Word of the Year 2016 - Australian National Dictionary

The Australian National Dictionary records the meaning and origin of Australian words and phrases. Each year the Australian National Dictionary Centre names its Word of the Year and the shortlist from which it is selected. The Word of the Year is based on extensive research as well as public suggestions.

Here is the 2016 Word of the Year and shortlist . . . 

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Word of the Year . . .

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Democracy sausage:

A democracy sausage is defined as "a barbecued sausage served on a slice of bread, bought at a polling booth sausage sizzle on election day". 

Although the terms has been in use since 2012, it was given prominence for the election on 2 July this year by:

• Malcolm Turnbull photographed biting into a sausage sandwich:

• Opposition leader Bill Shorten shown biting into a roll with a sausage but doing so in the middle, resulting in him, being widely pilloried as a dickhead:

• A website devoted to listing which election polling stations had sausage sizzles.

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Short list . . . 

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Census fail:

Census fail refers to the failure of the Australian Bureau of Statistics website on Census night. This was the first year that Australians had been encouraged to complete their census online, but the site was down for two days, prompting a storm of public criticism.

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Smashed avo:

No, not a breached Apprehended Violence Order, in this case th Avo is short for avocado. A smashed avo is a popular café breakfast.

After columnist Bernard Salt referred to young people spending money on eating smashed avocado on toast in cafes rather than saving to buy a house, It prompted a backlash in the media from Gen Y, who protested that home ownership is out of their reach. 

Smashed avocado on toast with poached eggs and tomatoes

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Shoey:

A shoey is that disgusting activity of drinking alcohol out of a shoe or boot.

It was brought to greater public awareness by Oz F1 racing driver Daniel Ricciardo, who drank champagne out of his racing boot after a 2nd place.

Some examples:

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Deplorables:

"To just be grossly generalistic, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it."

- Hillary Clinton, 

during the election campaign

"Last night I was 'grossly generalistic,' and that's never a good idea. I regret saying 'half' -- that was wrong."

- Hillary Clinton, 

the next day

Deplorables is now a term used to refer to people considered to be extremely conservative or reactionary, especially those who reject mainstream politics. Within the Australian lexicon it has been applied to voters who feel disenfranchised.

Some responses to Hillary’s comments:

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Ausexit:

Just as Britain exited from the European Union, giving rise to the term Brexit, so the movement to cut ties with the British monarchy has been dubbed Ausexit.