rejections

The Oxford Dictionaries Considered Normcore

Photo: Matelly/Corbis

In the fight among words to gain the approval of the Oxford Dictionaries in 2014, many tiny trains of letters battled valiantly and made their cases clear. 

Smugshrug found herself exactly where she wanted to be, on the blip list of words that peaked in the space of 2014. She would have liked to stick around, but literally what can you do¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Conscious uncoupling also understood that lack of staying power was really their whole vibe.

Mansplain hollered about his unfair placement on the long list. Don’t you guys know what he means? He’s happy to repeat it again, but understand this: He’s at least short-list material. Clickbait attempted a Hail Mary pass that involved an otter in a warm bath interspersed with rousing political content.

Looking so cute, bae arrived first on the short list, confidently knowing that bae’s place in our hearts would always be before all else. Budtender was surprised to find herself on the list with such great company, and kept looking around and blinking so slowly you wondered if maybe she was falling asleep for seconds at a time? Normcore zipped up his parka and settled into another Seinfeld rerun. He could always try again next year. 

As for the champion? Vape, with very little effort, won. Things just hit easy for some words. 

The Oxford Dictionaries Considers Normcore