Twerking and Derping into the Dictionary

Would your friends be confused if your only comment concerning the recent government shutdown was derp!? Have you ever felt embarrassed while explaining what it means to have a food baby? Well fret no more! You can now smugly remind everyone who has raised an eyebrow at your choice of vocabulary that these words are recent additions to the Oxford English Dictionary and that they should try to keep up if they can. Okay, so maybe you don’t need to be such a jackass about it, but you still don’t have to feel silly anymore.

Words that meet certain criteria are added quarterly to the Oxford English Dictionary where they almost immediately enrage parents, grandparents and word purists everywhere. So maybe twerk shouldn’t be a real word, but guess what? It is, and there’s nothing you can do about it! Let’s take a closer look at these and some other of the most recent additions.

derp – exclam. & n. (informal): (used as a substitute for) speech regarded as meaningless or stupid, or to comment on a foolish or stupid action.

Derp originates from Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s 1998 film “Baseketball” and has since been featured in many episodes of “South Park” as well as appearing in Internet memes for years. It’s the perfect response to someone’s drivel that’s too stupid for words – well, not for this word.

food baby – n.: a protruding stomach caused by eating a large quantity of food and supposedly resembling that of a woman in the early stages of pregnancy.

If you’ve ever spent more than ten dollars on yourself inside a Taco Bell, then you know exactly how this feels. Even though you know you’re doing something terrible to your body, at least you can find solace in a jocular reference to the miracle of life!

twerk – v.: dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.

Now that Miley Cirus has forced this upon us, it looks like it’s here to stay. While I’d love to send this one back to the editor, it has at least brought us a little comedy in the form of a Jimmy Kimmel prank where he convinced millions of people that a particular twerker had accidentally set herself on fire. Classic.

jorts – pl. n.: denim shorts.

My sixteen-year-old sister made fun of an older guy wearing jorts a few months ago (before it was a real word) and I immediately felt scorn for the word and self-conscious about my summer wardrobe throughout the 90’s.

vom – v. & n. (informal): (be) sick; vomit.

Vom is a great way to express yourself in the rare case that you find yourself staring at a middle-aged-man twerking in jorts since you probably won’t have time to complete the word “vomit” before you’re physically sick.

Are there any words on your wish list to be included on next quarter’s new words list?