If you've just blazed some 420 and are feeling a bit hangry after slaying your Alt-Right and anti-Black Lives Matter mates, it might be time to visit a cat café.
Just when you thought you had a handle on the English language, Dictonary.com goes and adds 300 more words to learn.
Granted however, those words and phrases have already entered the popular lexicon and used as slang and are only being made official now.
Words like 'hangry', 'alt-right', 'bitchface' 'Black Lives Matter', 'friendiversary', 'lightsaber', 'mic drop', 'man bun', 'sext', 'slay', '420' and 'cat café' have all made the cut.
Dictionary.com says adding new words helps reflect "everything from news stories to fashion trends".
Words and terms like Black Lives Matter, burkini, alt-right and clicktivisim has come "straight from the headlines", while the terms 420 (technically a number) and Kush have been included because of the mainstream acceptance of marijuana culture.
In an effort to keep up with modern trends, Dictionary.com has also included the term 'dabbing' which, aside from its marijuana-related meaning, defines it as such:
"The act of performing a dancemove that involves posing with one's nose in the crook of a bent elbow at chest level while extending the other arm to the side at or above shoulder level, often as a celebration posture is sports or other competitions."
The move has also made it to the political spheres on both sides of the Atlantic.
It's also accepted food industry buzzwords like 'superfood' and 'cold brew' as well as the Asian trend of cat cafés which have the whole world purring.
Korean pop music has also entered the mainstream, with the abbreviated term for it - K Pop - also in the mix.
But if you think those at Dictionary.com just add words willy-nilly (in a disorganised or unplanned manner), you'd be wrong.
Dictionary.com lexicographer Jane Solomon says there's a methodical process that's involved.
One of those ways is called "corpus research" which involves scanning through different texts and other sources to look for patterns in use. Some people also request for words to be added.
"We also have lookup data. We can see what words people have tried to look up on Dictionary.com that haven't led to a definition," she told CNN.
"It takes a lot of time and effort and thought, so as a lexicographer we give every word the same amount of respect and attention and care."
Some new additions:
- Hangry (adj.) feeling irritable or irrationally angry as a result of being hungry
- Alt-right (n.) a political movement originating on social media, composed of conservatives who support extreme right-wing ideologies
- Black Lives Matter (n.) a political and social movement originating among African Americans, emphasising basic human rights and racial equality for black people and campaigning against various forms of racism
- Lightsaber (n.) a type of sword, as depicted in the fictional Star Wars universe, with a blade made of laser energy that can both cut and burn
- 420 (n.) slang for marijuana
- Mic drop (n.) something, especially a statement or action, that displays such a bold confidence
- Friendiversary (n.) the yearly recurrence of the date that two or more people first became friends
Newshub.
