Don’t worry this is only the Macquarie Dictionary which means it is an Aussie award and word https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-26/macquarie-dictionary-word-of-the-year-2024/104648884 Lols! I love that English is an evolving language!
When we step back and look at language, it's laughable how seriously we take our current usages and definitions. Language is fluid and slowly changes over time. I spent a bit of time with Chaucer's works in Middle English, and had to learn that not only can the word usage change, but the pronunciations can also change significantly. The great vowel shift also explains why our spelling is so wonky. I have to say that Aussies do have an interesting take on English. A lot of the colloquialisms are attention-getters for me. Unfortunately, too many of the ones I hear stem from the movie, "Crocodile Dundee." I'd say that's a rather limited source of info. This topic reminds of some old letters I had from when I was a kid back in the 60s. Our fathers were military, and when they were reassigned, we kept in touch by writing letters. Not so long ago, I found a few in my parent's attic. We had that dialect of the 60s. Wish I still had the letters. They were amusing to read.
