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In hindsight, it must have been when Charli xcx declared that “kamala IS brat” that the word lost its meaning. Or, rather, its meaning and the type of word it is changed; before, you could be a brat, or the brat, but you were definitively a noun. Now, post-Kamala tweet, “brat” was an adjective. That’s the beauty, and the liability, of language on the internet: meaning is barely fixed, and the death of the author often happens while they’re still speaking.
Anywho, this is all a rather obnoxious way to tell you that Collins Dictionary has just dubbed “brat” its word of the year for 2024, and yes, they’re going with the adjective form. The dictionary shared the news this morning, writing, “Inspired by the Charli XCX album, ‘brat’ has become one of the most talked about words of 2024. More than a hugely successful album, ‘brat’ is a cultural phenomenon that has resonated with people globally, and ‘brat summer’ established itself as an aesthetic and a way of life.” It defines the word as: “characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.”
Charli announced that her album would be called “brat” back in late February; then it seemed, to this author at least, that the word meant something more like “troll”—a role the pop star has often been keen to play. At the time, though, it didn’t super matter. It wasn’t really until the “Girl, So Confusing” remix with Lorde and especially the Harris tweet that the word became the subject of discussion. This led to a rather hilarious CNN segment where reporters attempted to define the word for their audience at home. Jamie Gangel defined the word (in the noun form!) from Charli’s words as “You’re just that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things some times.” Perhaps not the most intuitive thing for a presidential campaign to embrace but, hey, hopefully it pays off for them. And no matter what, it’s now in the (Collins) dictionary forever—it just means something slightly different.