Congress is explained this way: “an unusually large number of debates and votes that happen in one day on a single piece of legislation to which an unlimited number of amendments can be introduced, debated, and voted on.”Īnd still other new terms come from the culinary world, such as “fluffernutter,” the homey sandwich of peanut butter, marshmallow crème and white bread. The dreaded “vote-a-ramas” that have become a fixture in the U.S. Partisan politics contributed more slang to the lexicon, such as “whataboutism,” which Merriam-Webster defines as “the act or practice of responding to an accusation of wrongdoing by claiming that an offense committed by another is similar or worse.” For Britons, the dictionary notes that “whataboutery” is more commonly used. The coronavirus pandemic also looms large in the collection of new entrants as “super-spreader,” “long COVID” and “vaccine passport” made the list. In social media, FTW is often used to acknowledge a clever or funny response to a question or meme.”Īnd it says “amirite” is a quick way to write “am I right,” as in, “English spelling is consistently inconsistent, amirite?”

Merriam-Webster explains that FTW is used “especially to express approval or support.

Clever abbreviations for words