People are talking trash and we love it.
Collin’s Dictionary publisher announced “Single-use” as the Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2018 , yesterday November 7th. Single-use is defined as “made to be used once only”, it refers to “items whose unchecked proliferation are blamed for damaging the environment and affecting the food chain,” according to a press release accompanying the announcement.
According to the Collins Corpus, a database that tracks how often more than 4.5 billion words are spoken, written and typed, the word has seen a four-fold increase in use since 2013.
The European Union targeting single-use plastics with a law that will introduce measures ranging from awareness campaigns to bans for the most common single-use items, from straws, plastic plates, plastic cutlery, cotton swabs, balloons to cigarette filters. The European Council, Parliament and Commission are negotiating on the final text of the Single-Use Plastics Directive, and it’s expected to be decided upon by the end of the year.
“Single-use plastics are not a smart economic or environmental choice,” Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said earlier this year.
“Single-use” wasn’t the only politics-inspired word on Collins’ list of words of the year. “Backstop” and “gammon,” which both have connections to Brexit, are also on the list.
“MeToo” is also a word of the year, with lexicographers saying it has become part of the language, thanks to phrases such as “the MeToo era” and “MeToo moment” in relation to campaigns against sexual harassment.
Other words include “plogging”, which combines jogging with picking up litter, and “vegan”, which has become “increasingly mainstream”.
Source: Politico