So it turns out that Miley Cyrus can’t claim she was responsible for making ‘twerk’ happen after all. Neither is Iggy Azalea actually. We bet they're pretty annoyed about that.
New research from the Oxford English Dictionary has said that the use of the word actually goes back as far as the 1800s.
Having now revised it’s entry for the word, the OED describes twerking as dancing “in a sexually provocative manner, using thrusting movements of the bottom and hips while in a low, squatting stance.” Good to know.
Also, it was previously spelled ‘twirk’, and the OED described it as a jerking movement, or a twitch.
Twerking isn’t the only word getting a revamp for the dictionary. While POTUS was already an entry, FLOTUS has also been added (First Lady of the United States). More proof that people just really love Michelle Obama perhaps?
More of our favourite phrases have been officially added, according to a blog post from the OED and it includes some of these gems:
Twitterati (noun): Users of the social networking service Twitter collectively, typically referring to the group of prolific contributors or those who have high numbers of followers. [2006]
Fo’ shizzle (adjective): This slang term originated in the language of rap and hip-hop and means ‘for sure’. [2001]
Freegan (noun): A person who eats discarded food, typically collected from the refuse of shops or restaurants, for ethical or ecological reasons [1997]. It can also be used as an adjective.
Hot mess (noun): A hot mess referred to ‘a warm meal, especially one served to a group’ in 1818, but now it is more commonly used as a slang term for something or someone in extreme confusion or disorder.
Meh (interjection): This interjection, expressing indifference or a lack of enthusiasm, was probably popularized by the cartoon series The Simpsons, but it was already in use online by 1992 – two years before it was used in the programme.
sext (n., 2001): a sexually explicit or suggestive message or image sent electronically, typically using a mobile phone. Back in the 1500s, when someone referred to a “sext,” they were talking about a Christian worship ritual that involved chanting around midday.
So now there’s a grammatically correct way to call out your cheap friend who happens to call over just after someone’s ordered a pizza, fabulous.
