Kiddie-talk or a zeitgeist trend? Macquarie names its Word of the Year

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No single word really owned 2023. Unlike previous years, when teal stole the show, or Karen, or covidiot, there loomed no shoo-in this time round. Still, one word needed crowning, our conclave assembling a few weeks back, gathering online to vote for Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year.

Alison Moore, the dictionary’s chief editor, mustered the nerds, including Victoria Morgan (managing editor), Jack Steyn (assistant editor), Tiger Webb (ABC’s language specialist) and this scribe. After a few late changes to the longlist, from Bazball (Sport) to skimpflation (Business), the sifting began.

Delulu, algospeak, bopo – the Macquarie Dictionary’s words of the year have some rizz.

Notably, across 13 categories, from Arts to Tech, there was no Covid shortlist this year. Which isn’t to say the witch is dead, but more the witch and her subvariants no longer cast a hex on the national psyche. Spicy cough has been subbed off by debt-trap diplomacy (Politics) and hay run (Environment).

Earlier voting, before the meeting, foreshadowed faves among each set. Though nothing was set in stone. Every category drew debate. From romantasy (romance-fantasy genre) to delulu (slang for deluded), 2023 was a true test of democracy.

Judging relied on three criteria. One: how well does the word convey its meaning? Two: is it something new? And lastly, does it capture an aspect of 2023? Collins had already jumped the gun, lending AI its annual cheer, though Macquarie dealt in neologisms only. Hence, boreout (“a state of demotivation in one’s job”) featured instead of its proven cousin in burnout. While teal, last year’s champ, was a household colour that had gained a brand-new meaning.

Meantime in Canberra, the Australian National Dictionary Centre bestowed their garland to Matildas, another familiar word revamped in 2023. To quote Dr Amanda Laugesen, the Centre’s director: “It’s only since the mid-1990s that the women’s soccer team has been called the Matildas, but after this year’s World Cup the word has once again cemented itself in our lexicon.”

Bopo got our category nod in Health, short for body positive, tying with scrotox (a botox prep of the male baggage), yet neither shaped as overall winner. Ditto for yimby (yes-in-my-backyard to local development) and bridesmaid suburb: “a location amid the most expensive or sought-after suburb in a certain area”. Or Sport’s silent walk – a gadget-free amble – which our ancestors once called “a walk”.

Things changed at high noon, as each judge voted for their top three across category winners, seeing a handful recur. Eventually, blue-sky flood won bronze, where a river can spill long after the rain has quit, glutted by water upstream in the system. Silver was algospeak, a crafty practice of writing seggs instead of sex, say, or unalive over suicide, as a means of bypassing online moderation.

Then came cozzie livs, the panel’s outright winner, short for the cost of living, an onerous hallmark of 2023. What may seem kiddie-talk at first glance is a zeitgeist trend in Australian vernacular to downplay life’s heaviness, in sync with menty b (mental breakdown) and totes devo.

Curiously, our verdict contrasted with your own preferences, the public votes giving bronze to rizz (short for charisma), silver to skimpflation (same price, lousier service), and the winner’s laurels to generative AI.

There you have it, the Macquarie’s word of the year.

Whichever way you lean, time will prove the merit of each nominee – not that longevity is the only measure. Teal and Karen are still thriving, however, while strollout (the 2021 victor) has long left the building. My hunch says if you reckon cozzie livs will be ephemeral, then you’re downright delulu.

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