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BRAT SUMMER MAY be over but its influence lives on after the term ‘Brat’ was named as the Collins Dictionary Word of the Year for 2024.
While the word brat has traditionally meant a bad-mannered child, this summer, it has taken on a new meaning sparked by the release of an album called ‘brat’ by British singer Charli XCX in June.
The album art and marketing materials were a confronting lime green colour with the word ‘brat’ printed in low-resolution, lower case letters.
Charlie XCX, real name Charlotte Aitchison, sent TikTok into a spiral when her album Brat inspired a trend that became a lifestyle, rather than just an aesthetic.
kamala IS brat
— Charli (@charli_xcx) July 22, 2024
Collins defines brat as being “characterised by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude”.
The dictionary added that brat has “clearly captured something of the spirit of the age, one that goes beyond a potentially short-lived but exuberant ‘brat summer’”.
“Channelling self-acceptance as well as rebelliousness, it’s a fitting word for 2024, a year when hedonism and anxiety have combined to form an intoxicating brew,” said Collins.
Fellow music star Taylor Swift also featured on the shortlist, highlighting the role of female musicians in shaping popular culture.
The Swift-inspired runner-up is ‘era’, after her billion-dollar Eras Tour which takes fans through her back catalogue.
Collins describes era as a “period of one’s life or career that is of a distinctive character”.
‘Rawdogging’ also made the shortlist.
This is a trend which involves forgoing comforts of the internet age and the dopamine hit of smartphone apps.
It is best captured by the idea of taking long-haul flights and doing nothing but staring at the back of the seat in front of you.
Other entries on the list include ‘anti-tourism’, inspired by locals in places such as Barcelona who have protested against crowds, economic distortions and environmental impacts of mass tourism, and argue for a more sustainable approach.
‘Yapping’ also features, which refers to talking at length especially about an inconsequential matter, and ‘delulu’, meaning utterly mistaken or unrealistic in one’s ideas or expectations.
While many words on this year’s list aren’t new, they’ve been given another lease of life, coming back into fashion and sometimes being refashioned for reasons that are often hard to fathom.
Brat was first recorded around 1500, while yapping has been around since the 17th century.
Alex Beecroft, managing director of Collins, said: “With many of this year’s notable words being popularised by generations Z and Alpha, we can confidently say this is the most ‘brat’ Word of the Year list ever.”
The lexicographers at Collins Dictionary monitor their 20-billion-word database to create the annual list of new and notable words that reflect our ever-evolving language and the preoccupations of those who use it.
-With additional reporting from Press Association
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Great to see – now lets really tackle packaging waste and force business to make the environmentally correct choice when choosing their packaging – We need to get rid of plastic bottles, plastic wrapping and one off coffee cups and lids
@brian boru:
Bring in another tax…..
@P.J. Nolan: not all taxes are bad – some make sense and others are just greedy – if taxes make it cost effective for a business to do the right thing then it is a good tax in my book. Some are greedy and corrupt like the Irish water plan and need to be fought but smart taxation can be beneficial to society.
All the chocolate bar companies have moved to plastic wrapping because it costs less. Like wise the soft drink companies have moved to plastic bottles because they are prettier. Neither are thinking about the environment and need to be forced to rethink their packaging plans. Taxation is the fastest route to getting these huge companies to change their game plan at the speed we need it to happen.
@brian boru: I would be far more comfortable if chocolate bars once again came in paper and foil. I know they wont recycle the foil but i’m sure it does far less than damage to the environment than plastic.
@Darren Byrne: The plastic gives a longer shelf life so the chocolate companies are using it to give them higher margins at the cost of the environment. Regulatory needs to step in and drive a higher cost to the manufacturer for using the plastic due to the environmental cost. Am sure if the right pressure was applied a solution could be arranged that worked for everyone. The only lever I can think of in this situation is taxation as expecting people to make the change will take generations.
@brian boru: I’m sure it does give longer shelf life, but surely chocolate is a fast-selling item with a high turnover rate? And once bought? I’ve often eaten a square or two and put it away for a week or so, okay, I’m odd, but a lot of people seem to eat bars very quickly once they have some in the house – I’ve even heard of people freezing a bar to keep it for later. I honestly don’t see chocolate as being in any danger of going off before it’s consumed.
It’s fantastic the system works, now let’s solve the plastic bottles ( bottle water ) and the coffee cup problem .
Great and more to be done… especially with plastic
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/plasticpledge/?beta=true
Where are all the reusable items stripped out of the WEEE appliances. Is it Ireland, UK, Europe.
Surely it’s not Africa where all that toxic stuff is released in both the air and the soil/water, by burning all that plastic stuff that covers wires and other components by folks trying to scrape a living together ?
Any answers appreciated. Hope I’m wrong.
Is a dildo a small appliance? Just asking
@Seriously stunned: that all depends on the wife’s choice in style
@Seriously stunned: that all depends on the wife’s choice in style
If domestic appliances were designed and built to last longer than the now average 5 to 10 years lifespan then recycling would be greatly reduced.The average lifespan of some appliances twenty or thirty years ago was averaging ten to twenty years .Most appliances now have built in obsolescence.
Great, but after the specials on Aldi and Lidl this Sunday, we’ll need extra capacity!
You are going to have a great bunch of lads moistening their lips when you talk about that much copper
This just demonstrates the amount of junk we buy throw out and replace. Thats not sustainable
have your say