‘Youthquake’ has been made word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries, which claims its use increased four-fold this year. But the choice was deemed “insane” by a baffled public, with claims the word has “never been heard of before.”
Defined as “a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people,” the term ‘youthquake’ was first coined in the 1960s by Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, who used it to describe a breakthrough in the world of art and fashion.
Now, the word of the year is supposed to be a term that has attracted a "great deal of interest during the year to date." But the public has been quick to point out how the word has scarcely been heard of.
One user resorted to memes to describe the absurdity of the choice:
Another highlighted how the word has barely been heard of, and yet it is being hailed as Oxford’s new 2017 entry.
One branded the coinage “fake news” – the expression that was made word of the year by Collins Dictionary in 2016.
One of the likely reasons for Oxford Dictionaries’ choice is the influence young people had in winning so many votes for Jeremy Corbyn during the general election in June. But given today’s state of affairs in Britain, it would seem far-fetched to claim a substantial change has happened – let alone because of young people.
This was echoed by another Twitter user, who mocked:
While talking on the BBC’s Today program, Oxford Dictionaries consultant Susie Dent couldn’t actually provide an example of how the term would crop up in everyday speech.
The perplexity was echoed on Twitter, where people went out of their way to construct a sentence with ‘youthquake’.