Are you often more perplexed than anything when you see the ‘words of the year’ from our beloved Macquarie Dictionary and the Oxford?
The Oxford Word of the Year for 2023 is rizz, a slang term used by Gen Z to describe romantic charm. It’s believed to be a shortened form of charisma.
Rizz is described by the Oxford University Press as a colloquial noun, defined as style, charm or attractiveness or the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner.
It can also be used as a verb in phrases such as ‘to rizz up’, which means to attract, seduce or chat up (a person).
A shortlist of eight words was narrowed down by the public over a four-day voting period to: rizz, Swiftie, prompt and situationship.
Oxford Languages president Casper Grathwohl said: “The spike in usage data for rizz goes to prove that words and phrases that evolve from internet culture are increasingly becoming part of day-to-day vernacular and will continue to shape language trends in the future.”
Last year’s Oxford Word of the Year was ‘goblin mode’, meaning a type of behaviour that is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly or greedy.
The Macquarie Dictionary committee’s choice word of the year was ‘cozzie livs’ – “a humorous play on cost of living”.
The committee said: “Although cozzie livs was coined in the UK, it has resonated soundly with Australians, with its -ie suffix and its clipped formation, reminiscent of menty b and locky d. And what could be a more Australian approach to a major social and economic problem than to treat it with a bit of humour and informality.”
Are you shaking your head in disbelief or having a laugh?
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