We should have realised it would happen. Every year those who produce dictionaries compete to be the coolest by highlighting the words they’ve accepted into the vernacular of the UK. This time Collins has decided it’s[shudder] ‘Brexit’ which must be admitted to the club as its Word of the Year.
Don’t you cringe when you hear it? It was never a nice word, nor a particularly clever one – just a symptom of increasing language laziness. There’s nothing wrong with portmanteau words (‘smog’ is perfectly well accepted) and language has to be allowed to adapt and flex and grow. It’s just a shame when we settle on something a bit crass and stupid and it just happens to represent one of the most important issues facing our society currently and for the foreseeable future.
Surely there’s a better candidate for word of the year? We tend to think ‘Trumpism’ should have had a better shake…
