded as indicative of poor grooming”) to popular Internet abbreviations such as SMH (or “shaking my head” — “used in electronic communication to express disapproval, exasperation, frustration, etc.”).
According to the dictionary’s blog post, its fresh additions can be split into several categories. There are words we use to describe media online (such as binge-watch, live-tweet, and ICYMI (“in case you missed it”) as well as a slew of new ways to insult and compliment stuff. Those include mutant words like amazeballs (“Extremely good or impressive; amazing”), and descriptive verbiage like throwing shade or giving side-eye (both ways of describing critical expressions aimed at a particular person).
Finally, the last batch of vocabulary falls into the category of technology and science. The powers that be have recognized “e-cigs,” those annoying glowsticks that the youths are all sucking on these days. That, and the word “listicle” (an article whose makeup is in list form), hexacopter (a drone copter with six rotors), and subtweet (when you talk about someone on Twitter without directly mentioning him).
Good job, ODO: You’ve proved that you know how tweens speak in the 21st century. But we’ll be impressed only when “side boob” makes it into your print edition.
See the full list here.
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