Words of the Year: Demure Brat?

I thought I knew what a brat is. That word’s been used as long as I’ve understood English to describe unruly children or those whose life has frequently been uprooted moving from base to base. It was also the name of an odd little truck-like vehicle, which is being revived.

Collins Dictionary has declared “brat” — the album title that became a summer-living ideal — its 2024 word of the year.” The Associated Press · Posted: Nov 01, 2024 9:47 AM PDT | Last Updated: November 1

The word, used by singer Charli XCX as the title of her sixth studio album, has been defined as “characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.”

Collins lexicographers said on Friday that in the phrase “brat summer,” it became “one of the most talked about words of 2024.”

The description given by the artist is ” “quite luxury,” but also “trashy […] like a pack of cigs and a Bic lighter and like a strappy white top with no bra.” Not only did this escape me, I don’t get it. She goes on to say a brat is “that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things some times.”

“Who feels like herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of, like, parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat,” she said in a video

I may or may not have been a brat in my late teens and 20’s.

Dictionary.com chose differently than Collins Dictionary for their ‘word of the year’ designation. The word that earned their honor of ‘Word of the Year’ is demure.

In the past, when it was rarely heard, it generally matched Oxford Languages’ definition: de-mure [dəˈmyo͝or] adjective : 1. reserved, modest, and shy (typically used of a woman):”a demure young lady” · “Antonia was pensive and demure” similar: modest, unassuming. 2. (of clothing) giving a modest appearance; “a demure knee-length skirt”

Now, presenting yourself as “very demure, very mindful, very cutesy” is it. I had no idea; I’d never come across this before today. Imagine, had my newsfeed not educated me by throwing in this end-of-year ritual, I would’ve missed this completely. Unlike most, though, once I took just a cursory on-line look at the phrase, I got the satirical origin of the phrase from Jools LeBron. Without watching any of her ‘demure’ videos, I find just the idea of it hilarious.

In the final analysis, I’m motherfucking old. I don’t feel like I thought old people must be feeling but definitely not like I’d hoped. Yes, the isolation due to chronic illness definitely affects my exposure to and knowledge of some trends in every field, though that’s marginally balanced by looking at stuff in my feed. I don’t Facebook, Reddit or X. Mostly, I believe my not knowing what’s in is because I’m fuckin’ 60 years old. (still can’t believe it.) I don’t know the new stars of screens both large and small. Do I miss being up on the latest? Not a bit. I find it amusing. Might as well.