Tuesday 6 December 2022

How Come I Never Heard Of This?

I rarely use the word goblin. But last Friday I mentioned the poem "Goblin Market" in my wombat post. Then later that day I was listening to Pilgrim's Progress on R4extra, and found myself singing 'Hobgoblin, nor foul fiend, 
shall daunt his spirit". But it appears that the venerable Oxford English Dictionary has chosen goblin mode as its word of the year. And furthermore, this year, the WOTY was chosen by public vote [that passed me by too] 
It seems there were three words/phrases I could have chosen from. 
Goblin mode— a slang term referring to “a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations” — has been named Oxford’s 2022 Word of the Year.[last year it was vax] The Guardian depicts it thus...


The other two were
metaverse [i.e. a virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users] 
and the hashtag #IStandWith [ which recognises the activism and division that has characterised this year" and is used by people expressing solidarity with a movement or cause, such as the war in Ukraine]
I am aware of the words vax, and metaverse. I'm not altogether sure that a hashtag should count as WOTY [but Susie Dent said she voted for it, and if anyone should recognise a word, its our Susie. 
It does seem that Goblin Mode  probably won 93% of the votes because of an article in PC Gamer magazine. Not a publication I read, and the article doesn't persuade me to vote for goblin mode [or to read the rest of the PCGamer either!]
This is not an expression I plan to add to my vocabulary. 
And in case you were wondering,"What's the difference between a goblin and a hobgoblin?" I looked it up...
While a goblin is often portrayed in folklore as a grotesque, evil, and malicious creature, a hobgoblin tends to traffic more in mischief than malice. (The character Puck in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream might be regarded as a hobgoblin.) First appearing in English in the early 16th century, hobgoblin combined hob, a word meaning "sprite" or "elf" that derived from Hobbe, a nickname for Robert, with goblin a word ultimately from the Greek word kobalos, meaning "rogue." 
Had you heard of goblin mode?
And will you be using it?


22 comments:

  1. I have not heard of Goblin Mode but I'm very sad that it has come to such attention to be a word (phrase-humph!)of note- that it has had reason to be needed to be used. There's a folk music business called Hobgoblin. It started in Crawley and was owned by my childhood best friend Lucy's friends!

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    1. The Wychwood Brewery produces Hobgoblin beer- but I didn't know about the music

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  2. I'd never heard of goblin mode, but I've seen a few bits called goblincore and I sort of like that.

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  3. As I understand it, goblincore is an offshoot of cottagecore - a simple, cosy, rustic lifestyle, surrounded by items from nature, and the complete opposite of Marie Kondo's minimalism. Goblincore sounds more cheerful and jolly than goblin mode . I'm sitting next to a wooden bowl of shiny conkers. I'm definitely more GC than G M

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  4. I have never heard of it, and am not sure that I have much interest in it!

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  5. I think the term will be more familiar to the Tik Tok generation where a category of behaviour, once labelled, can rapidly develop into a trend. It seem to me that goblin mode is not far removed from what some describe as 'duvet days'. I suspect that goblin mode maybe be part of a much wider trend which the pandemic has fueled. This is a reaction to outright career ambition and the 'rat race'. The related idea of 'quiet quitting' has had some recent exposure: keeping a low profile at work and doing the minimum necessary without calling attention to yourself. The opposite to 'presentism' etc. In China there is something similar called 'ting pang' ('lying flat') which is a reaction to the prevalent 9-9-6 work culture there (9am-9pm, six days per week).

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    1. Wow! you are very knowledgeable about these terms, Philip. I was aware of quiet quitting and duvet days - but I LOVE the idea of 'ting pang'. Now in retirement, I may start practising that one occasionally

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  6. Oh my goodness, no, I hadn't heard of goblin mode - thanks for explaining
    Alison in Wales x

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    1. Not sure when you might need the term though!

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  7. I have never heard of Goblin Mode, or some of the other words you shared. So, I doubt I will be using it anytime soon, if I did you can virtually guarantee I would use it totally out of context.

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    1. That is the danger - a bit like accidentally sending embarrassing emojis.

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  8. It's new to me, too. Live and learn!

    Hugs!

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  9. My Mum used to have a Goblin vacuum cleaner!

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  10. I always thought that goblin was a shortened form of hobgoblin, just as we tend to say possum instead of opossum most of the time! Shows what little I know! LOL!

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  11. That's a new one on me too!

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  12. When I was a child a popular tourist item in Cornwall was a little metal goblin, sometimes a key ring attached. I wasn't too keen on them but my mother had one.

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    1. Fairy folklore is huge in Cornwall (pixies, elves, goblins, tommyknockers...)

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