London (AP) – Britain has yet to leave the European Union, but the term for its departure – Brexit – has earned a place in the Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press said Thursday that the Brexit is among new entries in the authoritative reference work’s latest update. It’s defined as “the (proposed) withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, and the political process associated with it.” The word has rapidly entered common usage since Britain voted in June to leave the 28-nation EU. The formal exit process is expected to start next year. The related word Grexit – a potential Greek exit from the EU’s single currency – is also a new addition to the dictionary. Other new entries include glam-ma, a glamorous grandmother; YouTuber, a producer of material for the video-sharing website; verklempt, an adjective meaning overwhelmed by emotion; and “get your freak on,” a term for exuberant sex or dancing. The OED traces the history, meaning and pronunciation of more than 829,000 words and aspires to be the most complete record of the English language ever assembled.
A new Christmas classic? Chewbacca roars out ‘Silent Night’
Los Angeles (AP) – Chewbacca is no Bing Crosby, but the Wookie’s rendition of “Silent Night” is adding some Star Wars flair to the Christmas classic. The site ‘How It Should Have Ended’ re-mixed audio of Chewie’s grunts and growls with clips from several Star Wars films to create a video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd79mpzBnJ4> that has been watched nearly 2.5 million times on YouTube. (For added comedy, turn on YouTube’s closed captions.) The parody song was first created as a joke in 1999 by web designer Scott Anderson, who writes on his website that he made it for a parody Christmas album, “Christmas With Chewbacca.” The song has made the rounds online for several years.
Russian man drives into airport, says he did it for love
Moscow (AP) – A Russian man who drove his car into an airport terminal and reached the departure gates says he did it for love. The Kazan airport administration says an intoxicated man rammed through the terminal’s door late Wednesday and drove around inside. Video footage shows a battered, Russian-made car drive past the check-in desk and into a departure gate before it reached a railway terminal outside. News website Kazansky Reporter on Friday quoted 40-year old Ruslan Nurtdinov, who told a court hearing that he had planned his route carefully: “I had to get on the platform. I was fighting for love!” Nurtdinov said his lady friend was arriving at the railway platform, and this was his way to greet her. The airport said no one was hurt in the incident.
