Merriam-Webster.com is displayed on a computer screen on Friday, Dec. 6, 2019, in New York. Merriam-Webster has added 455 new words to its venerable dictionary, including a number of abbreviations and slang terms that have become ubiquitous on social media.(AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
Dad bod, amirite, TBH and FTW are now dictionary-appropriate.
Merriam-Webster has added 455 new words to its venerable dictionary, including a number of abbreviations and slang terms that have become ubiquitous on social media.
“Just as the language never stops evolving, the dictionary never stops expanding,” the nearly 200-year-old Springfield, Massachusetts-based company said on its website. "New terms and new uses for existing terms are the constant in a living language."
The dictionary company said the quick and informal nature of messaging, texting, and tweeting, which has only increased during the pandemic, has “contributed to a vocabulary newly rich in efficient and abbreviated expression.”
Among them: “TBH”, an abbreviation for “to be honest” and “FTW,” an abbreviation for “for the win.”
Merriam-Webster explains that FTW is used "especially to express approval or support. In social media, FTW is often used to acknowledge a clever or funny response to a question or meme.”
And it says “amirite” is a quick way to write “am I right,” as in, "English spelling is consistently inconsistent, amirite?”
The coronavirus pandemic also looms large in the collection of new entrants as “super-spreader,” “long COVID” and “vaccine passport” made the list.
Partisan politics contributed more slang to the lexicon, such as “whataboutism," which Merriam-Webster defines as “the act or practice of responding to an accusation of wrongdoing by claiming that an offense committed by another is similar or worse.” For Britons, the dictionary notes that “whataboutery” is more commonly used.
The dreaded “vote-a-ramas” that have become a fixture in the U.S. Congress is explained this way: “an unusually large number of debates and votes that happen in one day on a single piece of legislation to which an unlimited number of amendments can be introduced, debated, and voted on.”
And still, other new terms come from the culinary world, such as “fluffernutter,” the homey sandwich of peanut butter, marshmallow crème, and white bread.
Horchata, the cold, sweetened beverage made from ground rice or almonds and usually flavored with cinnamon or vanilla, also made the cut, as did chicharron, the popular fried pork belly or pigskin snack.
As for “dad bod”? The dictionary defines that as a “physique regarded as typical of an average father; especially: one that is slightly overweight and not extremely muscular.”
Daniel Loria, Editorial Director at Box Office Pro, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to give predictions for the weekend, which will see three major films debut, as 'West Side Story', 'Don't Look Up' and 'Being the Ricardos' all hit theaters.
Politico Tech Policy Reporter Rebecca Kern joined Wake Up With Cheddar to recap Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri's testimony to Congress, and look ahead to new safety features on the horizon for the social media giant.
Carlo and Baker wrap up the week talking about the Biden economic boom that no one seems to notice, a verdict in the Jussie Smollett case, the first Starbucks union in America and the pleasures of the "dude nod."
In attempts to combat online violence, the UNFPA has officially launched a 'bodyright' campaign in hopes to call policymakers and tech companies to stand up to protect the online presence of social media users. Chief of the Gender and Human Rights Branch at the United Nations Population Fund Nafissatou J. Diop, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' made history as the first Asian-led marvel movie, staring Simu Liu. It was also the first movie in the pandemic era that Disney allowed to be purely in theatres and available nowhere else for 45 days, making over $418 million globally, in theatres. Director and co-writer of the film, Destin Daniel Cretton, joins Cheddar News.
A new bill in Congress shows just how bipartisan cannabis really is. Rep. David Joyce, a Republican from Ohio, teamed up with progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on a cannabis expungement bill. Cheddar cannabis reporter Chloe Aiello spoke with the congressman about the legislation.
Rainmaker Games bills itself as a blockchain-based organization founded in the metaverse, built on a new type of gaming ecosystem called play-to-earn. The company announced a $6.5 million seed round after it was founded just this year. Rainmaker Games CEO and founder Will Deane joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
As the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure. That's exactly what artist David Anasagasti, also known as Ahol Sniffs Glue, was thinking when he created his scavenger hunt during Art Basel. Nearly 100 winners who followed the clues were able to get their piece of art signed, plus an NFT minted artwork. Artist Ahol Sniffs Glue joins Cheddar News to discuss the event and his exhibit.
A judge has granted Britney Spears the right to begin executing documents on her own behalf. For the last 14 years, Spears was unable to sign off on her own paperwork due to her recently terminated conservatorship.
