By Morgan Armitage
Sports Editor

Have you been a victim of trying to explain modern slang to your parents, when even you only know what it means contextually and not by definition? Boy, is there a solution for you!

Merriam-Webster’s 12th Edition Collegiate Dictionary has dropped for you and your elders’ viewing pleasure. Should they criticize your slang usage with arguments like, “That’s not a real word,” Merriam-Webster would disagree. You can now respond, “There’s a dictionary that says otherwise.”

This is the first printing of this dictionary in hard copy form since 2003, when CD-ROM was added. The book, which retails for $34.95, made the LA Times’ list of best books for 2025.

The collegiate edition, first published in 1828, is set with a myriad of fun new words like “rizz”, “dad-bod” and “beast mode.” 

Rizz offers multiple definitions on page 1,371, the first used to describe charm or charisma in romantic settings. The second definition directly following also employs charm, but in a seductive manner. 

Morgan Armitage and Addy Stone show the aftermath of successful rizz. Photos by Chloe Brown

Not sure what to get your mom on Mother’s Day? Well, here’s a flow chart to consider.

Does your mom try to use Gen-Z coined slang incorrectly? Yes? Does your mom constantly ask you what “cringe” means? Yes? Does your mom really want to be hip with the kids? Also yes?

Sounds like your mom needs this special edition dictionary. If you answered no for any of the questions above, don’t worry. There are plenty more dictionaries to consider for the illiterate in your life. Or, don’t consider it. This isn’t sponsored. I don’t care.

By the end of this 1,826-page read, you and your parents should speak fluent slang. If that sounds “fire” to you, well, now you know how you can spend your lonely, lonely weekends. 

The dictionary claims to be for students and professionals, though I do have to wonder what line of profession would necessitate the exact definition of the word “beast mode.” But isn’t it great that it’s an option? 

Hear that entrepreneurs? If you’re sick of circling back, just go “beast mode” in your next business meeting. 

Also, I am curious about the accuracy for some of the definitions. Like “baddie,” or “baddy,” is described as being in reference to a bad person. I can’t say I would be personally offended if someone called me a “baddy,” and that’s because contextually, it tends to be more of a compliment.

Morgan Armitage and Addy Stone joyfully reading their exciting new dictionary.

Sounds like Merriam was misinformed. Though, the online dictionary does provide the correct slang definition. 

Besides this minor mishap, Merriam’s new additions appear to be generally agreeable, and even applicable. Well, applicable if you were previously unsure of how to utilize “cold brew” in conversation. 

I’m not entirely sure if Merriam’s target audience of students really needed most of these words defined. Although, I did have to look up “sybau,” which as Merriam will tell you, is an abbreviation for shut your bitch ass up.

And if you don’t know what that means either, Merriam Webster defines many of these words online as well. 

I think my real question is whether or not it’s realistic that the generation which is creating new slang and making slews of curses into acronyms will take time out of their “doomscrolling” (thanks, Merriam), in order to open up their hefty, yet portable, dictionary to find the official definition of “dad-bod.”

And yes, the book does weigh five pounds. But that is not my monkey, and this is Merriam’s circus. 

Morgan Armitage doing all the heavy lifting on The Clackamas Print.

And in their defense, this dictionary does appear to be quite popular, especially online. 

The hard copy is set with 5,000 new words and some of the top searched words of 2025. Not to mention 20,000 usage examples, which, I’ll admit, are quite funny. 

Overall, I’d say this is the most entertained I’ve ever been while reading a dictionary, and it’s cheap compared to the current prices of most hard-backs for books with far fewer pages. 

So if you’re asking for a review of Merriam Webster’s 12th Edition Collegiate Dictionary — humor me — I would say it’s honestly pretty great, which is disappointing, because this would’ve been a great spot to use “hard pass.”