Introducing the #OxfordWOTY 2024 shortlist ✨ Our lexicographers have been hard at work analysing the words and expressions that have best reflected our world this year. Introducing six words, each vying for the prestigious title of Word of the Year 2024: 💅 Demure - A word that re-entered the chat as a main-character adjective this Autumn after TikTok creator Jools Lebron popularised the word - but it has a long history, with the #OED referencing the earliest use of the word in 1377. 🧠 Brain rot - A word capturing the effects of endlessly consuming trivial or mindless content, especially online, leading to that all-too-familiar mental burnout. 💸 Dynamic pricing - 2024 has seen a particular spike in (and controversy over) this practice in setting prices for concert tickets, resulting in some fans paying eye-watering sums and raising concerns about transparency and value for money. 🤖 Slop - while "slop" has also been used to describe unappetising scraps or leftovers, it now captures the low-quality content sometimes generated by #AI - edible but unsatisfying. ❤️🔥 Romantasy - A genre of #fiction combining elements of romantic fiction and fantasy, typically featuring themes of magic, the supernatural, or adventure alongside a central romantic storyline. 📜 Lore - Traditionally referring to ‘the body of traditional facts, anecdotes, or beliefs' relating to some particular subject. Current uses of ‘lore’ are similar to older examples in the OED, but today it's a dive into the legend of a celeb, character, or even their own personal history.
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