What Was the Best New Word Added to the Dictionary in 2017?

Thanks to the fine folks at Merriam-Webster, our dictionaries continue to get heavier and even more robust than they were twelve months ago.

As language evolves and new words continue to flood our lexicon, it’s good to have more ammunition for any conversation or correspondence you encounter. When new phrases from popular culture get cosigned and introduced into our language, it’s important to recognize the terms that make you stop and think and appreciate our evolving forms of communication.

Both in verbal conversation and in written communication, Grammarly loves to recognize wordplay of all sorts. So with that in mind, let’s look at eight great English words that were added to the record books, or in this case, books of record, in 2017.

Take a look at the new words that achieved dictionary-status and inspired us to diversify our style. Vote for your favorites below and use the comments section to let us know what new words and phrases made waves where you live!

1 Ghost

verb

What it means: To abruptly cut off all contact with (someone, such as a former romantic partner) by no longer accepting or responding to phone calls, instant messages, etc.

2 Word salad

noun

What it means: A string of empty, incoherent, unintelligible, or nonsensical words or comments.

3 Froyo

noun

What it means: A term used to describe frozen yogurt. Often used before another noun—a froyo shop, froyo flavors.

4 Weak sauce

noun

What it means: Something inferior, ineffective, or unimpressive: something weak.

5 Photobomb

verb

What it means: To move into the frame of a photograph as it is being taken as a joke or prank.

6 Throw shade

verb

What it means: To express contempt or disrespect for someone publicly, especially by subtle or indirect insults or criticisms.

7 Listicle

noun

What it means: An article consisting of a series of items presented as a list.

8 Facepalm

verb

What it means: To cover one’s face with the hand as an expression of embarrassment, dismay, or exasperation.

Did You Learn Grammar in Primary And Secondary School?

What do you think? Tell us in the comments!

Monday Motivation Hack: Keep Moving Forward

Some people spring out of bed on Monday feeling fresh, relaxed, and eager to get back to work. But I’m not convinced those with boundless energy and enthusiasm are of this world. I woke this morning, dragged myself out of bed, showered in a half-dead daze, and made a beeline for my French press to brew some Sumatra roast. For most of us, getting back into the work week can be rough.

As annoying as it is to most of us, Monday has its purpose. It’s a great day to focus on self-improvement. If you take just fifteen minutes out of your morning to focus on a few ideas to put into action this week, you’ll feel less existential dread and more motivation as you start your day. Here’s how to spend those fifteen minutes.

Keep moving forward by ruminating less and noticing more.

We tend to get trapped inside our own heads a lot, ruminating endlessly about things that have happened or might happen. Unfortunately, that can mean getting in our own way, which leads us to feel stuck. Sure, there’s some value in reflecting on your performance and learning from it, or planning for the future. But self-reflection is only meaningful when it leads to positive outcomes. Reflection yields forward momentum when you stop ruminating and start noticing.

Rumination might have you thinking things like Last week was awful. I didn’t get enough sleep most nights, and even coffee wasn’t working for me. I made mistake after mistake!

Can you see any value in beating yourself up like that? I sure can’t. Try noticing what happened last week rather than rolling the events around in your head in a way that churns up negativity.

Here’s what it looks like when you notice rather than ruminate.

When I’m not mindful about getting to bed at a reasonable time, I’m tired the next day. Caffeine gives me a boost, but leads to an energy crash later. I’m more productive when I get enough sleep.

Aha! Now we’re getting somewhere. Instead of beating yourself up for last week’s lackluster job performance, you’ve identified a trend. You’ve noticed that your tendency to stay up too late causes you to rely on caffeine, which leads to a crash, which finds you making more mistakes. That’s something you can remedy by developing better sleep habits.

How to Break the Rumination Habit

We all ruminate. It’s a hard habit to break! Fortunately, being aware of your mind’s tendency to be your own worst enemy is the first step toward breaking the cycle.

One of the wisest people I’ve known frequently helped me keep my own rumination habit in check. Any time she caught me beating myself up, she’d ask, “Is this useful thinking?” It would snap me out of my funk and help me recognize that no, laying on a bunch of criticism targeted at myself wasn’t particularly helpful. In fact, it was detrimental.

Noticing, rather than ruminating, leads us to evaluate those tendencies that might be hurting our performance (or even our psyches) in a way that leads to self-discovery, not self-flagellation. If you find yourself ruminating, try these tricks to break the cycle.

• Learn to spot rumination. It’s important to know the enemy! If you’re lost in your own mind, beating yourself up over something in the past or worrying about the future, you’re ruminating.
• Ask yourself “Is this useful thinking?” If you catch yourself ruminating, take a deep breath and consider whether your thoughts are actually helpful. Odds are, they’re only making you feel bad about yourself.
• Practice mindfulness. Make a habit of being in the moment. Mindfulness is a powerful tool for creating peace and positivity. We talked about it a few weeks ago in our Monday Motivation segment on avoiding negativity.

When your tendency to focus on mistakes keeps you stuck, breaking the cycle of rumination can help you move forward. Treat yourself as you would a friend or family member—with kindness and understanding. Noticing the habits you’ve developed that aren’t working for you, rather than beating yourself up for the problems they cause, enables you to make a change for the better.

Bad Writing: What it Means for Your Career (INFOGRAPHIC)

Is poor writing an indicator that you will be less successful in your career?

Kyle Wiens, CEO at iFixit, suggested as much in a July 20, 2012 article (“I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why.”) which appeared in Harvard Business Review’s blog network.

Yesterday, in honor of National Grammar Day, Harvard Business Review posted another article (“Grammar Should Be Everyone’s Business”) written by Grammarly CEO Brad Hoover. Brad’s article provides real data to back up Mr. Wiens’ supposition that poor grammar predicts poor career outcomes.

Here’s a breakdown of the data:

• Professionals with fewer grammar errors in their Linkedin profiles achieved higher positions. Those who failed to progress to a director-level position within the first 10 years of their careers made 2.5 times as many grammar mistakes as their director-level colleagues.

• Fewer grammar errors correlate with more promotions. Professionals with one to four promotions over their 10-year careers made 45 percent more grammar errors than those with six to nine promotions in the same time frame.

• Fewer grammar errors associate with frequent job changes. Those who remained at the same company for more than 10 years made 20 percent more grammar mistakes than those who held six jobs in the same period. This could be explained in a couple of ways: People with better grammar may be more ambitious in their search for promising career opportunities, or job-hoppers may simply recheck their résumés between jobs.

Are you interested in sharing the data? Tweet about it now!

Or, let us know what you think in the comments below. Have your writing skills ever influenced your career in a positive or a negative manner?

What Is a Coordinating Conjunction?

A coordinating conjunction is a word that joins two elements of equal grammatical rank and syntactic importance. They can join two verbs, two nouns, two adjectives, two phrases, or two independent clauses. The seven coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

Meet the Key Players: FANBOYS

The best way to remember the seven coordinating conjunctions is by using the acronym FANBOYS:

For And Nor But Or Yet So

Of these seven, so can be used as both a coordinating conjunction and a subordinating conjunction. As a coordinating conjunction, so can link two independent clauses in a manner similar to therefore, and as a subordinating conjunction, it can link two unequal clauses (one independent clause and one dependent clause) in the sense of so that.

Coordinating conjunction:

We were out of milk, so I went to the store to buy some.

Subordinating conjunction:

Grace is saving money so she can buy her own horse.

Conjunctions That Connect Two Words

Coordinating conjunctions can join two verbs…

The children ran and jumped all over the playground.

…two nouns…

Would you like cereal or toast for breakfast?

…two adjectives…

The old castle seemed grand yet mysterious.

…two adverbs…

Slowly but surely, the turtle finished the race.

…or any two words with the same syntactical value. And and or can also be used to join the final two elements in a series, with commas separating the rest of the elements.

What I consume the most are candy bars, chips, spicy burritos, red wine, and antacid tablets.

Whether or not you place a comma before the and or or is a matter of stylistic choice. When you do put a comma before the final conjunction in a series, it is referred to as a “serial comma” or an “Oxford comma.” Despite the fact that it is recommended by the Oxford University Press style manual, most writers of British English do not use it. In the United States, however, it is quite common. It is arguable that when writing in American English, using the serial comma is the best choice because it eliminates any possibility of ambiguity and creates order for the reader. If your English teacher was of a certain age, you may believe that it is not acceptable to place a comma before words like and, but this has no true grammatical basis.

Conjunctions That Connect Two Phrases

The rules for using coordinating conjunctions to join grammatically equal phrases are the same.

He seemed poorly groomed yet well mannered.

By covering my past-due bills with a brick, I can put them out of sight and out of mind.

Conjunctions That Connect Two Clauses

Coordinating conjunctions, a.k.a. the FANBOYS, can connect two independent clauses. Independent clauses are so called because each of them can stand on its own as a sentence. We connect them with FANBOYS, however, so that we don’t spit out all our sentences like robots.

I love candy bars.

I know they are not good for me.

My doctor has told me this.

I don’t want to listen.

Coordinating conjunctions make these ideas sound more fluent.

I love candy bars, yet I know they are not good for me. My doctor has told me this, but I don’t want to listen.

When joining two clauses with a coordinating conjunction, always place a comma before the conjunction.

I don’t want to throw away my candy bars, nor do I wish to listen to my doctor.

I adore candy factories, and I want to own one someday.

Starting a Sentence with a Coordinating Conjunction

Perhaps your teacher taught you that you should never start a sentence with the FANBOYS. But the truth is, you can. (I just did.) The reason your teacher may have taught you this was to discourage you from writing sentence fragments. Once you are past that developmental stage, however, there is no reason why you can’t start a sentence with a conjunction. Let’s vary the examples above.

I don’t want to throw away my candy bars, nor do I wish to listen to my doctor. But I adore candy bar factories. And I want to own one someday.

Just remember not to overuse these kinds of sentences, because too many of them can sound punchy.

Conjunctive Adverbs

You might be thinking, “Wait! I know I’ve seen words other than the FANBOYS joining two independent clauses before. When will these words be given the grammatical recognition that they deserve?” Don’t worry, because that moment is now. The words you are thinking of do function similar to coordinating conjunctions, but they are classified as conjunctive adverbs. Some examples of conjunctive adverbs are however, moreover, namely, nevertheless, meanwhile, subsequently, and furthermore.