Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year is … hard to pronounce
The Oxford Dictionaries gave the honor to “squeezed middle.” Your move, Dictionary.com.
On the heels of Oxford University Press’s unveiling its Word of the Year on Monday, Dictionary.com announced its choice—”Tergiversate.” Huh? According to Dictionary.com, the word means “to change repeatedly one’s attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.” The second meaning is “to turn renegade.” It is pronounced, “ter-JIV-er-sate.” So, let’s get this straight. First, Oxford University Press chooses “squeezed middle” as its Word of the Year—a phrase many people haven’t even heard—and now Dictionary.com gives us “tergiversate.” What’s going on? That sounds more a puzzler from the National Spelling Bee than something that you wish people would … just … stop … saying, for God’s sake. Jay Schwartz, Dictionary.com’s head of content, had this to say to The Huffington Post:
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