The New York TimesThe New York Times

The word of the year goes goblin mode

By Jennifer Schuessler

04 Dec 2022 · 4 min read

Editor's Note

The Oxford English Dictionary has chosen "Goblin mode" as the word of 2022, arguing it encompasses "a feeling that the pandemic is over, but that we are still grappling with it". The NYT dives deeper.

A year ago, the lexicographic grandees at Oxford Languages dutifully stuck out their arms and chose “vax” as the 2021 Word of the Year.

But this year, the venerable publisher behind the Oxford English Dictionary has — like the rest of us, apparently — gone full goblin mode.

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