London - Oxford announced its winning word of the year 'goblin mode', marking the first time the word was chosen by public vote.

The slang term, one of three potential choices selected by Oxford lexicographers, means "unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy" behavior.

The phrase won by a landslide with 318,956 votes, making up 93% of the total.

According to Oxford University Press, which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary, the slang term is often used in expressions such as "I am in goblin mode" or "to go goblin mode".

Oxford explains it further as "a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations".

The term started appearing online in 2009 but went viral earlier this year.

As Covid restrictions eased, the term continued to grow as people realised they did not want to go back to the way life was before.

It prompted a campaign for its selection, with the PC Gamer magazine asking readers to "put aside our petty differences and vote for 'goblin mode' over 'metaverse' as the Oxford Word of the Year", because "goblin mode rules".

Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, said that people have been embracing their inner goblin.

He added: "We were hoping the public would enjoy being brought into the process, but this level of engagement with the campaign caught us totally by surprise.

"The strength of the response highlights how important our vocabulary is to understanding who we are and processing what's happening to the world around us.

"Given the year we've just experienced, 'goblin mode' resonates with all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point. It's a relief to acknowledge that we're not always the idealized, curated selves that we're encouraged to present on our Instagram and TikTok feeds."

The runner up was metaverse with 14,484 votes, followed by #IStandWith with 8,639 votes.

Last year's word of the year was vax, echoing the interest in vaccines after a coronavirus vaccine was released.
-BBC