The Oxford English Dictionary has announced its latest batch of new and revised words, and once again your annual game of Scrabble with Nana and PeePaw just got a little more exciting. More than 500 words have been added this year and another 900 have been revised and updated, including the 2013 entry “twerk,” which has been traced all the way back to 1820 and the word “twirk,” which means “a twisting or jerking movement; a twitch.” The modern spelling of the popular dance that Miley Cyrus performs on the hoods of cars in front of children can also be traced back to 1901; however, it is believed that people who said it back then did not have their tongues hanging out of their mouths like dehydrated dogs.
Some of the more noteworthy words that have been added and updated for 2015 include “freegan,” which we know refers to “a person who eats discarded food, typically collected from the refuse of shops or restaurants, for ethical or ecological reasons”; “meh,” a wonderfully brief expression of indifference, often used by handsome bloggers to tell people to f*ck off; and “choss,” used by rock climbers and means “friable, crumbly, or loose rock, typically considered unsafe or unpleasant to climb.”
But residents of Massachusetts might be happy or furious to know that the term “Masshole” has also found its way into the OED this year, with the official definition dating back to 1989 and being attributed to residents of New Hampshire, according to Boston.com.
Masshole, n.
A term of contempt for: a native or inhabitant of the state of Massachusetts.
Language: U.S. coarse slang.
Etymology: Blend of the name of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and asshole
Simple yet wonderful, or terrible if you’re a person in Massachusetts who hates being called an asshole, and that’s fine because a lot of people prefer not to be stereotyped. Along that same line, the word “fratty” has also been added to the OED, referring to the college bros who just want to party all day and night, bro.
Of or relating to a college fraternity; typical or characteristic of such a fraternity or its members, especially with reference to rowdy behaviour.
Additionally, the Kardashians and other such celebrities who equate fame with social media success will be pleased to know that “twitterati” is now in the OED, referring to “Users of the social networking service Twitter collectively, typically referring to the group of prolific contributors or those who have high numbers of followers.” But my favorite new addition is by far fo’ shizzle, because it never ceases to be fun to say.