OMG! The Oxford English Dictionary has added LOL and BFF

Traditionalists may want to look away now. The Oxford English Dictionary – bastion of the mother tongue – has included OMG, LOL, TMI, BFF, IMHO and FYI in its latest update.

The new edition of the dictionary – which went online recently – includes all of these acronyms, or neologisms, and more besides.

They have been included to reflect the increasing influence of electronic communications on the English language – including communications via text messaging and on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Speaking about the new additions, The Oxford English Dictionary boffins said:

“The intention is usually to signal an informal, gossipy mode of expression, and perhaps parody the level of unreflective enthusiasm or overstatement that can sometimes appear in online discourse, while at the same time marking oneself as an ‘insider’ au fait with the forms of expression associated with the latest technology.”

And to that we say: ‘TMI Oxford English Dictionary – whatever’.

The BT Life Dictionary

If you feel lost in a world of confusing neologisms, here’s our essential crib-sheet:

LOL – Laugh Out Loud. Interestingly, LOL was originally used as an acronym for ‘Little Old Lady’ in the 1960s. No, we’re not sure why either.

♥ – the international symbol for love, or ‘I love you’. According to the dictionary, this is: “possibly the first English usage to develop via the medium of T-shirts and bumper-stickers”. So now you know.

OMG – Oh My God / Oh My Gosh / Oh My Goodness. An exclamation to be found on social networks, and ringing from the mouths of teenage girls on buses throughout the land.

TMI – Too Much Information. Frequently to be heard following the disclosure of unpleasant and / or intimate information from a third party. e.g. when ITV2 stalwart Katie Price revealed the intimate secrets of her seduction of Gareth Gates, I was heard to shout ‘TMI!’ at my television until I passed out.

ROFLOL – Rolling On the Floor, Laughing Out Loud. Unless you are one of the Chuckle Brothers, you are unlikely to have done this.

FYI – For Your Information. An essential precursor to a juicy piece of gossip.

BFF – Best Friend Forever. An honour bestowed – with a dash of irony – by the intellectual titan Paris Hilton, on her semi-successful TV show Paris Hilton’s BFF.

WAG – Wife And/Or Girlfriend. A status bestowed on a select few – the wives and girlfriends of sports stars, particularly footballers. They can usually have the following characteristics: bright orange, expensive outfit, enormous handbag.

ISOATA – I’m Sick Of All These Acronyms. This hasn’t quite caught on yet, but we’re quietly hoping.

What do you think of LOL, TMI and OMG being added to the Oxford English Dictionary? Do you ♥ neologisms? Which ones do you use? Let us know below.