‘Goblin Mode’ wins the Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year

Yahoo Finance Live co-hosts Dave Briggs and Seana Smith review the meaning of the 2022 Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year: "Goblin Mode".

Video transcript

DAVE BRIGGS: Are you unapologetically self indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy? Do you reject social norms?

SEANA SMITH: No.

DAVE BRIGGS: No. Well, you're apparently not alone. If you are--

SEANA SMITH: Hopefully not.

DAVE BRIGGS: --in fact, you are part of a growing trend that's explained away with one term-- "goblin mode." And that, much to my and our entire staff's shock, is the Oxford word of the year for 2022. For the first time ever, Oxford gave the people a choice, and 93% chose "goblin mode" over "Metaverse" and hashtag #IStandWith. The term "goblin mode" was first used back in '09, but gained popularity during the pandemic.

And the president of the program at Oxford said this. The term resonates with all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point, saying, it's a relief to acknowledge that we're not always the idealized, curated selves that we encourage to present in our Instagram and TikTok feeds. And that is why I love "goblin mode."

SEANA SMITH: That is a very, very positive spin from Oxford on what "goblin mode"--

DAVE BRIGGS: Because I am--

SEANA SMITH: --apparently is.

DAVE BRIGGS: --as you know, a true mess in life. And I present this idealized, curated self on Instagram. And sometimes I want to just show that I'm a disaster.

SEANA SMITH: You are not goblin mode. You're not lazy. You're not someone that just goes through life and doesn't really have much ambitions.

DAVE BRIGGS: No, but I'm overwhelmed and a mess.

SEANA SMITH: Right. I think that there's a little question just in terms of what exactly "goblin mode" means because the Guardian--

DAVE BRIGGS: The lazy part is the problem.

SEANA SMITH: --described it as "goblin mode" is like when you wake up at 2:00 AM, shuffle into the kitchen wearing nothing but a long t-shirt-- don't tell me you relate to this--

DAVE BRIGGS: Nope.

SEANA SMITH: --and to make a weird snack like melted cheese on Saltines. That's--

DAVE BRIGGS: Oh. See--

SEANA SMITH: --bizarre.

DAVE BRIGGS: --that's quite a picture.

SEANA SMITH: I think just people that-- to put a positive spin on it, maybe it's people that are just comfortable being themselves, and they don't want to impress other people.

DAVE BRIGGS: So that's a very--

SEANA SMITH: That's a very, very positive spin on some of the other initial takes on goblin mode.

DAVE BRIGGS: Yeah, that's a very different spin than the Oxford president of the program put on it. So now I'm really torn on it because, yeah, no rocking a long t-shirt--

SEANA SMITH: I don't think you want to associate yourselves--

DAVE BRIGGS: --and fried cheese at 2:00 in the morning, no.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah, well, I think it more just gives you an idea maybe of the goblin mode. They're up at 2:30 in the morning.

DAVE BRIGGS: So we're not goblin mode?

SEANA SMITH: I don't know. I hope not.

DAVE BRIGGS: OK, are you?

SEANA SMITH: I don't know. Maybe I am. Yeah, hopefully, you're not out there, too. But it's very, very popular. I was shocked that it blew away some of the other names out there like "Metaverse" and "IStandWith."

DAVE BRIGGS: Thank God it's not Metaverse.

SEANA SMITH: I never heard of goblin mode, and none of our staff have heard of it either.

Oh.