The Oxford English Dictionary has just got a whole lot more Kiwi, adding 11 classic words and phrases in its latest update.
We’re talking favourites like ‘sweet as’, which the OED now defines as a general term of approval for anything excellent or fantastic.
So next time you say something is “sweet as”, you can know it's dictionary-approved, and that is… SWEET AS!
Then there’s ‘rark’ in all its glory.
As a verb, to ‘rark’ means to provoke, annoy, or scold. As a noun, ‘rark up’ is a telling-off, row, or argument, while to rark it up is all about causing trouble.
Our fighting behaviour continues with ‘to climb into (someone)’ also being added. I’ll admit this is a new one to me, but OED explains it means “to attack (a person) physically or verbally, while to ‘deal to (someone)’ is to inflict violence on (a person), to beat up, or to kill.”
‘Lux’ is a verb for vacuuming, originally from the Electrolux brand. ‘Trundler’ is another word for a trolley.
Though those two words can 'cause a few heated household debates.
And ‘lifestyler’… well, we all know someone with a lifestyle block of land.
There have also been a few Te reo Māori additions - ‘hapū’, meaning pregnant, and ‘mōrena’, of course, as a go-to morning greeting for plenty of Kiwis.
And of course, ‘cuzzy bro’ sneaks in as the classic way to address a close mate or family member.
The Oxford University Press says the update tracks English as it’s used worldwide - and for Aotearoa, that means recognising the everyday mix of slang and te reo Māori in our kōrero.
The 11 New Zealand words/slang added to the Oxford English Dictionary:
Mōrena (interjection)
Hapū (adjective)
Cuzzy bro (noun)
Rark (verb)
Rark up (noun)
Sweet as (adjective)
To deal to (someone) (verb)
To climb into (someone) (verb)
Trundler (noun)
Lifestyler (noun)
Lux (verb)
