Where can you see slebs, neets and non doms all in the same place? The new edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, that's where.
It's always interesting to see which words the dictionary makers deem worthy of an entry in their latest edition. Of the vast array of slang terms and coinages that burst onto the English language scene in any given year, those that are chosen for a place in print offer a fascinating insight into the issues, fads and fashions that are currently of the greatest significance in society. Whether the accolade of appearing in the dictionary points to - or even encourages - the longevity of a given term is another matter though; while I feel safe predicting that custard creams are here to stay, I can't imagine that muffin tops as a linguistic term will last much beyond the fashion that gives rise to this physical attribute.
Yesterday's Daily Telegraph published the full list of new words added to the 11th ediiton of the Concise OED. Have a look and let us know which other current words and phrases you think should be added to the dictionary.
2 comments:
It may be a bit off the point but I for one feel that “Custard Creams” should not be called such a thing and should perhaps be renamed to "Biscuit Creams" or something more suitable and accurate to the noun of reference. Perhaps “Biscuit with cream in the middle” would be even more appropriate.
ANY WAY…
New words are being created in our society and I feel that yes, they should be incorporated into the English Dictionary. Once a word is used vastly in a society, it becomes treated and accepted as an "actual" word in itself. The dictionary shouldn’t be more of a rule book, but more of a reference to words that are or have previously been in use. I'm not saying that people should be able to make up new words and expect them to make a feature simply because individuals use them, but when a word gains in popularity, “chav” for example, it only seems common sense to include it with words such as “radioimmunoelectrophoresis” that are featured in the dictionary, but may be used a whole lot less in everyday conversation.
Did I just make a fool out of myself?
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