Release date 12 July 2001
Concise Oxford Dictionary
OK Yah?
The famous saying of Sloane Rangers throughout the 1980s - Ok Yah - has transformed
into a label for the people who use it and is now a noun. Yah (n. Brit
informal an upper-class person) has been given a place in the prestigious Concise
Oxford Dictionary following hot on the heels of white-van-man which entered
a major Oxford Dictionary for the first time last year.
But Yah is just one of several, largely odious, new types entering the
dictionary for the first time, as the British get serious about closely defining
groups in society. Minger (unattractive or unpleasant person), ned (hooligan),
numpty (stupid or ineffectual person), and chowhound (greedy person)
are all new entrants to this revised edition of the Concise Oxford Dictionary.
Slightly more flattering are hottie and ladette also entering
the dictionary for the first time.
Lexicographers have also spotted those children who are trying to appear older
than they are turning into tweenagers, and tweenies whilst adults
are trying to defy their age becoming adultescent (n. informal a middle-aged
person whose clothes, interests, and activities are typically associated with
youth culture). They’re the ones to be seen on their microscooters, visiting their crimpers
for a number one, discussing must-have mobeys, or unwinding at the latest buzzy bar or
coffee shop sipping a caiprinha or macchiato. These are just some of the many words entering
the revised edition of the Concise Oxford Dictionary from all areas of language including technology
and fashion. Judy Pearsall, Publishing Manager for English Dictionaries said, " We are continually
monitoring changes to the language in order to keep our dictionaries as up to date as possible:
new words are constantly being introduced, and existing words are taking on new meanings."
For a full list of new words entering the Concise Oxford Dictionary click on the list.
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