Grammar Moses: Yeet! They're adding new words to my dictionary

Just when I think I might be afflicted with writer's block, this manna from Merriam-Webster floats over the e-transom.

Yes, folks, it's time for M-W to add new words to its dictionary.

For those of you who bristle at the acceptance of new words into reference books, this might be hard to swallow.

Their inclusion in a dictionary, however, doesn't require you to use them.

I, for one, use only 25,000 or so words, I reckon, of the 470,000 in M-W's unabridged dictionary.

Not because I'm finicky, mind you, but because I just can't keep many more in my head or would ever find occasion to use them.

Here are my reactions to some of the additions:

• Video doorbell: Seriously, who among you doesn't have one of these to protect you from robbers, unwanted salespeople, high school sports fundraisers and those peddling religious beliefs that you don't share?

Rating: A.

• Microgrid: If you work for the power company or your electric meter spins backward because you have solar panels on your roof, you probably know what a microgrid is. It's a small electrical grid that can be hooked up to a larger one. My question: Does Texas' stand-alone electrical grid qualify? I doubt anything in Texas qualifies as “mini.”

Rating: C.

• Supply chain: The chain of processes, businesses, etc., by which a commodity is produced and distributed. We all know this one by now. I bet you didn't know, however, that old gravity-fed supertoilets, like the one Michael Corleone found a gun taped behind, had a water supply chain you pulled.

Rating: A-.

• Metaverse: Among several definitions is an environment that allows access to and interoperability of multiple individual virtual realities. But for my money, most of you will look upon the Metaverse as your entire world being on Facebook.

Rating: B.

• Greenwashing: To portray something to appear to be more environmentally friendly or less environmentally harmful than it is. Think of it as gaslighting, without, of course, the ozone-eating gas.

Rating: C.

• Atmospheric river: A concentrated band of water vapor that flows through the atmosphere and that is a significant part of the global hydrologic cycle and an important source of regional precipitation. Whaaat? How is this not simply fog?

Rating: D.

• Shrinkflation: The practice of reducing a product's amount or volume per unit while continuing to offer it at the same price. Recent visits to the grocery store have put this one in my everyday vernacular. I remember how my mother railed against a certain foodstuffs manufacturer for rendering her Better Than Sex Cake recipe useless because it had shrunk its packaging. Her recipe called for one box of it, so it threw off the ratios. If only she'd had “shrinkflation” to rail against then.

Rating: B+.

• Space force: The military organization of a nation for space warfare. Wait, you're pulling my leg. This really is a thing? I remember as a child being paralyzed by fear watching marionettes do this very thing in “Thunderbirds.” I'm sure when I'm dead and sprinkled somewhere nice, the world will need a well-equipped space force, but for now it sounds like a lesser priority.

Rating: C-

• Yeet: An interjection used to express surprise, approval or excited enthusiasm. I am quick to accept jargon as long as it doesn't make me sound like a 60-year-old trying too hard. But I don't have much use for “yeet” when “zoiks,” “groovy” and “wicked cool” have never lost their zing.

Rating: D.

• Jim Baumann is vice president/executive editor of the Daily Herald. You can buy Jim's book, “Grammar Moses: A humorous guide to grammar and usage,” at grammarmosesthebook.com. Write him at jbaumann@dailyherald.com and put “Grammar Moses” in the subject line. You also can friend or follow Jim at facebook.com/baumannjim.