“Gobline mode”: Oxford revealed “word of the year 2022”
Oxford Dictionaries revealed that “goblin mode” has been selected by online vote as its word of the year.
It defines the term as “a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations”.
“Goblin mode,” which was first seen on Twitter in 2009, became more well-known in 2022 as people all over the world uncertainly from pandemic lockdowns.
Oxford Languages President Casper Grathwohl said, “Given the year we’ve just experienced, ‘goblin mode’ resonates with all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point”.
More than 340,000 English speakers from around the world cast their votes from a list of three words (or phrases/hashtags; “word” is defined fairly loosely) that had been narrowed down by lexicographers from Oxford University Press (OUP).
The second option was “Metaverse”, which was chosen after “#IStandWith.” Goblin mode was a landslide victory: it was selected by 318,956 people, making up 93%of the overall vote.
