OMG, Acronyms Added to Oxford Dictionary

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OMG! -- LOL is in the March edition of the Oxford Dictionary ... Need a translation? The Wall Street Journal breaks it down...

“What the heck?! FYI - for your information - Oh my goodness, laugh out loud, is now in the Oxford English Dictionary.”

The abbreviated lingo of social networks is joining increasingly popular words like “muffintop”, “taquito” in the dictionary update -- along with the heart symbol. A senior editor for the OED says colloquial phrases get into the dictionary when they gain cross-cultural popularity. In the case of OMG -- it’s not quite as new as you might think.

“People probably think it’s a very new phenomenon, but actually, no. We have found an example from 1917 of OMG being used meaning ‘Oh my God’ or ‘Oh my gosh.’”

But not everyone "hearts" the acronym additions. Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post sarcastically calls the changes physically painful and says the dictionary is no place to be hip and cool.

“You are the Oxford English Dictionary … That means that you are never, ever going to be invited to the hip after-parties … You are not going to get to hang with Miley. You are a dictionary, and you are supposed to be a watchdog of language … Stop trying to be cool and do your job.”

And HLN meteorologist Bob Van Dillen expressed his frustration for a different reason -- his suggested new words didn’t make the cut. In a CNN blog, Van Dillen writes,

“The word I want to see in there is 'shizzle', a word that should be a mix of showers and drizzle. 'Flizzle' would be mix of flurries and drizzle. Probably not going to make it in there.”

But a blogger for the Stir expresses her -- excitement -- for the new words.

“Modern society? I'M SO PROUD OF YOU.”

The OED is revised four times per year, and for the March 2011 edition, editors revised more than 1,900 entries in addition to the new words. The next update will be in June.

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