The Cambridge Dictionary Welcomes New Slang Terms
LONDON — Prepare to expand your vocabulary with the latest additions to the Cambridge Dictionary, including buzzwords like “Skibidi” and “tradwife” that have taken social media by storm.
Skibidi, a nonsensical term popularized by a viral YouTube animation series, and tradwife, a shorthand for “traditional wife” referring to a married woman who excels at household duties and social media presence, are just two of the over 6,000 new words making their debut.
Lexical programme manager Colin McIntosh notes, “Internet culture is reshaping the English language, and the impact is both intriguing and worth documenting in the dictionary.”
In the dictionary, Skibidi is defined as “a versatile term that can convey notions of ‘cool’ or ‘bad’, or be used humorously with no real meaning.” For instance, one might ask, “What the skibidi are you doing?”
Even reality TV personality Kim Kardashian displayed her familiarity with the term when she flaunted a necklace engraved with “skibidi toilet” on Instagram, a reference to the YouTube series.
Aside from fresh phrases, abbreviated versions of existing words are also featured, such as “delulu”, a playful take on “delusional” meaning “believing in unreal or false things by choice.”
The rise of remote work due to the pandemic has introduced terms like “mouse jiggler” into the dictionary, signifying a tool or software utilized to create the illusion of productivity when not actually working.
Composite terms like “broligarchy” have also been added, blending “bro” and “oligarchy” to describe “a select group of powerful and wealthy men, particularly in the tech industry, with political influence.” This term was used to describe tech moguls like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg attending Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. — BBC
