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Read the press release here.

Oxford Dictionary Makes 'Manspreading' Official

By Heidi Patalano | August 27, 2015 9:54am
 WNYC recently made city-centric stock photos to portray common New York City problems, like this depiction of manspreading.
WNYC recently made city-centric stock photos to portray common New York City problems, like this depiction of manspreading.
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Richard Yeh / WNYC

As if anyone needed proof that what happens in this city makes an impact around the world, here's another bit of supporting evidence: the Oxford Dictionary announced Thursday that it has added "manspreading."

Here's its definition:

"The practice whereby a man, especially one travelling on public transport, adopts a sitting position with his legs wide apart, in such a way as to encroach on an adjacent seat or seats."

The word was likely born here, where straphangers regularly witness the behavior. AM New York was one of the first to use the term, back in October 2014.

The MTA even launched a subway etiquette campaign in part to combat manspreading, thereby validating the belief that this is not acceptable behavior.

"Cat cafe" was another new word added to the dictionary. By most accounts (ermm.. Wikipedia), the first cat cafe opened in 1998 in Taiwan. But we caught up and will soon have not one, but two cat cafes of our own.

Other words added to the dictionary that further signal the degradation of the English language include "hangry," "mic drop," "rando" and "bruh." "Butt dial" and "pocket dial" were also added.