Situation, Bachelor Purse, Spicy Cough, and Goblin Mode have all been added to the dictionary
Australians love slang, but those who aren’t up to date with the latest buzzwords can now keep up to date with a range of new Gen-Z favorites added to the dictionary.
The recently released ninth edition of the Macquarie Dictionary, which bills itself as Australia’s national dictionary, includes words such as situationship, cozzie, menty-b, bachelor handbag, goblin mode, Barbiecore, spicy cough and the ick.
A total of 3,000 new words have been added. Some you may have heard in casual conversation or online, but for others an explanation is probably in order.
A situationship is probably one of the easiest to guess and refers to a romantic or sexual relationship that is convenient but casual and has no commitment.
Another dating term that made the list was the ick, a shorthand term for describing the feeling when a potential romantic partner exhibits a characteristic that turns someone off.
The ick, when a potential romantic interest exhibits a characteristic that turns you off, is one of a collection of new words added to the Macquarie Dictionary (stock image)
A little more difficult to guess is the cheerful-sounding menty-b, which actually refers to experiencing a mini-mental breakdown or crisis.
Goblin mode is used when a person exhibits “a pattern of behavior characterized by an embrace of slowness and sloppiness.”
That could pair nicely with the bachelor’s handbag, which refers to a cooked chicken on a rotisserie sold in a plastic tote bag with handles.
That particular term won the people’s choice award for Macquarie’s word of the year, which was ultimately won by Teal, referring to the political party positioning itself as a greener version of the Liberals.
There’s Barbiecore, referring to the pink-heavy fashion trend inspired by childhood toys, and now the billion-dollar blockbuster movie.
And then there is the spicy cough, which refers to the coronavirus.
Spicy cough, a light-hearted way of referring to the coronavirus, has made its way into the dictionary (stock image)
Macquarie’s editor-in-chief Victoria Morgan said recent years have resulted in a slew of new words fueled by the Covid crises.
“In general, Australians like to play with language,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘When there’s something really serious, like mental health or Covid, we seem to create quite light-hearted ways to be able to talk about things… We like to get it out there.’
Morgan added that while the meaning of the terms can be found online, there was something special about cracking open a book to find them.
“I love the feel and smell of books,” she said.
“Especially with dictionaries, I think you’re looking for something, and then you come across all these things next to it.”