It's that time again when dictionary compilers make their judgement on what has been the defining word of the year. Obviously the significance of words varies, country by country and it is interesting to compare choices made. Oxford Dictionaries has put together this neat video (as usual, for those who do not see the embedded video here is the link). In the UK we seem to have adopted:
Post Truth
Meanwhile on the other side of the pond Merriam-Webster chooses:
Surreal
For me this is surreal:
Yes I can see that Surreal is a reasonable choice given the way it went with just under half of those who voted choosing nihilism. I am though rather disappointed as elevating Trump to stand beside such pillars of art and culture as Bunuel and Dali is not acceptable. That said, there have been disturbing parallels between Bunuel's masterpiece, The Exterminating Angel and the Trump vision of America, at least as seen from this side of the pond. "Terror is our only defence against anguish". Xenophobia as a means to achieve greatness is as surreal as it gets so, on reflection I think that Merriam-Webster got it right. It didn't work in the thirties so why should it work in 2016.
And now for BelperStuff's words of 2016
TRUMP
Before 2016 this was a word that signified a sort of benevolent fart ........... benevolent insomuch as:
Nellie the elephant packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus,
Off she went with a trumpety-trump, Trump, Trump, Trump.
Post 2016 it is a noxious smell that has the potential to linger for a minimum of 4 years.
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| An example of a typical Gove |
GOVE
A Gove is a person of limited intelligence who cruelly believes that he is gifted with great wisdom. Further variations include the term Govian Universe which is an exact fit for the alternative, post truth world that is reported upon by the Daily Mail. Despite repeated attempts by astrophysicists to verify its existence the only theory that has credence is that the Govian Universe is in fact a pub in Kensington where gin sozzled Daily Mail hacks try to outdo each other with ever more fanciful tales.
A further derivative is, "to do a Gove" which is a term used to describe a chaotic reorganisation of an education system but can be used in a more general sense when commenting on the reorganisation of a complete society; as in "to do a Gove with the economy" which is now shortened to the single word, "Brexit".
Farachute
This is the medical term for the organ used by Nigel Farage to utter. pearls of Trump-like wisdom.
Inequality
The only measure that really matters. The unequal share of the riches of this planet that leads to impoverishment of both the environment and the peoples who inhabit that environment. No attempt at a joke here.
Words to look out for in 2017
Smugetry
This is the pleasure experienced by a bigot when they think that they have found proof that their bigoted view of the world is in fact correct. You will see a lot of this in 2017 as post-truth believers search diligently for any evidence that tells them that their faith in Govian reality and or the fragrance of a Trump has not been misplaced. It also contains hints of schadenfreude because smugetry is at its most enjoyable when accompanied by the feeling of superiority over those who will suffer because they are not as all-seeing as you ............. the Smuget.
Farage gleefully blaming Merkel for the Berlin Christmas market atrocity is an example of a grade A smuget wallowing in Smugetry. His further comments about the Schengen agreement allowing the Christmas market murderer to reach Milan before being stopped is a further example of a smuget smugly making capital out of a tragedy.
Farage gleefully blaming Merkel for the Berlin Christmas market atrocity is an example of a grade A smuget wallowing in Smugetry. His further comments about the Schengen agreement allowing the Christmas market murderer to reach Milan before being stopped is a further example of a smuget smugly making capital out of a tragedy.
Mayday
This word was formerly known as the 1st day of May or a cry for help from distressed vessels but in 2017 the two meanings are historically linked when Mayday is used to signify the day we all drew in our breath in utter astonishment at the sparsity of ideas contained in the May government's strategy for Brexit.
Impeachment
Trump declares that this is in fact a thriving community in Mississippi and a Fox News journalist is sent there post haste to do a voxpop of randomly selected citizens driving rusting pickup trucks.
Fissiparous (English usage)
If society seems to be broken in 2016 you ain't seen nothing yet. As the cracks become wider the true nature of our plight becomes all too apparent. In 2017 the word fissiparous (Oxford Dictionary definition as in "the fissiparous tendencies inate in tribalism") is on everyone's lips as populist movements fragment when promise after promise gets broken. The inherent problem of nebulous politics such as Brexit is that at some point those you bamboozled expect to see tangible results and when you fail to deliver society becomes fissiparous.
Fissiparous (US usage)
Sometime towards the end of 2017 Trump adopts the word and it becomes a staple of Oval Office banter. Unfortunately he gets it confused with the vapourising potential of fissile materiel resulting in the start of World War 3. (see here a New York Times article about Trump tweeting that the US should expand it nuclear capability).
Hopefully we survive long enough to look forward to words that define 2018.
