The German publisher Langenscheidt declared smombie as the Youth Word of the Year for 2015. A portmanteau of the German borrowings smartphone and zombie, Smombie denotes someone so absorbed in their small, glowing screen that they’re oblivious to the rest of the world. Runner-up words included merkeln, “to do nothing” or “to decide nothing”—a reference to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s deliberate decision-making style—and Maulpesto, or “halitosis”—literally, “mouth pesto.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “German Words of the Year”
We haven’t talked about the word smombie.
Smombie?
Smombie.
It’s a combination of smartphone and zombie.
Oh, no.
It supposedly refers to people who run into walls or don’t focus on conversations and meals because they’re looking at their smartphone.
Now, you may not have heard of Smombi, but supposedly in Germany it was the 2015 Youth Word of the Year.
That’s according to the German publisher Langenscheid.
However, I can see you putting your skeptical hat on because…
I’m knitting my eyebrows. I’m making a big sweater.
I thought you were knitting your skeptical cap.
The selection process for the Youth Word of the Year involves asking young German speakers to submit their favorite slang online and then later vote for their favorite among the submissions.
And then a jury of media representatives, teachers, and other folks take the top 10 words and select the youth word of the year.
Now, the problem is that most German youth don’t even know the word Smambi.
As you might have suspected, it’s sort of a manufactured word.
Yeah, the runaway winner, according to the actual votes of young people, was the word Merkeln, which means to do nothing, to make no decisions, to issue no statements.
Oh, after Angela Merkel.
Right, after her decision-making style.
So it sounds like the choice was actually weighted by older folks on the jury.
You know, kind of, as you said, a manufactured term.
But we know the creature of the phone zombie, even if we don’t know that word.
We sure do. The smombie. I like it as a word. I’m going to start using it, smombie.
Although I also like one of the also-rans for this German Youth Word of the Year contest, and that’s maulpesto.
Maulpesto? Bad pesto?
It’s M-A-U-L, which means mouth.
Maulpesto.
It’s a word for bad breath, and it literally means mouth pesto.
Isn’t that just a perfect word for bad breath?
Mouth pesto.
Flecks of cilantro still stuck to your teeth.
Anyway, Smambi, Word of the Year in Germany among youth.
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