The item directly under this text is an advertisement

Quillblog,

Something to get excited about?

Apparently the English lexicon in the early 21st century owes a hefty debt to The Simpsons. In 2001, the Oxford English Dictionary legitimized the term “d’oh,” Homer’s iconic expression of frustration, by including it within its pages. Now another expression from the show – “meh” – has made it into the Collins Dictionary.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

The origins of “meh” are murky, but the term grew in popularity after being used in a 2001 episode of The Simpsons in which Homer suggests a day trip to his children Bart and Lisa.

“They both just reply ‘meh’ and keep watching TV,” said Cormac McKeown, head of content at Collins Dictionaries.

The dictionary defines “meh” as an expression of indifference or boredom, or an adjective meaning mediocre or boring. Examples given by the dictionary include “the Canadian election was so meh”.

Notwithstanding the precision of that usage example, Quillblog would like to suggest some other words or phrases that should be officially sanctioned in the English language: OMG, lolcats, my bad, misunderestimated, and awesomesauce.

Related posts:

  1. » The Simpsons: lexicographical gatekeepers
  2. » How many of these can you use today?
  3. » McJob: fun, well-regarded, much-desired employ?
  4. » Words, words everywhere
  5. » More discouraging words for would-be writers

9 Responses to “Something to get excited about?”

  1. crissy calhoun says:

    awesomesauce endorsed by quillblog? it has come so far in such a short time. soon awesomesauce will be normalsauce.

  2. Dummy Blogger says:

    i’ve always found awesomesauce to be rather thin gruel, but the proof is in the pudding.

  3. Quillblog » The Simpsons: lexicographical gatekeepers says:

    [...] Previous: Something to get excited about? [...]

  4. biggy says:

    The expression about pudding is “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

    “The proof is in the pudding” doesn’t mean anything in any language.

  5. Dummy Blogger says:

    gee, biggy, glad to see you entirely got the point of my light-hearted post.

    pedants of the world unite.

  6. biggy says:

    Hey dummy blogger,

    didn’t expect you to take that so hard. You’re certainly punning I’ll say, just not very well. Maybe you could have used the the word gravy or pablum or reduction or who am I to say. Ah well, live and learn eh?

    All the best,
    Bigs

  7. Dummy Blogger says:

    people generally don’t react well to the halitosis of pedants.

  8. biggy says:

    Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms. Dummy Blogger.

    I must say that you have a way with words. Are you published? Is there some kind of record of your insightful musings? A pamphlet or “Zine” perhaps? Something that one could purchase for those tiresome lines at their local Pedant Hall? Membership renewal has come around again and it always seems to take forever.

    Anywho, if not, no matter. Perhaps you could simply forward me a collection at chillthefuckout@chillthefuckout.ca

    All the best in your war on accuracy.

    JL

  9. Danny boy says:

    What’s with these two?

Have your say:

The item directly under this text is an advertisement

Latest comments

  • Алексей Александров: Да, такой блог однозначно надо...
  • Von: jrock–glad to be of help; but if you want more of the same–just read Ayn Rand.
  • John Orser: Paul was my mentor in the Humber College writing correspondence program in 2007-2008. His guidance was...
  • Stuart Ross: Dangling modifier in the last sentence of the article. Stu
  • jrock: Von, if I were defining “frivolous” or “inane” I could use your comment as an example.

Book Pictures

View all photos

Audio Interview with Zoe Heller, by Nigel Beale

Anansi Girls

Anansi Girls

David McGimpsey

Patrick Warner

Karen Solie

Charlie Huisken

Matthew Tierney and Charmaine

Michael Winter and Lisa Moore

Karen Solie and Lynn Henry

Search Quillblog

Quillblog Archives