OMG VLOG IN M-W ROTFL!!

Merriam-Webster has added more than 100 words to its latest dictionary. At first, when reading a news article about it, I was like “Woo! Where can I see these words? I need to expand my ever growing vernacular.”

Some of the entries include acai (small, berrylike fruit for fatties), haram (foods forbidden under Islamic law) and Reggaeton (rap and Caribbean rhythms). But among the 100 entries are also frenemy, staycation, vlog and webisode.

I can understand webisode and vlog (kind of). With the Interwebs changing constantly and online media skyrocketing, it makes sense. But c’mon, frenemy? Really?

The word frenemy (pretending to be a friend when in fact, you’re an enemy) apparently dates back to the ’70s. But when I hear the word frenemy, I think of Mean Girls and Paris Hilton. OK, I liked Mean Girls. Don’t get me wrong. The movie was a hit because it had instant catch phrases such as “Boo, you whore.” But just because words are being said across the Internet, in the movies and between slutty heiresses and her “BFFs” doesn’t mean it should be in the dictionary.

But the real question becomes what makes a word important enough to be in the dictionary? If you go to m-w.com and type in “lol” in the search engine, the return result is “laughing out loud.” But where does this stop?

According to the Guardian article about the new entries, about one-fifth of the new entries are technology related. So when will the word “tweet” be known for something other than the sound a bird makes? How about “ROFL” (rolling on the floor laughing)?

I’m all for advancing the Web and what not, but if we’re going as far as adding words such as frenemy and staycation, then we should also be open to adding words such as “ROFLCOPTER,” “LOLERSKATES,” “totes” and “obvs.”

There’s always going to be some schmuck who says something dumb, it catches on and becomes an instant catchphrase. But that doesn’t mean it should be in the dictionary.