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The Macquarie Dictionary is running their Word Of The Year 2007 vote. Thought it really should be called “Word Or Phrase Of The Year 2007”. Not all of these originate in Australia, of course, but they were all selected for debut in the true-blue Macquarie Dictionary in 2007.

On the shortlist:

Microgrom: a young surfer, especially one under the age of ten.

Password fatigue: a level of frustration reached by having too many different passwords to remember, resulting in an inability to remember even those most commonly used.

Astrovertisement: an advertisement fashioned on the earth’s surface, of such a size that it can be picked up by satellite imaging.

Glass Cliff: the phenomenon whereby individuals who belong to groups which are not well represented in leadership positions, such as women, are more likely to be found in positions which entail a greater than usual risk of failure.

Data Smog: electronic information as by emails, internet searches, etc., which, by its volume, impairs performance and increases stress.

Splog: a website created for the purpose of promoting affiliated websites or to increase the search engine ranking of the affiliated sites.

Retail Politics: political strategies of the traditional kind, such as hand-shaking, baby-kissing, etc., which target an individual voter, as against those such as television campaigns, newspaper advertisements, etc., which target a wide audience.

Green Shoe Brigade: the group of people who stand to profit from dubious practices conducted in the name of environmental protection.

Boomeritis: the range of sports-related injuries incurred by baby boomers as they pursue health and physical fitness programs into their old age, such as bursitis, tendonitis, sprains, strains and stress fractures.

And there are words to rage about too, Kate: globesity, slummy mummy, and salad dodger spring to mind.

Categories: language