Great news, everyone! The Oxford English Dictionary has finally — finally — added a verb form to its definition of "clatfart." That's right. The noun we all love, meaning "gossip," is now also a verb meaning "gossip." And it's not just intransitive, as in, "Excuse us while we clatfart," but it also has a transitive sense, meaning it can take a direct object:
"Please don't clatfart the news of our growing family just yet." Finally!
What's that, you say? You weren't aware people use "clatfart" as a verb? And what's that, you say? You weren't aware the word existed in the first place?
Don't feel bad. It's new to me, too. But it just goes to show you how much fun and learning there is to be had by skimming lists of words and word senses added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
The OED has a unique mission. It's a "historical dictionary." Its purpose is to form "a record of all the core words and meanings in English over more than 1,000 years, from Old English to the present day, and including many obsolete and historical terms."
Other dictionaries remove words as they fall out of use. It's part of their mission to offer a practical guide to how you can use English in accordance with modern standards. The OED is more like a historical record of words used by English speakers. Its additions aren't always new words. Some are newly added as the result of historical language research.
Here are some of my favorites, old and new, the OED has added recently
Ayuh. Tired of having few alternatives to the word "yes" but too lazy to make all four syllables of "affirmative"? Then you'll find "ayuh" to be a great compromise. Use it anytime you want to express the opposite of "no."
Brickbatting. A noun begets a verb that, in turn, begets a noun. Happens all the time. In this case,...
