New 2021 Words Added to Dictionaries

It’s nearing the end of another year and that can mean only one thing: opportunities for journalists to write quick articles and get paid without thinking too much or working too hard. During these times of “no significant inflation” and all those holiday alcohol bills coming due, it’s more important than ever for those of us in the fourth estate.

Rather than a garden-variety ‘Best of / Worst of’ list, we’re doing a garden-variety rundown of new words added to the vernacular in 2021.

schifft·y
/ˈSHiftē/

adjective informal
adjective: schiffty; comparative adjective: schifftier; superlative adjective: schifftiest

(of a person or their manner) appearing deceitful or evasive, especially with respect to achieving political ends through false statements or doctored evidence.
“a schiffty, partisan politician”

let’s go bran·don
/fək jō ˈBīd-in/

phrasal idiom
common greeting or salutation, expressing solidarity with the disenfranchised.

var·i·ant
/ˈverēənt/

noun
noun: variant; plural noun: variants

a form or version of something that differs from other forms of the same thing but causes abject terror and complete loss of prefrontal cortex reasoning skills in humans.
“a new variant has been found, I hope our hard-working and efficient government takes control of every aspect of our lives so I don’t get sick”

an·ti-rac·ism
/ˈanˌtī-ˈrāˌsizəm/

noun
noun: anti-racism
(synonym with racism)

prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group.
“anti-racism is a way of blaming your problems on other people, based on their skin color”

free·dom
/ˈfrēdəm/

noun

the archaic idea of having the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.

EDITORS NOTE: This political satire column by Panem Et Circenses on The Peoples Cube is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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