Mediaboss Marketing

Against a backdrop of political and media crises, Oxford Dictionaries has chosen "omnishambles" as its word of the year.

Oxford University Press crowned the word - defined as "a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterised by a string of blunders and miscalculations" - its top term of 2012.

Each year Oxford University Press tracks how the English language is changing and chooses a word that best reflects the mood of the year.

Coined by writers of the satirical BBC show The Thick of It, omnishambles has been applied to everything from government blunders to the crisis-ridden preparations for the London Olympics.

Oxford University Press lexicographer Susie Dent said the word was chosen for its popularity as well as its "linguistic productivity."

She said "a notable coinage coming from the word is Romneyshambles" - a derisive term used by the British press after US presidential candidate Mitt Romney expressed doubts about London's ability to host a successful Olympics.

Omnishambles was chosen over shortlisted terms including "mummy porn" - the genre exemplified by the best-selling 50 Shades book series - and "green-on-blue", military attacks by forces regarded as neutral, as when members of the Afghan army or police attack foreign troops.

The Olympics was also responsible for a number of words on the shortlist, including the verb "to medal", "Games Maker" - the name given to thousands of Olympic volunteers - and distance runner Mo Farah's victory dance, "the Mobot".

Europe's financial crisis lent the word "Eurogeddon", while technology produced "second screening" - watching TV while simultaneously using a computer, phone or tablet - and social media popularised the acronym "YOLO", you only live once.

The final shortlisted term in Britain was an old word given new life. "Pleb", a derogatory epithet for lower-class people, was alleged to have been uttered to a police officer by British Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell. He denied using the term, but resigned.

See the rest here:
'Omnishambles' named Oxford Dictionaries' word of the year