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angelophileThe Language Report, published by Oxford University Press and compiled by eminent lexicographer Susie Dent, has named "chav" as the leading contender for buzzword of 2004.
The word, first used as a derogatory label for travellers, has recently burst into common parlance with the rise of the teenage trend across the UK. Its proponents have hit the headlines for their love of rip-off Burberry check, cheap gold jewellery and proclivity for roaming suburban shopping precincts in packs.
Chav culture has even been blamed for under-achievement in school, the rise of drunken delinquency and damaging the status of their favourite designer labels.
But it has also been proudly reclaimed by its followers - who now declare themselves a "chav" as a badge of pride.
Also featuring in the annual list is "chugger", or charity mugger - the aggressive volunteers for good causes who accost passers-by in the street for money.
Other news entries include "sexiling" - sending out your room-mate while you entertain a guest, and "blondespeak" - language simple enough for dizzy blondes to understand.
The book charts a 100-year history of buzzwords - from the invention of "hip" in 1904, along with surprising entries such as "pissed off" in 1943, "mobile phone" in 1945, or "spliff" in 1936.
The full list is:
1904: hip
1905: whizzo
1906: teddy bear
1907: egghead
1908: realpolitik
1909: tiddly-ompompom
1910: sacred cow
1911: gene
1912: blues
1913: celeb
1914: cheerio
1915: civvy street
1916: U-boat
1917: tailspin
1918: ceasefire
1919: ad lib
1920: demob
1921: pop
1922: wizard
1924: lumpenproletariat
1925: avant garde
1926: kitsch
1927: sudden death
1928: Big Apple
1929: sex
1930: drive-in
1931: Mickey Mouse
1932: bagel
1933: dumb down
1934: pesticide
1935: racism
1936: spliff
1937: dunk
1938: cheeseburger
1939: Blitzkrieg
1940: Molotov cocktail
1941: snafu
1942: buzz
1943: pissed off
1944: DNA
1945: mobile phone
1946: megabucks
1947: Wonderbra
1948: cool
1949: Big Brother
1950: brainwashing
1951: fast food
1952: Generation X
1953: hippy
1954: non-U
1955: boogie
1956: sexy
1957: psychedelic
1958: beatnik
1959: cruise missile
1960: cyborg
1961: awesome
1962: bossa nova
1963: peacenik
1964: byte
1965: miniskirt
1966: acid
1967: love-in
1968: It-girl
1969: microchip
1970: hypermarket
1971: green
1972: Watergate
1973: F-word
1974: punk
1975: detox
1976: Trekkie
1977: naff all
1978: trainers
1979: karaoke
1980: power-dressing
1981: toy-boy
1982: hip-hop
1983: beatbox
1984: double-click
1985: OK yah
1986: mobile
1987: virtual reality
1988: gangsta
1989: latte
1990: applet
1991: hot-desking
1992: URL
1993: have it large
1994: Botox
1995: kitten heels
1996: ghetto fabulous
1997: dot-commer
1998: text message
1999: Google
2000: bling bling
2001: 9/11
2002: axis of evil
2003: sex up
The word, first used as a derogatory label for travellers, has recently burst into common parlance with the rise of the teenage trend across the UK. Its proponents have hit the headlines for their love of rip-off Burberry check, cheap gold jewellery and proclivity for roaming suburban shopping precincts in packs.
Chav culture has even been blamed for under-achievement in school, the rise of drunken delinquency and damaging the status of their favourite designer labels.
But it has also been proudly reclaimed by its followers - who now declare themselves a "chav" as a badge of pride.
Also featuring in the annual list is "chugger", or charity mugger - the aggressive volunteers for good causes who accost passers-by in the street for money.
Other news entries include "sexiling" - sending out your room-mate while you entertain a guest, and "blondespeak" - language simple enough for dizzy blondes to understand.
The book charts a 100-year history of buzzwords - from the invention of "hip" in 1904, along with surprising entries such as "pissed off" in 1943, "mobile phone" in 1945, or "spliff" in 1936.
The full list is:
1904: hip
1905: whizzo
1906: teddy bear
1907: egghead
1908: realpolitik
1909: tiddly-ompompom
1910: sacred cow
1911: gene
1912: blues
1913: celeb
1914: cheerio
1915: civvy street
1916: U-boat
1917: tailspin
1918: ceasefire
1919: ad lib
1920: demob
1921: pop
1922: wizard
1924: lumpenproletariat
1925: avant garde
1926: kitsch
1927: sudden death
1928: Big Apple
1929: sex
1930: drive-in
1931: Mickey Mouse
1932: bagel
1933: dumb down
1934: pesticide
1935: racism
1936: spliff
1937: dunk
1938: cheeseburger
1939: Blitzkrieg
1940: Molotov cocktail
1941: snafu
1942: buzz
1943: pissed off
1944: DNA
1945: mobile phone
1946: megabucks
1947: Wonderbra
1948: cool
1949: Big Brother
1950: brainwashing
1951: fast food
1952: Generation X
1953: hippy
1954: non-U
1955: boogie
1956: sexy
1957: psychedelic
1958: beatnik
1959: cruise missile
1960: cyborg
1961: awesome
1962: bossa nova
1963: peacenik
1964: byte
1965: miniskirt
1966: acid
1967: love-in
1968: It-girl
1969: microchip
1970: hypermarket
1971: green
1972: Watergate
1973: F-word
1974: punk
1975: detox
1976: Trekkie
1977: naff all
1978: trainers
1979: karaoke
1980: power-dressing
1981: toy-boy
1982: hip-hop
1983: beatbox
1984: double-click
1985: OK yah
1986: mobile
1987: virtual reality
1988: gangsta
1989: latte
1990: applet
1991: hot-desking
1992: URL
1993: have it large
1994: Botox
1995: kitten heels
1996: ghetto fabulous
1997: dot-commer
1998: text message
1999: Google
2000: bling bling
2001: 9/11
2002: axis of evil
2003: sex up
