Is bird-dogging your Roman empire? Macquarie Dictionary reveals word of the year finalists

‘AI slop’, ‘Australian sushi’ and ‘ate (left no crumbs)’ are also among the shortlist, which is open for voting until Sunday night

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“Attention economy”, “bathroom camping” and “Ozempic face” have little in common – except for being three of the finalists for Macquarie Dictionary’s 2025 word of the year.

The phrases are in the top 15 for both the Australian national dictionary’s committee’s choice and people’s choice award, joined by other terms such as “AI slop”, “Australian sushi”, “ate (and left no crumbs)” and “Roman empire”.

AI slop – low-quality content created by generative AI, often containing errors, and not requested by the user.

Ate (and left no crumbs) – an expression used to indicate that someone has performed or executed something perfectly.

Attention economy – an economy in which human attention is treated as a major commodity, especially in advertising.

Australian sushi – any of various thick, uncut sushi rolls with the nori wrapped around the filling in order to be eaten by hand.

BAL rating – a system of assessing a building’s potential exposure to a bushfire;

Bathroom camping – the act of isolating oneself in a bathroom for a period of time, as to seek solitude, avoid work, regulate emotions.

Bird-dogging – the act of confronting a politician publicly at a public event with direct questions or issues, aiming to bring attention to a specific issue.

Blind box – a type of mystery box which contains an unseen collectible toy or figurine.

Clanker – an artificial intelligence-driven robot which completes tasks that are normally performed by a human.

Femgore – a subgenre of horror in which female protagonists are given agency over the narrative, and while still victimised, objectified or exploited to an extent, are not passive.

Medical misogyny – entrenched prejudice against females in the context of medical treatment and knowledge, especially in the area of reproductive health.

Ozempic face – a condition resulting from the use of a semaglutide drug, characterised by wrinkling and sagging of the face after rapid weight loss.

Quadball – the new name for real-life quidditch.

Roman empire – any of various events, interests or subjects that someone finds themselves frequently thinking about, especially something considered unusual.

Six-seven – a nonsense phrase in which each hand is held out to the side with palms facing up, alternately moving each up and down as if comparing weights. Also, 6-7.

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Source: www.theguardian.com

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