From 'ant's pants' to 'lolcat': Here are some of the words added into the Oxford Dictionary

“You know that shiny bum in the office? Turns out he’s the ant’s pants.”

Do those words make any sense? As it turns out, they do. And it’s the Oxford Dictionary which says so.

The Oxford Dictionary has added as many as 1,000 new words and phrases to its online version in its largest ever quarterly update.

With words like ‘shiny bum’, ‘al desko’, ’lolcat’, ‘duck face’, ’teenspeak’, and ‘IDC’ making it into the dictionary, the entries by editors at Oxford Dictionaries reflect the influence of popular culture and include abbreviations.

The dictionary has also extended its coverage of Australian English terms, a particularly rich source of slang.

Here is a look at some of the most ‘weird’ words that have been added to the Dictionary:

Shiny bum: This slang that has been added to the dictionary means a bureaucrat or an office worker. So don’t be surprised if all the babus of India are suddenly called the SBIs (Shiny Bums of India). We’re really curious, though, as to what was the inspiration behind this slang and wonder whether Kim Kardashian, whose butt recently ‘ broke the internet ’, was the motivation behind this.

Ant’s pants: Think of the most outstanding person you’ve seen or met in your life. Now think of the words you would use to describe that person. Oxford Dictionary feels that the appropriate phrase in such a situation would be ‘Ant’s Pants’. That’s right. So the next time you want to tell your father what a role model he has been in your life, go to him and say, “Hey dad, you are the ant’s pants!” We don’t know whether it was the rhyme between the words or just the visualisation of this phrase that made it appear on this list.

Lolcat: If there’s one thing that definitely rules the internet and is loved by the global online community, it’s the cat. Whether it’s the Nyan cat or funny cat videos or just an adorable image of a cat– they have always been a viral phenomenon on the internet. The Oxford Dictionary clearly acknowledged this trend through the word ’lolcat’, which literally means a picture of a cat with a funny caption, usually with misspelt or gramatically incorrect English.

Duck face: It all started out when people began putting up pictures of them pouting in an exaggerated manner. The internet took note of this trend and thus, was born the duck face. With people comparing the photos of women pouting to a duck, men re-enacting the duck faces made by women and an endless number of memes made on the duck face, the Oxford Dictionary also decided to give in and include this word in their list.

Cool beans: Much like ‘jhakaas’ or ‘mast’ used in the Indian context, ‘cool beans’ had been used for a long time to express approval or delight. From being used in text messages or on the internet to say everything is fine, ‘cool beans’ has always been a popular phrase in this generation. As if the word “fine” wasn’t a scary enough answer when you asked your partner, “Are you ok?”, now it’s grammatically correct for him or her to say, “Cool beans”.

Man crush: Many times, when a man finds another man handsome or attractive in a non-sexual way, it’s difficult for him to admit it due to fear of being ridiculed or being questioned about his sexual orientation. Now, Oxford Dictionary has come to the rescue of all the male Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Cruise, George Clooney and Sean Connery fans by including the word ‘man crush’, which means the non-sexual liking or admiration felt by one man for another.

(With inputs from PTI)