The Oxford English Dictionary announced it is adding 550 new words, senses, and sub-entries, including awesomesauce, weak sauce, and chicken little. Also being added are several West African words in recognition of their influence on the English language.
- Awesomesauce is an adjective that means “Extremely good; excellent.”
- Weak sauce is a combination adjective and noun. "That lacks power, substance, or credibility; pathetic, worthless; stupid."
- Chicken Little, a noun, is “A person who panics easily, or spreads alarm amongst others."
- Safe space is “a place or environment in which people, esp. those belonging to a marginalized group, can feel confident that they will not be exposed to…”
OED said the addition of West African English words including bukateria, danfo, and Kannywood continues an effort started in 2016 to expand forms of English beyond U.S. and British that have influenced language. OED says it now includes 15 versions of world English.
- Kannywood, a noun, is “The Nigerian Hausa-language film industry, based in Kano; Kano regarded as the centre of this industry."
- Bukateria, a noun, is "A roadside restaurant or street stall with a seating area, selling cooked food at low prices."
- Danfo, also a noun, is "A yellow minibus that carries passengers for a fare as part of an informal transport system in Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria."
- The Nigerian phrase "to rub minds" is also added. It means "to consider a matter jointly; to consult and work together; to confer."
See the full list of words at this link.
