'Smash' is German Youth Word of the Year

Continuing with the trend of incorporating English words into their daily lingo, the verb "smash" has been crowned German Youth Word of the Year 2022.

While in English the verb refers to the act of violently breaking something to pieces, amongst German youth the verb "smashen" roughly means "starting something with someone," "picking someone up" or "having sex with someone." 

This year's winner draws its origins from the dating game "Smash or Pass." Potential partners are either accepted as a "smash" or rejected as a "pass." Users of dating app Tinder would either swipe right on a "smash" or left on a "pass."

'Bottomless' in second place

Although the term has long been in use, on Tuesday "smash" was announced the clear winner of the Langenscheidt publishing house's poll, gaining 43% percent of the vote. The company said that young people had already voted for their favorite word in several rounds.

"Bodenlos," German for "bottomless" or "groundless," here meaning "terribly or unbelievably bad," took second place with 33%, while "Macher" (German for "doer"), a term for someone who does or tackles things without hesitation, placed third with 24%. 

Sandra Spier, press spokeswoman for the publisher, said that while all age groups can theoretically participate in the poll, only the votes of young people between 10 and 20 have been counted since 2020.

Overall, according to Langenscheidt, the number of votes cast was in the six-digit range. Last year, the number of votes cast was around 1.2 million.

Last year's winner: 'cringe'

Langenscheidt has been publishing the youth word of the year since 2008. That year, the winner was "Gammelfleischparty" which translates to "rotten meat party” and refers to parties for those over 30. The English word "cringe" – feeling shame for others – was last year's winner.

(bh/ls/dpa)