It would appear that Oxford Dictionaries Online is permitting the dumbing down of America. For proof look no further than the words it added this year, which read like snippets of Tom Haverford dialogue:

Deets: Details
Boyf: Boyfriend
Retcon: Retroactive continuity
4G: Fourth generation
LTE: Long term evolution

If that’s not enough, they’re also adding popular hashtags, such s #FirstWorldProblem. As in, “I don’t know where I’m going to keep all my Thanksgiving leftovers. #FirstWorldProblems.”

Here are a few other (slightly more palatable) additions (via Time.com):

dance-off (n.): a competition, or a round in a competition, in which a number of dancers compete against each other until a winner is declared

Godwin’s law (n.): the theory that as an online discussion progresses, it becomes inevitable that someone or something will eventually be compared to Adolf Hitler or the Nazis, regardless of the original topic

mumblecore (n.):a style of low-budget film typically characterized by the use of non-professional actors and naturalistic or improvised performances

twitterpated (adj): infatuated or obsessed; in a state of nervous excitement

veepstakes (n.): the notional competition among politicians to be chosen as a party’s candidate for vice president.

Oxford Dictionaries has turned heads for the last several years by adding slang words, particularly those originating on social media, to its online editions.

Last week, Oxford University Press announced its word of the year for 2012: GIF.

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