The Simpsons, now tied with Gunsmoke for the longest-running prime time program in American history, has had an incredible impact on popular culture. They’ve been on every kind of promotional piece of merchandise ever made, have had a hit movie, and have not one, but two words in the dictionary. D’oh made the cut and got into the world-class Oxford English Dictionary, while newcomer meh has made it into the Collins English Dictionary.
The article describes meh, submitted by Erin Whyte from Nottingham, England, as Meh was submitted by Erin Whyte from Nottingham, England. Collins is going to define the word as “an interjection to suggest indifference or boredom or as an adjective to say something is mediocre or boring or a person is apathetic, bored or unimpressed.”
While the definition of the word is more than a bit meh, it just goes to show how influenced the language is by pop culture. William Shakespeare coined many new words and phrases, and he is probably the father of modern written standardized English thanks to his inclusion in Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language. I guess you could say Homer, Lisa, Bart, Marge, and Maggie are modern-day Shakespeares. Who else has two newly-invented words in the dictionary?
Tags: meh, The Simpsons, Erin Whyte, Collins English Dictionary, new word coined by The Simpsons, new words, new dictionary entries