And The Winner Is . . . (Part 2)

Image by Prawny from Pixabay

Last week’s post included some of the Words of the Year (2022) determined by the American Dialect Society (actually voted on by their public).  In this post, we conclude the categories of Words of 2022. 

INFORMAL WORD OF THE YEAR
 it’s giving (X): description of something exuding a particular vibe or energy (for example, “it’s giving rockstar”)
dickriding: currying favor or sucking up to someone 
(the) ick: feeling of disgust about one’s date 
menty b: mental breakdown 
rizz: effortless attractiveness or style (short for “charisma”) 

And the winner is . . . “it’s giving”

MOST CREATIVE WORD OF THE YEAR
 -ussy: suffix from “pussy” (as in “bussy” = “boy pussy,” now humorously attached to many
words) – I still don’t really get this one.
blorbo : a person’s beloved fictional character from television or other media 
-dle: suffix for Wordle-like games (Heardle, Absurdle, Foodle, Worldle, Redactle, etc.) 
moid/foid: derogatory terms for men and women in incel culture 
short king: positive or affectionate term for a man of modest stature 

And the winner is . . . “-ussy” of course

EUPHEMISM OF THE YEAR
special military operation: Russian designation for invasion of Ukraine 
camping: access to abortion, as used in informal networks circumventing state anti-abortion
laws
diverse-owned: said of a business owned by members of historically underrepresented groups 
leg booty: algospeak substitution for LGBT (algospeak are words created to avoid being censored by social media filters)
pronouns: trans/nonbinary gender identities, as used in transphobic rhetoric to mock
pronoun choice 
résumé embellishment: lying about one’s accomplishments  (George Santos, for example??)

And the winner is . . .”special military operation”

*SNOWCLONE/PHRASAL TEMPLATE OF THE YEAR
not X: ironic framing device expressing an attitude of mock horror or incredulity 
if I text you X, it means Y: explaining how to interpret an emoji or series of emojis 
#IStandWithX: expression of solidarity 
it’s the X for me: singling out a notable or funny aspect of something, or finding fault with
someone
she’s/he’s a 10, but X: pointing out a negative or quirky quality of someone 
X hits different: describing an experience that is affecting in a meaningful way 

And the winner is . . . “not x”

Snowclones  are phrases where the principal words are changed while the structure of the phrase remains the same. These phrases are most often documented by replacing the variable words with letters (such as “X” and “Y”). So I guess you put a word or phrase in for the X. Sort of like algebra?

EMOJI OF THE YEAR
skull: expressing figurative death (from laughter, frustration, etc.) 
 melting face: expressing embarrassment or dread 
 saluting face: sign of respect or solidarity 
 dotted line face: feeling of invisibility 
red flag: signaling danger or problems 
colored boxes: for Wordle results 

And the winner is . . . the skull

Next week: A little something for Valentines Day