Oxford Dictionaries has revealed its word of the year.
The publicly-selected word to be added to the dictionary, which is often chosen to mirror a national trend or feeling, has this year been unveiled as 'goblin-mode'.
The term is defined as "a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations".
If you've never heard it before - you're probably not the first. Yet the word has been in use since 2009 when it first entered the digital lexicon on Twitter.
'Goblin-mode' became popularised this year as people emerged from two years of the pandemic, which has included lockdowns, working from home and never-ending doom-scrolling.
For many, the previous two years have left us feeling a little overwhelmed and in some cases, entirely burned out... or, to use the phrase, stuck in goblin-mode.
"Given the year we've just experienced, 'goblin mode' resonates with all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point," said Oxford Languages President Casper Grathwohl.
For the first time, this year's winning phrase was chosen by public vote, from among three finalists which also included 'Metaverse' and 'IStandWith'; the latter being a reference to en-masse social media reactions to what is deemed as an injustice.
Despite being relatively unknown offline, goblin-mode was the overwhelming favourite, winning 93 per cent of the more than 340,000 votes cast.
It follows rival dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster announcing its word of the year this year as 'gaslighting' - a term that has been around for nearly a hundred years, but has become commonplace in recent years.
'Gaslighting' refers to behaviour that attempts to invalidate a person's feelings or deny they are real, trying instead to make them think they are imagining or overreacting.
The term comes from the 1930s play and film 'Gaslight' which depicts an abusive marriage where the husband tricks his wife into thinking she is going mad by meddling with the lights.
Last year's Oxford 'word of the year' was 'vax', in reference to the growing misinformation and anti-vax movement surrounding the push to get people vaccinated against Covid-19.
