Bachelor’s handbag \u2013 a roast chicken takeaway in a plastic bag — has been voted the Australian people’s choice as the new word of the year, the Macquarie Dictionary said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Australian English dictionary defined the term as a “noun Colloquial (humorous) a takeaway roast chicken”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It explained its origin as: “From the fact that such a chicken requires no further preparation before consumption, so is seen as an easy meal favoured by a single person, and is often packaged in a small plastic bag with a handle, resembling a handbag.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The phrase, which came top in an online vote, combines Australians’ love of irreverent wordplay and chicken – also known as “chook”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Takeaway chicken shops are found in many Australian suburbs and few pub menus fail to offer either chicken schnitzel or chicken parm (Parmigiana).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We have had a fair bit of feedback that some people call it the tradie’s (tradesperson’s) handbag or the bachelor’s briefcase,” Macquarie Dictionary managing editor Victoria Morgan told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Then of course there’s that little bit of backlash – but I think they have missed the point a bit \u2013 you know, someone saying: ‘Oh, I have a family, you don’t have to be a bachelor’. No, no, this is just a name.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other gems added to the dictionary this year include a “spicy cough” for a Covid infection, and a “gigafire” for a bushfire that scorches more than 100,000 hectares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Orthosomnia” also earned an entry, even though it is not of Australian origin. It refers to an insomnia “thought to be caused by a preoccupation with obtaining the amount and quality of sleep recommended by a wearable tracking device, often resulting in anxiety”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dictionary committee’s formal choice for word of the year was “teal”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just a colour, teal also defines a new crop of independent politicians combining environmental green and conservative blue policies who gained prominence in May general elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s hard to go past teal as an emblem of Australia’s political landscape in 2022,” the committee said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Macquarie Dictionary announcement landed less than a week after the Australian National Dictionary Centre, which researches Australian English, also chose teal as its word of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The centre’s shortlist included “cooker”, a derogatory term for a person protesting against Covid vaccines and lockdowns, and “quiet quitting” for an employee not working beyond their specified hours and duties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bachelor’s handbag \u2013 a roast chicken takeaway in a plastic bag — has been voted the Australian people’s choice as the new word of the year, the Macquarie Dictionary said on Tuesday. The Australian English dictionary defined the term as a “noun Colloquial (humorous) a takeaway roast chicken”. It explained its origin as: “From the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":255,"featured_media":61330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,106,7988],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afp-en","category-australia","category-did-you-know-en"],"yoast_head":"\n