# Goblin Mode is Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 5, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067 "2022-12-05T20:05:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/21 "2022-12-05T23:08:11Z")
TIL a new word. And that’s a good thing. At my age. j OK, it’s two words. Hey. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/22 "2022-12-06T01:24:29Z")
I’m assuming there’s a huge overlap between trolls and goblins… (I’m picturing a political pit thread with rabble-rousers and pot-stirrers, all “dressed” in saggy sweats and pizza-stained t-shirts) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/23 "2022-12-06T03:21:49Z")
First time in my life I’ve never heard of an Oxford “Word of the Year” word before it was announced. I accept this is probably in part (possibly even substantial part) due to getting old and not being on Twitter, but I suspect based on this thread they have also chosen a more obscure term than usual. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/24 "2022-12-06T06:31:10Z")
I would suggest rather that this thread is more evidence of the aging insularity of the Dope. I’d pretty much guarantee that 95+% of Americans between the ages of 20 and 35 are very familiar and comfortable with the phrase. ---
**Author:** ![omenran](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omenran/32/3318_2.png) [@omenran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omenran)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/25 "2022-12-06T07:31:54Z")
I think there’s also a factor of wanting to get attention and clicks. Different dictionary site use different methods also. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/26 "2022-12-06T11:24:26Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > First seen on Twitter in 2009 Pfft. We’ve had [Goblin Girls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGX-C6-q10g) since 1981. Though they weren’t in quite the same “mode.” ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/27 "2022-12-06T12:39:28Z")
Bannon. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/28 "2022-12-06T12:57:44Z")
I’ve seen “goblin” as referring to maybe a smaller version of a troll, somebody short, squat and ugly, but not combined with “mode.” It must be something the kids say on their Tickety Tocks. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/29 "2022-12-06T15:19:37Z")
CNN pointed this out this morning … and I’ve also opened the OP’s AP News link and read: > Oxford Dictionaries said Monday that “goblin mode” has been **selected by online vote** as its word of the year. Ohhhhhhhh … OK. Well, no wonder. I’m sitting here assuming that “goblin mode” was somehow nominated and chosen by a bunch of Oxonian academics looking like (still - in 2022!) this guy: [![](https://alchetron.com/cdn/james-murray-lexicographer-4375f2c6-684a-488e-86a0-5dbe688338d-resize-750.jpeg) ](https://alchetron.com/cdn/james-murray-lexicographer-4375f2c6-684a-488e-86a0-5dbe688338d-resize-750.jpeg) Two of the other choices for “word of the year” were “ **#IStandWith** ” and “ **metaverse** ”, as detailed in the AP News article. Meh. Nichey Niche McNichereson. Not popular … not household words (_stamps foot!_). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/30 "2022-12-06T15:51:57Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > I’ve never heard this before. How many Gen Z kids do you hang out with? > [@pulykamell](#): > > they may be a bit young for it (they’re elementary school Definitely. It’s a teenager/twenties expression (although also used by try-hard olds , like Musk). > [@Cervaise](#): > > I’d pretty much guarantee that 95+% of Americans between the ages of 20 and 35 are very familiar and comfortable with the phrase. I think you’re about 5-10 years too high, there. I don’t use the expression myself, but I’ve been aware of it for a while. I do use, and greatly prefer, the somewhat related, but _way_ more positive, _goblincore_ aesthetic. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/31 "2022-12-06T15:53:34Z")
This is very strange. Before, when there was an article like this–new term added to the dictionary–I would at least have heard of it and some idea of its meaning. In this case, I would have had no idea what it meant without reading the article. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/32 "2022-12-06T15:55:27Z")
At least I now have words to describe the people I used to see in Portland who were going to the grocery store in what were obviously pajamas, slippers and a bathrobe. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/33 "2022-12-06T15:57:41Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > How many Gen Z kids do you hang out with? That would explain it best for me – I am mostly around Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Alpha (words like “bruh,” “suss,” “cringe,” “sussy baka,” “aesthetic”.) There’s a gap for Gen Z. There’s maybe a few Youtubers and Twitch streamers I watch that are on the cusp (about 25 years old), but it doesn’t seem like that phrase would show up in the context of their channels. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/34 "2022-12-06T16:08:29Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > “sussy baka” (_Front-runner for 2023 Word of The Year_) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/35 "2022-12-06T16:26:08Z")
It’s a mutation of the word “sus” which originates from the game _Among Us_. _Baka_ means “fool” in Japanese. Apparently some TikTokker stuck the two together, and “sussy baka” emerged. Don’t know if it’s still used much or not, but my kids used it all the time about two years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/36 "2022-12-06T23:00:41Z")
Merriam-Webster: gaslighting Cambridge: homer (as in home run) Macquarie: teal (“an independent political candidate who holds generally ideologically moderate views, but who supports strong action regarding environmental and climate action policies, and the prioritising of integrity in politics.”) Collins: permacrisis Oxford: goblin mode See here: > **[These 5 Words Have Been Selected As 2022’s “Word Of The Year”](https://www.yahoo.com/news/2022-words-over-place-130103020.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKVLsSq6Lt_IEfKf15ofj5Z3owaJp0o_mpXEZGW4h-6tx5sSw8tCLb_jrTpKANgosB5WwysArvYyEDtQWYYF4xlrnlfyxanT-16MoGi__9gQori7y404g-DltsaeB6Nv_zV-c_c2sjTTrVWhjRoPkeCKD8SzesXjOd_pduGgaQME)** > > Here are the words that defined 2022. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/37 "2022-12-07T00:41:11Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Merriam-Webster: gaslighting I hear this one a lot these days, but it took me a long time to understand it. And Sealioning. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/38 "2022-12-07T04:07:59Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > I would suggest rather that this thread is more evidence of the aging insularity of the Dope. Neither the 20 year old nor the 16 year old had heard of it ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/39 "2022-12-08T15:43:21Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Neither the 20 year old nor the 16 year old had heard of it neither me, nor my wife, nor my 15 or 17 year olds have ever heard of it. I had a group of 16 people today at a meeting I hosted, ages early 20’s to 50’s. As an icebreaker I asked them if any of them had heard of it. 10 replied “yes” but all had heard it purely in relation to it being word of the year and no one had heard of it prior to that. I think the OED have definitely pull that one out of their arse on a Friday afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067/40 "2022-12-08T15:59:04Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I think the OED have definitely pull that one out of their arse on a Friday afternoon. I don’t believe that. It’s just a term that hasn’t reached every corner of the society. I think we will find this happening more and more as people get isolated into their own online bubbles. “Goblin mode” just isn’t in our particular bubbles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goblin-mode-is-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year/976067.md?page=3)