‘Bachelor’s Handbag’ Is Officially The Macquarie Dictionary Word Of The Year

The leading authority on Australian English has finally released its Word of 2022 award, so listen up bibliophiles!

With a federal election, historic floods, and the death of a monarch all taking place in this very year, it’s safe to say that 2022 has been a tough year to summarise in just one word. Sadly, this is exactly the solemn task Macquarie Dictionary sets out to complete each year, with a committee of people agonising over which phrase best encapsulates the annual zeitgeist.

But in a year that has seen so much, judges this week decided to go ahead and give out ‘Word Of The Year’ to a descriptive noun that already exists. Fools!

Yes, ‘Teals’ is our 2022 word of the year. You can almost hear them chortling in North Sydney now! Describing the historic wave of independent candidates from this year’s federal election that desired greater environmental protections (green) combined with quasi-conservative fiscal policy (blue), the teal movement was undoubtedly a massive lesson for the Morrison government.

Citing the encroaching landmark decision to enshrine a First Nations Voice to Parliament, second place was awarded to the phrase ‘Truth-Telling’, something that judges predicted will carry massive significance in 2023.

The rich tapestry of our nation’s colloquial lexicon was still honoured this year thanks to the stalwart voters in the People’s Choice category, which ultimately went to the phrase ‘Bachelor’s Handbag’ — a euphemism for the takeaway barbecue chicken you get from the supermarket.

“Bachelor’s handbag is a funny, clever coinage – so quintessentially Australian, summing up the role of a BBQ chook perfectly,” remarked the judges, who have no doubt spent the odd Sunday evening enraptured by that undefinable pleasure that derives from hot chicken in a bag.

The entire shortlist for the 2022 Word of the Year really deserves a shout-out, including TikTok expressions like ‘quiet quitting‘ and ‘nepo baby‘, alongside the wildcard COVID descriptor ‘spicy cough’.

But my favourite phrase the Australian public saw fit to include in this year’s ranking was none other than ‘Goblin Mode’, which either refers to the embrace of chaos and selfishness or a particular sex position — depending on who you ask.