Merriam-Webster Just Added ‘Dumpster Fire’ and ‘Mansplain’ to Their Dictionary

My favorite account to follow on Twitter isn’t a celebrity, or a politician. It’s Merriam-Webster. You know, the dictionary? Sometime in the last year and a half or so, the wordsmiths over at Merriam-Webster have gotten snarky as hell and I am here for it. Even better, they’ve been adding words we use in our everyday lives to the big book of words, and I find it hilarious. The latest additions include two words I use on a daily basis. Honestly I wouldn’t be able to properly express myself without them.

Merriam-Webster is adding 850 words to the dictionary this year, including “dumpster fire” and “mansplain”. See what I mean?

Image: Giphy

“Ugh, why is everyday a fucking dumpster fire lately?” “Oh, that’s cute. This guy on Facebook just tried to mansplain periods to me.” LITERALLY EVERYDAY. The definitions they included are spot-on, too. MW defines mansplain as a way “to explain something to a woman in a condescending way that assumes she has no knowledge about the topic.” Dumpster fire is “an utterly calamitous or mismanaged situation or occurrence: disaster.”

In addition to my two most-used words, the dictionary now contains definitions for kombucha, cryptocurrency, welp, and even subtweet. They also added self-care, which I love, and which I hope will legitimize the need for it. And the addition of subtweet is perfect, since that’s what Merriam-Webster does on a daily basis.

Getting owned by the social media account of a dictionary has got to sting.

Remember when the dictionary was just a big ol’ book you consulted when you wanted to sound smart in an email or on a paper? Well, the times, they are a-changin’ kids. The way we speak, our vocabulary, it’s all evolving. And the good people at Merriam-Webster just want to keep up with it!

It’s kind of funny to think that when our kids ask us what a dumpster fire is, we can point to the dictionary and tell them to look it up. Or we can just show them a picture of this guy! Samesies.

(Image: iStock/csy302)

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