How authentic is toasting 'authentic'?
Merriam-Webster's word of the year. One can't help but chuckle at the irony of anointing a word that essentially means 'genuine' or 'real' as the pinnacle of lexical authenticity.
Is this choice a stroke of wordy genius, or just the dictionary equivalent of selling snake oil? One may argue that selecting 'authentic' is a self-referential nod to the very essence of language — the pursuit of conveying genuine meaning. However, in a world where buzzwords can sometimes feel as genuine as a knockoff Rolex from a Palika Bazar vendor, one can't help but raise an eyebrow.
Are we witnessing the inception of a linguistic paradox where the authenticity of 'authentic' becomes a matter of authenticity itself? It's like chasing a linguistic Mobius strip — a loop of genuine wordplay that leaves us questioning the authenticity of the very concept we're celebrating.
In the end, perhaps the real exercise here is in recognising the whimsy of language, the capricious dance that can make even the most straightforward term the belle of the ball. So, let's embrace the linguistic irony, raise a toast to the tom-fakery, and revel in the absurdity of the whole word of the year saga.
