The Oxford word of the year is often chosen by editors in various different editions of the Oxford Dictionary, but this year there is a big change. They allow the public to vote for the word of the year in what some might describe as a mistake. If you’ve spent enough time online, you can guess why this might be a bad idea.
Fortunately, the words that can be chosen are limited. Instead of presenting all available words, we are given a choice between three phrases. These expressions are:
- metaverse
- #IStandWith
- Goblin Mode
Metaverse probably doesn’t need a special definition anymore, and you’ve probably seen the prevalence of this word over the years. #IStandWith is a hashtag designed to help solidarity with specific causes on social media.
Goblin Mode is a little different. According to Dictionary.com, Goblin Mode is “a slang term for a behavior that deliberately and shamelessly surrenders to and indulges in core habits and activities, regardless of adherence to social norms or expectations.”
Basically when people go into “Goblin Mode” they don’t care about anything. They stay at home all the time, don’t take a shower, stay still in their pajamas at 5pm, have chocolate and chips for dinner. This is a way of life that we may all have experienced, at least partially, especially in the last few years.
This phrase has technically been around since 2009, but it really came to life in 2022.
Voting for words ends on Friday, December 2. If you want to vote, you can click here.
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