Word Of The Year Finalists, But Not In Utah

Oxford University Press has revealed its shortlist for the 2024 Word of the Year.

This year's contenders are lore, brain rot, dynamic pricing, demure, slop and romantasy.

Voting for the winner remains open until November 28th.  Oxford's previous Word of the Year was "rizz," which is short for charisma.

Lore is a young person's way of describing something that is a "lot of bore."

Brain rot is the effect that happens when you can’t stop thinking about a certain subject or topic, causing it to become the main focus of your attention for a while (obsession).

Dynamic pricing is when products don’t have a consistent price and seemingly change by the second. The strategy is especially prevalent in the airline industry.

Demure is a describer for a young woman that is well spoken with manners and can be outwardly shy/reserved. Innocent in thought and therefore attractive in a way that is unknown to her. (The opposite is impure demure, a woman who acts demure, but is in fact, a bit wild).

Slop is low grade food from "super cheap" fast food joints.

And romantasy was originally a hybrid book that was a romance novel set in a fantasy universe, but can also mean a type of romance in which only one person is aware of it (a romantic fantasy) or a romance that will only ever happen in someone's fantasy.

The 2022 winner of the word of the year was actually two words: goblin mode, which means when a person is in an extremely reckless mood, feeling very mischievous, and lacking concern for the well being of others (Usually caused by consuming lots of alcohol).

In Utah, the word of the year for the 45th straight year is "Fetch," a clean substitution for a not-so-clean swear word.

Oh, and by the way, the Scottish word of the year this year is "dumfungled," -- to be mentally and physically worn out.

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