A Wordnado of Words in 2013

December 21, 2013

A Wordnado of Words in 2013

By GRANT BARRETT

PRIVACY. Selfie. Geek. Science. Four dictionary publishers each selected one of those words as its word of the year for 2013. But it’s tough to catalog the preoccupations of the year in a single word. There were many flying around that seemed to capture a moment, an emotion, a thought, a new way of doing or describing things, or the larger zeitgeist. Some were new, some not so new, but they all seemed to say something about the times. Here are a few:AG-GAG LAW n. Legislation that restricts the use of undercover video in places where food animals are raised or slaughtered. From agriculture + gag law.

AIR GAP n. The space surrounding a computing device that is disconnected from all networks, which can protect it from digital attacks. But one security researcher claims the air gap can be defeated by malware that transmits data encoded in high-frequency sounds out of computer speakers and into the microphones of nearby computers.

BAE n. Spelling representation of a dialect pronunciation of babe or baby. The catchphrase “bae caught me slippin” (meaning, “My baby caught me sleeping”) came into vogue as a caption to photographs taken by people pretending to be asleep.

BITCOIN n. An anonymous, decentralized, digital, encrypted currency and payment system.

BOSTON STRONG n. A catchphrase and slogan used to show solidarity after the Boston Marathon bombing in April.

CIS adj. Identifying the gender that one was born to and identifies with, as in cismale for “male with male gender identity.” Short for cisgender, an antonym of transgender. Pronounced as siss.

CRONUT n. A wonderful pastry that is part croissant, part doughnut and part hype.

DEEP STATE n. A hard-to-perceive level of government or super-control that exists regardless of elections and that may thwart popular movements or radical change. Some have said that Egypt is being manipulated by its deep state.

DOGE n. An intentional misspelling of dog. It’s part of a popular Internet meme featuring pictures of shiba inu dogs surrounded by not-quite-grammatical captions in Comic Sans font.

DOX v. To uncover and then publish someone’s personal information. An abbreviation of document. Sometimes spelled doxx.

DRONE n. A flying machine, either autonomous or remotely piloted, used for surveillance, military sorties and deliveries. As a verb, to send a drone to a location, especially to bomb it. “We droned most of the key militant leaders.”

FATBERG n. A 15-ton ball of fat, grease and solid sewage found in a London sewer.

FEELS n. pl. Feelings. Originated online, thrived as a meme in 2012, and now in 2013 shows signs of moving into more widespread English slang. It’s typically used in response to a moving story: “That got me right in the feels, bro.”

HARLEM SHAKE n. A song by the music producer Baauer that has been used in many videos of people dancing to its opening segment. In each, a helmeted or masked person dances alone while being ignored by others. Then, after a musical drop, the scene changes and is filled with lots of outlandish dancing.

ITAP An acronym for “I took a picture.”

LEAN IN v. A business philosophy intended to lead women to success in the workplace. From the title of the 2013 book by Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook: “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.”

MOLLY n. A supposedly pure form of the illegal drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy. The term is at least 10 years old.

NO FILTER A label for a photograph that has not been adjusted by software. Often used as a hashtag: #nofilter.

OBAMACARE n. The Affordable Care Act signed into law in 2010. Since 2007, the word has been both wielded like a bludgeon and held up like a trophy, and has gone from a sneered pejorative to a matter-of-fact shorthand.

RESTING BITCH FACE, BITCHY RESTING FACE, BITCH FACE n. A face that, when at rest, looks angry, irritated or aggressive. Dating back at least 10 years as a described concept but popularized in 2013 by a video made by the group Broken People.

SELFIE n. A photo self-portrait.

SEQUESTRATION n. Automatic, mandated budget cuts to the federal budget. Also v., sequester.

SHARKNADO n. A B-movie featuring sharks being hurled about by a tornado.

SORRY, NOT SORRY adj. phr. A way of apologizing without apologizing, usually used as an interjection or an aside.

TWERK v. A mode of dance that involves vigorous shaking and thrusting of the rear end, usually with the feet planted. Although the term is about 20 years old, it received new attention when the singer Miley Cyrus performed a twerk-like routine onstage at MTV’s Video Music Awards. The word’s origin is uncertain, but may come from chanted repetitions of “work it, work it.”

VAPE v. To smoke electronic cigarettes, which use moisture to deliver nicotine without tobacco. Vape lounges are places where e-cigarette supplies can be bought and used.

VAX n. A vaccine. Also anti-vaxxer, a person who believes that vaccinations are harmful.

YOUNG INVINCIBLES n. pl. People between ages 18 and 34 who are typically in good health and may not see the need to sign up for health insurance but are critical to Obamacare to spread the cost of providing affordable insurance.

Grant Barrett is a lexicographer specializing in slang and new words, and a co-host of the public radio program “A Way With Words.”