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'Toxic' is Oxford Dictionaries' 2018 word of the year. 'Gaslighting' and 'techlash' are among runner
Morning Mix
‘Toxic’ is Oxford Dictionaries’ 2018 word of the year. ‘Gaslighting' and ‘techlash’ are among runners-up.
Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Sept. 27. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post/AP)
By Isaac Stanley-Becker November 16 at 5:19 AM
The word that best captures the “ethos, mood, or preoccupations” of 2018 is “toxic,” according to Oxford Dictionaries, which this week crowned the acetic adjective its word of the year. ... “Toxic” was judged to “have lasting potential as a term of cultural significance."
“In 2018, toxic added many strings to its poisoned bow becoming an intoxicating descriptor for the year’s most talked about topics,” observed the online dictionary, produced by Oxford University Press.
Among the runners-up was “gaslighting.” Coined by the 1938 play “Gas Light” and later made famous by the 1944 film starring Ingrid Bergman, as Oxford said, it means “the action of manipulating someone by psychological means into accepting a false depiction of reality or doubting their own sanity.” The dictionary noted its frequent use to describe tactics employed by President Trump.
Also on the shortlist was “big dick energy.” Oxford’s definition is at odds with Trump’s posture. The phrase means “an attitude of understated and casual confidence."
“Though the term has its roots in the perceived confidence of the well-endowed,” according to the dictionary, “BDE is by no means exclusive to those with male genitalia; many women, such as Rihanna, Serena Williams and Cate Blanchett, are among those identified as having this low-key, self-assured poise.”
....
Isaac Stanley-Becker is a reporter on The Washington Post's Morning Mix team. Follow https://twitter.com/isaacstanbecker
‘Toxic’ is Oxford Dictionaries’ 2018 word of the year. ‘Gaslighting' and ‘techlash’ are among runners-up.
Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Sept. 27. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post/AP)
By Isaac Stanley-Becker November 16 at 5:19 AM
The word that best captures the “ethos, mood, or preoccupations” of 2018 is “toxic,” according to Oxford Dictionaries, which this week crowned the acetic adjective its word of the year. ... “Toxic” was judged to “have lasting potential as a term of cultural significance."
“In 2018, toxic added many strings to its poisoned bow becoming an intoxicating descriptor for the year’s most talked about topics,” observed the online dictionary, produced by Oxford University Press.
Among the runners-up was “gaslighting.” Coined by the 1938 play “Gas Light” and later made famous by the 1944 film starring Ingrid Bergman, as Oxford said, it means “the action of manipulating someone by psychological means into accepting a false depiction of reality or doubting their own sanity.” The dictionary noted its frequent use to describe tactics employed by President Trump.
The concept has also been applied to political contexts this year, with the term used extensively of President Donald Trump; his frequent assertions that the media are spreading ‘fake news’, and implications that his administration is the sole arbiter of truth, have led to Trump’s presidency of the United States being compared to an abusive relationship.
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/word-of-the-year/shortlist-2018
Also on the shortlist was “big dick energy.” Oxford’s definition is at odds with Trump’s posture. The phrase means “an attitude of understated and casual confidence."
“Though the term has its roots in the perceived confidence of the well-endowed,” according to the dictionary, “BDE is by no means exclusive to those with male genitalia; many women, such as Rihanna, Serena Williams and Cate Blanchett, are among those identified as having this low-key, self-assured poise.”
....
Isaac Stanley-Becker is a reporter on The Washington Post's Morning Mix team. Follow https://twitter.com/isaacstanbecker