It's that time again: New embarrassing words are being added to the Oxford Online Dictionary, and you get to mutter, “SMH” at all of them — including “SMH.” No, the OOD is not the same thing as the slimmer, more prestigious Oxford English Dictionary, but they're cousins. One could very well lead to the other.
The flashiest addition this time around is “YOLO,” which we can still thank Drake for, but a bunch of new entires are equally YOLO-licious.
Among the other August additions to the online dictionary: “SMH,” “cray” (for which you can thank Kanye West and Jay Z), “neckbeard,” “binge-watch,” “hate-watch,” “side-boob,” “adorbs,” “listicle,” “mansplain,” “hot mess,” and “acquihire.” Other revelations: “side boob” is apparently 10 times more common in the United Kingdom than it is in the States, but we are significantly fonder of using “adorbs.”
Those are the highlights, but I also found “vape,” “douchebaggery,” “live-tweet,” “throwing shade,” and “humbelebrag” pretty interesting August additions.
What's weirdest to me about these words is that they're all really famous. You'd think the Oxford Online Dictionary would include a couple of more niche slang terms, and with the exception of some UK-specific lingo like “bedroom tax,” a term connected to welfare reform, everything is instantly familiar.
Let's offer up some definitions for these important new items.
Neckbeard (n): What Adam Levine hides behind when scared
YOLO, (abbrev.): You Are Loud And Illiterate
Throw shade (informal): I don't tell you you're ugly. But I don't have to tell you because you know you're ugly.
Listicle (n): Scroll down to reveal more nothing.
Mansplaining (v): The chief hobby of Aaron Sorkin, David Mamet, Donald Trump, and other famous nice guys.
Vape (v): To smoke without the danger of looking cool
Hate-watch (v): To smugly love-watch.