Cost of living pressures and a widespread belief that Australia’s two largest supermarkets are making excessive profits have created an entirely new word to be chosen as “word of the year” by the self-described “word nerds” at the National Dictionary Centre, part of The Australian National University (ANU).
“Colesworth” is a portmanteau, or blended, word combining the names of Coles and Woolworths, whose dominance of grocery retailing leads many people to perceive them as a duopoly.
Woolworths holds a 37 percent market share, followed by Coles at 28 percent, with competitors Aldi (10 percent) and Metcash (7 percent) well behind.
Each year, the Centre selects a word or expression that has gained prominence in Australian speech and writing over the previous 12 months.
ANU Senior Researcher Mark Gwynn explained that it is used primarily in a negative context, highlighting the power the two businesses hold in Australia.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is investigating this, and it released an interim report in September this year characterising the situation as an oligopoly. In this market, just a few sellers control prices at a cost to competitors and consumers.
Gwynn said although Colesworth had been around for several years, its usage recently spiked as Australians vented their frustration at the increasing prices of food staples and questionable pricing practices by Coles and Woolworths.
Investigations on Pricing
A Senate Committee on supermarket prices, which reported back to Parliament in May this year, made 14 recommendations including the establishment of another inquiry to specifically look at market behaviours of large retailers, including price negotiation practices and their acquisition and use of land.“The blend of the supermarket names Coles and Woolworths into Colesworth provides a succinct way of referring to both supermarkets while at the same time hinting at the negative aspects of what is perceived as an unfair duopoly,” Gwynn said.
The Centre chose the word from a shortlist of words and compound words that say something about the year in Australian society.
- Breaking: the preferred term for breakdancing among participants and competitors. Breakdancing’s debut at this year’s Paris Olympics saw Aussie athlete ‘Raygun’ become a worldwide phenomenon, and awareness of the term rose steeply.
- Climate trigger: the requirement for a new development to be assessed under environmental protection legislation if it has an unacceptable impact on climate. This Australian term has become prominent recently as debate over new laws occurred in the Federal Parliament, pitting environmental concerns against mining interests.
- Ute tax: a derogatory term for the new fuel efficiency standard. Designed to lower CO2 emissions in new cars sold in the Australian market, opposition to the changes have labelled it a tax on the family car.
- YIMBY: a person who supports new development in the area where they live (from “yes in my backyard”)—a way to label opponents of NIMBYs (not in my backyard). Its usage has increased in Australia recently as the housing crisis prompts calls for more high-density housing in cities.
The Centre researches Australian English in partnership with Oxford University Press (OUP) Australia and New Zealand and edits Oxford’s Australian dictionaries.
The Oxford English Dictionary chose rizz—Gen Z slang for charisma—with previous winners including chav, selfie and sudoku.
Across the Atlantic, the concept seems less popular, but Merriam-Webster has announced that its Word of the Year is authentic. However, it noted that implode and dystopia were also popular.
