If you are reading this, just look around yourself. You are still in bed, right? Is the floor covered in heaps of clothing or boxes from takeout meals? Is your bedsheet covered with chip crumbs? Have you neglected to practice self-care on more occasions than you could ever remember? Are you even unconcerned? If so, you may already be in “goblin mode“—the Oxford Word of the Year for 2022, as selected by the general people via an online vote. People were given three options of “Goblin Mode,” “Metaverse,” and “#IStandWith” by a group of lexicographers at OUP. Getting 318,956 votes, or 93% of the overall, “Goblin mode” won. “Metaverse” came in second, followed by “#IStandWith.”
The Emergence of the Term “Goblin Mode”
Let’s find out what is goblin mode. The term is described as a sort of behavior that is unrepentantly lazy, self-indulgent, slobby, or greedy, usually in a manner that opposes social standards and norms. According to OUP, the phrase was first used in 2009. However, it became incredibly popular in 2022 as people worldwide appeared from pandemic lockdowns with apprehension. It gained notoriety after a false headline implied that Julia Fox and the musician formerly known as Kanye West broke up because she “went goblin mode.” The phrase arose over the months when Covid lockdown limits ended in various nations and individuals began leaving their homes more frequently.
In the news release on Monday, Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages at OUP, stated that the amount of participation in the initiative took them absolutely by amazement. Considering the year we have just had, the Goblin Mode meaning connects with those experiencing stress levels. It is relieving to admit that we people are not necessarily the perfect, carefully edited versions of ourselves that we are urged to display on social media platforms.
