Captain’s call is the Word of the Year 2015 thanks to Tony Abbott

TONY Abbott suffered through many political gaffes and slip-ups during his stint as prime minister, but this one will be consigned to the history books.

Abbott award

FORMER Prime Minister Tony Abbott may have suffered through many political gaffes and slip-ups, but there is one legacy he has left that we will forever be reminded of.

The saying, captain’s call, will be added to the Macquarie Dictionary after it was chosen as the Word of the Year for 2015.

Captain’s call emerged after Mr Abbott made a series of controversial choices and is used when somebody makes a clueless or embarrassing decision without consulting colleagues — we can’t forget the time he awarded Duke of Edinburgh Prince Phillip a knighthood.

It was a term commonly used when talking about cricket, but it has slowly seeped into the game of politics.

“Captain’s call perfectly encapsulates what happened in Australia over the past year,” the Macquarie Dictionary committee said.

According to the committee, the term has an “ironic tinge to it that is very Australian”.

The Macquarie Dictionary has been choosing a word of the year for the past decade and editor Susan Butler said it showed how language just continuously evolved.

The inaugural Word of the Year winner was muffin top.

Many slang terms have been added to the newest edition of the dictionary and Ms Butler said it needed to cover the whole gamut of the Australian English language.

“Language lets you decide if a person is a metrosexual, a hipster or lumbersexual and also whether you’re a person who says ‘that’s cool’ or ‘amazeballs’,” she said.

Some of the words added to the dictionary are a little bizarre, but Ms Butler said they were all very Australian.

BEST WORDS OF 2015

LUMBERSEXUAL

Picture this, man emerges from the woods in his checked shirt, big belt and boots and runs his hand through his bushy beard — this is a lumbersexual.

The name is given to a man who looks like a lumberjack, but a perfectly tailored one.

Manicured facial hair and a clean shirt are a must if you’re aiming for the lumbersexual look.

DESO

Australian’s love to abbreviate any words they can — think bevo, arvo, barbie, bickie.

We have now shortened ‘designated driver’ to ‘deso’.

“We’ve seemed to accept it quite happily and it’s changed our drinking culture,” Ms Butler said.

FITSPIRATION

Anybody who has Instagram knows the #fitspiration hashtag is near impossible to avoid.

The word is always attached to pictures of bodies you envy, activewear and of course, kale.

“I’m not too keen on this one myself,” Ms Butler said. “Looking at beautiful women undertake strenuous exercise is not my cup of tea.”

ABANDONED PORN

This is probably a term that means something completely different to what you are thinking.

It was made popular by those with an eye for photography, and there are actually tours in many capital cities that focus on abandoned porn.

It’s a photography trend where snappers tour around looking for derelict buildings and rundown machinery.

PRICE BATING

A term used to describe a sneaky move emerging in the real estate market.

It’s no secret that housing prices continue to soar, and some with properties on the market advertise them with a low price to reel in potential buyers.

“They know it’s going to sell for a lot more than that at an auction, but it’s designed to get people in,” Ms Butler said.

FUR BABY

This term is for people who treat their pets as if they are children. They dress them up, put them in prams or handbags and let them sleep on the end of their beds.

Dogs carried around in handbags are referred to as ‘fur babies’.

SLACKPACKING

Going for a walk or hike? Don’t worry about carrying all those heavy items.

Slackpacking is when somebody delivers all your goods to your destination so there’s that glass of wine waiting for you at the end of a tough journey.

Originally published as Captain’s call is the Word of the Year 2015 thanks to Tony Abbott