United Kingdom: Oxford Dictionaries has announced that “goblin mode” has been selected by online vote as the Word of the Year.
Oxford defines the term as “a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.”
The winning word, “goblin mode” received 318,956 votes, making up 93 percent of the total votes. According to Oxford University Press, ‘goblin mode’ is a slang term often used in the expressions such as “I am in goblin mode” or “to go goblin mode”.
Mr. Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, stated that, “People have been embracing their inner goblin. We were hoping the public would enjoy being brought into the process, but this level of engagement with the campaign caught us totally by surprise.”
Mr. Grathwohl continued by remarking that, “The strength of the response highlights how important our vocabulary is to understanding who we are and processing what’s happening to the world around us.”
The President also added that, “Given the year we’ve just experienced, ‘goblin mode’ resonates with all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point. It’s a relief to acknowledge that we’re not always the idealized, curated selves that we’re encouraged to present on our Instagram and TikTok feeds.”
‘Metaverse’ was the runner up word gaining 14,484 votes, followed by ‘#IStandWith’ with 8,639 votes.
The Oxford Word of the Year, run by Oxford University Press, is a word or expression which can be defined as “reflecting the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the past twelve months, one that has potential as a term of lasting cultural significance”.
The previous years’ Word Of the Year include Vax (2021), Pandemic (2020), and Climate Emergency (2019).
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