Tag archives: portmanteau words

Grexit, Spanic, and clown: July 2012 on the radar

Each month we reflect on some of the new words Oxford’s lexicography team has been tracking—words that are being used in English but are not yet sufficiently established for inclusion in our dictionaries. Would-be words of the eurozone crisis The Eurozone economic crisis which has dominated headlines this summer has yielded a bumper crop of [...]

Posted on: July 23 2012 | Posted by: | Comments: 2 | Categories: Dictionaries and lexicography | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Which words do we love to hate?

Every year since 1976, Lake Superior State University in Michigan has released a small list of select words – those that they have decided should be banished from everyday use of English. The list is released on the first day of the year, and is composed of words submitted by the public that are thought [...]

Posted on: January 12 2012 | Posted by: | Comments: 6 | Categories: English in use, Word origins | Tags: , , , , ,

The language of fandom: from Twihards to Tolkienites

As Breaking Dawn, the film adaptation of the fourth and final Twilight novel is released, we take a look at the language of fandom. Fandom and cultural discourse What is it about fan culture? Why does it seem like ‘Team Edward’ vs ‘Team Jacob’ has become the biggest cultural divider since Coke vs Pepsi? How [...]

Posted on: November 18 2011 | Posted by: | Comments: 2 | Categories: English in use, Word trends and new words | Tags: , , , ,