Homer's 'Doh!' enters dictionary

Catchphrase is now an official part of the English language

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June 15, 2001
Web posted at: 5:56 PM EDT (2156 GMT)

OXFORD, England -- A rich and colorful language that has developed over many centuries and which is now spoken by half the planet has a new word -- Doh!

The famous catchphrase of cartoon character Homer Simpson has made it into the updated online edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, published on Thursday.

It means "Doh" is now an official word of the English language, along with about 250 new entries.

Inspiration for the new additions to the dictionary were taken from a wide variety of sources -- from teen-age chatter, the pop music charts and even "Bridget Jones's Diary."

Although "bad hair day" has been around for some years, it was the use of this phrase in the best-selling novel by Helen Fielding that prompted the dictionary to include it to describe times when things are not going quite right.

"Singletons" -- also made famous by Bridget Jones's Diary -- are described as women without a partner.

Going to discos is now officially called "clubbing." And to do that you need to have "street cred" -- a desirable reputation.

VIDEO CNN's Garrick Utley looks at how new words go legit in the dictionary (October 2000) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   QUIZ How well do you know your English? Take our quiz     EDUCATION RESOURCE From Riverdeep: Divided by a common language -- American English vs. British English

There is good news, too, for shopaholics as "shopaholism" -- or "shop 'n' roll" -- is officially recognized.

Shopaholics looking up "retail therapy" can now claim with confidence that what they do is in fact a therapeutic experience invented in the U.S. in 1986 -- known as "conspicuous consumption" or "shopaholism."

"Once a word has been used a certain amount of times, appeared in print a certain amount of times and has become current, it is entered into the dictionary," Oxford English Dictionary spokeswoman Claire Pemberton told CNN.

They range from political hot potatoes such as 'GM foods', 'human BSE' and the 'postcode lottery,' to cultural icons such as 'Bollywood,' the 'mullet haircut' and Homer Simpson's "doh," another spokesperson added.

The dictionary's editors have spent the year sifting through popular culture for words that have become popular.

"My job is the perfect excuse for watching action films, soaps, quiz programs -- where the language is busy right now," said chief editor John Simpson.

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