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OED updates include internet slang acronyms

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Press Trust of India London
Last Updated : Jul 06 2016 | 9:22 PM IST
A number of internet slang acronyms such as FWIW and ICYMI and have made it into the Oxford English Dictionary along with eye-catching new entries like budgie smugglers, glamping and listicles.
The latest update also includes the likes of "bovver", made famous by comedian Catherine Tate.
Significantly, the latest update to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) acknowledges the "inescapable factor of modern life is our increasing reliance on computers and digital communications".
It has included acronyms such as FWIW, short for "for what it's worth", and ICYMI, "in case you missed it", which are used frequently on social media and in text messaging.
They are some of the more than 1,000 new words and senses, and nearly 2,000 fully revised or expanded entries, the BBC reported.
"Budgie smugglers" is an Australian term used since the 1990s that refers to a pair of tight men's swimming trunks.

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"Glamping" is a shortened form of the phrase "glamorous camping", used to describe a camping with luxuries and accommodation more associated with hotel stays.
"Listicles" are a recent invention of the internet age, describing online newspaper or magazine articles presented in the form of a list.
"Bovver" makes the list thanks to Tate's teenage character Lauren's much-repeated catch-phrase "Am I bovvered?".
"Dudettes", meanwhile, has been in use since 1883, five years after the more commonly used male equivalent "dude" came into use.
The next update to the OED is due in September, the report said.

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First Published: Jul 06 2016 | 9:22 PM IST

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