Another teal triumph? The colourful contest for Macquarie’s Word of the Year

We met on Google Meet, as teams do in 2022. Alison Moore, Macquarie Dictionary’s chief editor, wrangled the rest of us: managing editor Victoria Morgan, publisher Melissa Kemble, plus ABC’s language scout Tiger Webb and me. Each of us eager to pick which word encapsulated the year.

Words plural, in fact – our job to whittle a longlist across 14 categories, from arts to technology. Each topic carried a set of candidates, from spicy cough (in the COVID category) to wishcycling (environment).

COVID, of course, had bullied our two previous confabs, boosting Karen and covidiot in 2020, plus strollout and Delta last year. Would the virus infect this year’s vote? We’d soon find out. The teapot was primed, the mics unmuted. Game time.

Clapter won the arts round, denoting applause endorsing a stand-up’s perspective. If Celia Pacquola, say, triggers a moshpit ripple for asking why antigen tests aren’t free, then she’s scored a clapter. Not a word I love but the majority spoke. The portmanteau was in the final running.

As was quiet quitting in business, where a worker does the bare minimum, also known as acting your wage. Collins had already saluted the phrase, in tandem with sportwashing, and the triumphant permacrisis – defined as a continuum of insecurity. Our longlist had just one of those, since every dictionary will have its own haul, reflective of the national conversation it eavesdrops.

Passenger princess (a person eligible to drive, yet remains content to have others drive them) was unlucky in the Colloquial tussle. As was lewk (hip-speak for a chic outfit) in fashion. Democracy can be cruel that way. The two were shaded by goblin mode (going full slob) and Barbiecore (where any pink can’t be hot enough) respectively.

Leisure sickness or phone bone? That was our health dilemma. (And please, before you pounce, word is the catch-all term a dictionary favours over lexical unit – the actual term – in the name of simplicity.) Phone bone is the skull’s spur caused by chronic telco chats. Leisure sickness? The lurgy you suffer the moment you take a break from work. Both fell short of orthosomnia, where sleep tracking serves to derail sleep quality.

Bachelor’s handbag – a takeaway roast chook – blitzed the food fight, swamping beertail (nup) and butter board (next!). Compare that coup to the multiple darlings in politics, a stoush between teal, truth-telling and crumb maiden. This last term was coined (or popularised) by Guardian reporter Amy Remeikis, the slur defined as “one who upholds existing power structures, which may harm their community, in order to glean some personal benefit”. Brilliant label, but outpointed by two other heavyweights.