Patents on the soles of your shoes...: Macquarie Dictionary

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Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Terminology – WOTTIES 2025 – Macquarie Dictionary shortlisted Words of the Year

Terms competing for the Word of the Year are always at least as interesting as the winner of them all. The Macquarie Dictionary of Australian English shortlisted the following terms competing for the Word of the Year 2025. Supporting Macquarie Dictionary definitions and graphics are also included.

ate (and left no crumbs) – To perform or execute something flawlessly.

Australian sushi – Any of various thick, uncut sushi rolls with the nori wrapped around the filling in order to be eaten by hand.

BAL rating – A system of assessing a building’s potential exposure to ember attack, radiant heat, and direct flame of a bush fire.

bathroom camping – The act of isolating oneself in a bathroom or bathroom cubicle for a period of time, to seek solitude, avoid work, or regulate emotions.

bird-dogging – The act of confronting a politician at a public event with direct questions or issues, aiming to bring attention to a special issue.

blind box – A type of mystery box which contains an unseen collectible toy or figurine.

femgore – A subgenre of horror in which female protagonists are given agency over the narrative, and while still victimized, objectified or exploited to an extent, are not passive.

Ozempic face – A condition resulting from the use of a semaglutide drug, characterized by the wrinkling and sagging of the face due to rapid weight loss.

quadball – The new name for a real-life quidditch, where the aim is to score by putting a ball through any of three vertical hoops at the end of the field.

Roman Empire – Any of various events, interests, subjects, etc., that one finds themselves frequently thinking about, especially one considered unusual.

Six-Seven – A nonsense expression in which each hand is held out to the side with palms facing up, alternatively moving each up and down as if comparing weights. Also 6,7.

References
Macquarie Dictionary
https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/?time=1765148169657
The Macquarie Dictionary Committee (Nov. 24, 2025). Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year for 2025.
https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/macquarie-dictionary-word-of-the-year-for-2025/

Monday, December 15, 2025

Terminology – WOTTIES 2025 – Macquarie Dictionary “AI slop” Word of the Year

The Macquarie Dictionary is Australia's National Dictionary of Australian English. On November 24th, 2025, the Macquarie Dictionary Committee* announced that it had selected “AI slop” as the 2025 Word of the Year. A selection backed 100% by the People’s Choice, crowdsourced at the Dictionary’s website.

The Macquarie Dictionary defined “AI slop” as “low-quality content created by generative AI, often containing errors, and not requested by the user”. The definition was illustrated as shown below.

The Macquarie Dictionary Committee also selected two Honorable Mentions: the terms “clanker” and “medical misogyny”. By contrast, the People’s Choice only converged with the Committee’s choice on the term “medical misogeny”, electing for the Second Honorable Mention, the term “attention economy.”

The Macquarie Dictionary defined the honorable mentions as follows. Each definition was also illustrated as shown below.

clanker - A usually derogatory term for an artificial intelligence-driven robot which completes tasks that are normally performed by a human.

medical misogeny - Entrenched prejudice against females in the context of medical treatment and knowledge, especially in the area of reproductive health.

attention economy - An economy in which human attention is treated as a major commodity, especially in advertising.

______

Note
The Macquarie Dictionary Committee comprised:
- The Editorial Team at Macquarie Dictionary
- David Astle – crossword maker, radio host, and writer.
- Tiger Webb – language research specialist, ABC.

References

Macquarie Dictionary

https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/?time=1765148169657
The Macquarie Dictionary Committee (Nov. 24, 2025). Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year for 2025.
https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/macquarie-dictionary-word-of-the-year-for-2025/

Monday, December 26, 2022

Terminology – WOTTIES 2022 – Macquarie Dictionary - The People’s Choice (2)

The People’s Choice of the Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year (WOTY) is seldom the same as the dictionary’s WOTY Committee selection. This year is no exception. The People’s Choice of the Macquarie Dictionary 2022 WOTY is bachelor’s handbag, a take-out roasted chicken that requires no further preparation. The Macquarie Dictionary definition is included below, together with a picture of such a bachelor bag, captured in Perth, Australia.

People choice of the Word of the Year 2022

bachelor’s handbag noun Colloquial (humorous) a takeaway roast chicken. [from the fact that such a chicken requires no further preparation before consumption, so is seen as an easy meal favoured by a single person, and is often packaged in a small plastic bag with a handle, resembling a handbag].

The People’s Choice was selected from a shortlist of fifteen 2022 WOTY candidates, extracted by the dictionary’s WOTY Committee, from a longlist of sixty-nine 2022 WOTY candidates. Considering that shortlisted WOTY candidates are no less interesting than the winner of them all, the Macquarie Dictionary 2022 WOTY shortlist is included below, together with their dictionary definitions. All the terms are new, 2022 additions to the Macquarie Dictionary.

barbiecore noun a fashion characterised by an all-pink colour palette, especially bright pink. [trademark for a popular female doll Barbie +CORE].

bossware noun Computers Colloquial software installed on an employee's computer which allows their employer to remotely monitor and measure activity and productivity, as by logging keystrokes and mouse movement, taking screenshots, etc..

brigading noun the organisation of a concerted effort by a large number of people to effect a particular action or change, as by online voting or reviewing.

clapter noun applause from an audience to indicate agreement with a comedian's joke or statement, especially one of political and social nature. [CLAP + (LAUGH)TER]

e-change noun a move from a city environment to a rural location, made possible by the facility of being able to, and being permitted to, conduct one's work remotely from home. [E + (SEA) CHANGE]–e-changer, noun.

gigafire noun a fire which burns through more than 100000 ha. Compare megafire, terafire. [GIGA- + FIRE].

goblin mode noun Colloquial a pattern of behaviour characterised by an embrace of indolence and slovenliness. [from the grotesqueness ascribed to the appearance of a GOBLIN]

hidden homeless phrase the, people with no home who stay temporarily with friends, family members, etc., and who do not access homeless support services during this period.

nepo baby noun Colloquial (sometimes derogatory) a celebrity, often in the entertainment industry, who has a famous parent. Also, nepotism baby. [so called from the insinuation that they have attained a high profile as a result of their parent's fame or connections].

orthosomia noun insomnia thought to be caused by preoccupation with obtaining the amount and quality of sleep recommended by a wearable sleep tracking device, often resulting in anxiety, which can in turn adversely affect sleep quality and the ability to fall asleep. [ORTHO- + (IN)SOMNIA]

pirate trail noun a trail which has been established or constructed without the required permission, used for mountain biking.

prebunking noun the practice of challenging the veracity of misinformation or disinformation, and the authority of its source, before such information is disseminated. [modelled on DEBUNK +-ING]

quiet quitting noun the practice of strictly limiting oneself to performing the tasks within one's job description, and working only the hours for which one is contracted. –quiet quitter, noun.

skin hunger noun desire for loving or friendly physical contact with another. Also, touch hunger.

spicy cough noun the, Colloquial COVID-19.

teal noun (also upper case) Politics an independent political candidate who holds generally ideologically moderate views, but who supports strong action regarding environmental and climate action policies, and the prioritising of integrity in politics. [so called as many of the candidates use the colour teal in their electoral material]

truth telling noun the act of relating the facts of a situation, exclusive of any embellishment or dilution applied as justification for past actions.

yassify verb to apply multiple filters and edits to an image or digital photograph, in order to transform the original image to one which is glamorous and beautiful. [from YAS QUEEN, popularised in 2021 by a Twitter account which posts such images] –yassification, noun.] Maquarie WOTY Shortlist]

References
Macquarie Dictionary
https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/

Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year Shortlist
https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/blog/article/898/

Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year Shortlist (pdf version)
https://media-macquarie-wspdigitalproduction-com.s3.amazonaws.com/media/hosted_files/Shortlist_WOTY2022.pdf

Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year Longlist
https://media-macquarie-wspdigitalproduction-com.s3.amazonaws.com/media/hosted_files/Public_Longlist_WOTY2022.pdf

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Terminology - WOTTIES 2022 – Macquarie Dictionary ‘teal’ (1)

The Macquarie Dictionary is the official dictionary of Australian English. A committee that included two dictionary editors, the publisher, and two well-known Australian broadcasting personalities, selected the 2022 Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year (WOTY): “teal”, and the runner-up WOTY “truth-telling”. The selections were made from the political category of a longlist of sixty-nine new words, admitted to the Dictionary in 2022. According to the Macquarie Dictionary WOTY committee, the 2022 WOTY "teal" and runner-up WOTY "truth-telling", respectively reflect the current year’s successful palette of “green + Liberal blue” politics, and the future reconciliation of Australian politics, which promises to include parliamentary representation for the First Nations Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, in 2023.

The Macquarie Dictionary WOTY committee also selected three honorable mention 2022 WOTTIES: “bachelor’s handbag (a takeout roasted chicken), goblin mode (the COVID-19 slovenly lifestyle), and the spicy cough (a facetious synonym for COVID-19).

The Macquarie Dictionary WOTY Committee selections are listed below, together with the extracted dictionary definitions. [Macquarie WOTY 2022]

2022 Word of the year

teal noun (also upper case) Politics an independent political candidate who holds generally ideologically moderate views, but who supports strong action regarding environmental and climate action policies, and the prioritising of integrity in politics. [so called as many of the candidates use the colour teal in their electoral material]

2022 Runner-up WOTY

truth-telling noun the act of relating the facts of a situation, exclusive of any embellishment or dilution applied as justification for past actions.

Honorable mentions

bachelor’s handbag noun Colloquial (humorous) a takeaway roast chicken. [from the fact that such a chicken requires no further preparation before consumption, so is seen as an easy meal favoured by a single person, and is often packaged in a small plastic bag with a handle, resembling a handbag]

goblin mode noun Colloquial a pattern of behaviour characterised by an embrace of indolence and slovenliness. [from the grotesqueness ascribed to the appearance of a GOBLIN]

spicy cough noun the, Colloquial COVID-19.

References
Macquarie Dictionary
https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/

Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year 2022
https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/resources/view/word/of/the/year/2022

Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year Longlist
https://media-macquarie-wspdigitalproduction-com.s3.amazonaws.com/media/hosted_files/Public_Longlist_WOTY2022.pdf

Shepherd, T. (Nov. 28, 2022). Teal named Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year – ‘an emblem of Australia’s political landscape’. The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/nov/29/an-emblem-of-australias-political-landscape-macquarie-dictionarys-word-of-the-year-is-teal