Supermarket Giants Coles and Woolworths Coin New Word of the Year: ‘Colesworth’
The National Dictionary Centre has selected a new ‘word of the year’ due to the distrust of Australia’s two largest supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths.
The word “Colesworth” is a blend of Coles and Woolworths, reflecting the perceived duopoly these supermarkets hold in the grocery retailing market.
With Woolworths holding a 37 percent market share and Coles at 28 percent, many Australians believe these supermarkets are making excessive profits, leading to the creation of the new word.
The Centre chooses a word each year that has gained prominence in Australian speech and writing over the previous 12 months. “Colesworth” is often used in a negative context to highlight the power these two businesses hold in Australia.
Gwynn explained that as Australians express frustration over rising food prices and questionable pricing practices by Coles and Woolworths, the usage of “Colesworth” has spiked in recent times.
The Centre selected “Colesworth” from a shortlist of words that reflect the year in Australian society, with other contenders including “Breaking,” “Climate trigger,” “Ute tax,” and “YIMBY.” Winners in previous years have included terms like “Matilda” and “Democracy Sausage.”
The Centre collaborates with Oxford University Press (OUP) Australia and New Zealand to research Australian English and edit Oxford’s Australian dictionaries.
Other dictionaries like the Oxford English Dictionary and Collins English Dictionary have also announced their words of the year, reflecting linguistic trends and cultural shifts in different parts of the world.
