A large dictionary publisher uses online voting to determine the most popular young people’s word every year. This year, the term “smash” makes it to number one. Unlike previous winner words, “smash” – or “smashen” – is actually common among young people.
“Smash” is the youth word of the year. The term, which has been known for a long time, comes from English, like so many other words used in young people’s language. It is mainly used as a verb (“smashen”) and means something like “start something with someone”, “pick someone up” or “have sex with someone”.
The object of desire can also be a “smash” with which to have a small “smash” (rivalry). In English, on the other hand, the word is used in the sense of “smash”, “smash” or “break”. “Smash” clearly prevailed in a voting by Langenscheidt-Verlag with 43 percent of the votes, as the company announced. Young people had previously voted on their favorite word in several rounds.
This year’s winner was developed from the dating game “Smash or Pass”. Potential partners are either accepted as a “smash” or rejected as a “pass”. As a user of the dating app Tinder, you would swipe right on a smash and left on a “pass”.
In second place is “bottomless” (lousy, unbelievably bad) with 33 percent, in third place is “doer”, i.e. the term for someone who implements things without hesitation (24 percent), who tackles something. Langenscheidt has been publishing the youth word of the year since 2008 – at that time “Gammelfleischparty” (over 30 party) won. However, the selection has often been criticized in the past as an advertising campaign by the publisher.
According to Sandra Spier, press spokeswoman for the publisher, all age groups can theoretically vote in the election, but since 2020 only the votes of young people have been counted. Since then, the youth word selection has also generated significantly fewer frowns than previous winner words such as “level limbo,” “smombie,” and “tinderjahre.”
According to Spiers, the total number of votes cast this year was “in the high six-digit range”. According to the publisher, the relevant quota of participants between the ages of 10 and 20 was 77 percent. Around 1.2 million people voted last year. The winner at that time was “cringe” – the shame of others. Discriminatory and offensive terms of any kind will be deleted by the publisher.