Friday, October 24, 2014

‘Overshare’ is Chambers Dictionary’s word of the year 2014

Chambers Dictionary announces its word of the year: ‘overshare’ tops a shortlist featuring ‘photobomb’, ‘selfie’ and ‘bashtag’

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch jumps behind U2 at the 86th Academy Awards in Hollywood
Runnerup … Benedict Cumberbatch photobombs U2 at this year's Oscars. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
Described as “beautifully British”, the “subtle yet devastating” put-down “overshare” was today named word of the year by the Chambers Dictionary. 

Collins, however, has plumped for “photobomb” as its choice, citing the word’s 100% increase in usage over the past year.

“Photobomb”, defined by Collins as “to intrude into the background of a photograph without the subject’s knowledge”, also made the final shortlist for Chambers, but was edged out by “overshare”. Used to condemn everything from Kim Kardashian’s closeups of her anatomy to public displays of affection on Facebook, “overshare” is defined by Chambers as “to be unacceptably forthcoming with information about one’s personal life”. Whether it is updates on a toddler’s toilet training or selfies on Snapchat that leave little to the imagination, “we’re revealing more now than we ever have done before”, according to the dictionary.
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