Along with the inevitable “Books of the Year” lists, the always interesting, and sometimes controversial “Word of the Year” lists are popping off.

The WotY-stakes so far:

• The Oxford word of the year is rage bait.
• Macquarie Dictionary (Australia) chose AI slop.
• The first-ever Canadian word of the year, chosen by national poll, is maplewash: making things appear more Canadian than they actually are.
• Cambridge Dictionary (UK) selected parasocial.
• Collins Dictionary (UK) picked vibe coding, which is on my list, too.
• Lane Greene, language columnist at The Economist, chose slop, .
• Merriam-Webster also picked slop. I’m sensing a theme.
• John Kelly, formerly of Dictionary.com, selected fascism as his “etymology of the year.”
• James Asher is highlighting a word of the year, plus runners-up, every day in December. Notable picks so far: swazticar, Big Balls, Mar-a-Lago face.