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Best and worst new words added to Merriam-Webster dictionary, like 'froyo' and 'pregame'

Teaching your grandmother to talk like a millennial: squad goals, right?

Consider Merriam-Webster dictionary your skinny-jeans-wearin' granny. The dictionary adds new words once its lexicographers can prove those words "have established themselves in the English language, and are part of the current, active vocabulary of America," says Emily Brewster, Associate Editor at Merriam-Webster, in a statement.

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Sometimes ol' Merry takes an extra year or three to get hip with the lingo. Totes not always, tho; this year's list of new words contains several you might need to hear in a sentence.

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Consider our "best" words as culturally relevant terms we're glad have formal definitions. The "worsts" are no-duh additions that we hope Merr and Web had been using for a while now.

Best new words added to Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Internet of Things: "the networking capability that allows information to be sent to and received from objects and devices (such as fixtures and kitchen appliances) using the Internet." Like that Nest camera you use to scare away bad guys. Or the scale in your bathroom that wirelessly records your weight on your fitness app. Most are expensive and all might be spying on you.

Sriracha: better than ketchup.
Sriracha: better than ketchup.(Nick Ut / AP)

Pregame: "to begin drinking alcohol before an event or activity (such as a party or a night out)." It's not just for college students anymore.

Front: a verb meaning "to act or serve as a cover." Pharrell and Jay-Z have been singing about it since 2003, but you probably didn't feel cool enough to use it back then. Now you can.

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Sriracha: "a pungent sauce that is made from hot peppers pureed with usually garlic, sugar, salt, and vinegar and that is typically used as a condiment." It's hard to spell and now you have no excuse.

Hive mind: "the collective thoughts, ideas, and opinions of a group of people (such as Internet users) regarded as functioning together as a single mind." It's kind of annoying to use this word in an actual sentence, but you surely read it online all the time.

Worst new words added to Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Alt-right: "a right-wing, primarily online political movement or grouping based in the U.S. whose members reject mainstream conservative politics and espouse extremist beliefs and policies typically centered on ideas of white nationalism." There are other words you'd probably rather use to describe people in this group. But they're not nice words.

If this photo looks old, it is: Our earliest archive photos of California rolls are from 1998.
If this photo looks old, it is: Our earliest archive photos of California rolls are from 1998.(File photo/1998)

Farmers market: "a market at which local farmers sell their agricultural products directly to consumers." Oh wait, you've heard of one of these? Are we getting punked by M-Web?

California roll: "a type of sushi roll containing avocado, cucumber, and cooked crabmeat or imitation crabmeat with a wrapping of seaweed and rice." Hey Merry, the 2000s are calling.

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Showrunner: "a person who oversees the writing and production of each episode of a television series and has ultimate managerial and creative control over the series." This one isn't the worst. It's just an annoying insider word that Regular People don't need to use.

Froyo: "frozen yogurt." I rest my case.

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