The term ‘goblin mode’ has been chosen as the Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the

Year 2022. So what does it mean, and why should it be seen as so representative
of the year 2022? The following article was written at the time when ‘goblin
mode’ first went viral…

Slobbing out and giving up: why are so many

people going ‘goblin mode’?
The term embraces the comforts of depravity and a direct departure from the
‘cottagecore’ influence of early pandemic days
Kari Paul Mon 14 Mar 2022 07.00 GMT

At some point in the stretch of days between the start of the pandemic’s third
year and the feared launch of world war three, a new phrase entered the
zeitgeist, a mysterious harbinger of an age to come: people were going “goblin
mode”.
The term embraces the comforts of depravity: spending the day in bed watching 90
Day Fiancé on mute while scrolling endlessly through social media, pouring the
end of a bag 5 of chips in your mouth; downing Eggo toaster oven waffles with
hot sauce over the sink because you can’t be bothered to put them on a plate.
Leaving the house in your pajamas and socks only to get a single Diet Coke from
the bodega.
Inherent to the phrase is the idea that it can be switched on and off, said Dave
McNamee, a self-described “real-life goblin” whose tweet about goblin mode
recently went viral. 10 Goblin mode is not a permanent identity, he said, but
a frame of mind.
“Goblin mode is like when you wake up at 2am and shuffle into the kitchen
wearing nothing but a long T-shirt to make a weird snack, like melted cheese on
saltines,” he said.
“It’s about a complete lack of aesthetic. Because why would a goblin care what they look
like? Why would a goblin care about presentation?” 15
First appearing on Twitter as early as 2009, “goblin mode” has also been linked
by some to a viral Reddit post from a user claiming to secretly walk around
their house “like a goblin”, collecting trinkets and “making goblin noises”.
“Goblin mode is kind of the opposite of trying to better yourself,”says Juniper, who
declined to share her last name. “I think that’s the kind of energy that we’re giving going
20 into 2022 – everyone’s just kind of wild and insane right now.”
The trend represents a direct departure from the hyper-curated “cottagecore”
influence of early pandemic days, a standout trend of 2020 that included pastel
colors, bucolic scenery and the showcasing of wholesome homemaking skills such as
baking and embroidery. Cottagecore thrived under the wistful ethos of making the
best of what many 25 people assumed would be only a few boring weeks at home
in 2020.
The goblin mode umbrella can encapsulate many kinds of aesthetics and
behaviors, says Cat Marnell, an author who has been tweeting extensively in
recent weeks about entering goblin mode herself.
Although many people tweeting about goblin mode have characterized it as an almost
30 spiritual-level embrace of our most debased tendencies, Marnell says there is “healthy
goblin mode and destructive goblin mode”. For her, it embodies a certain air of harmless
mischief. “The power of goblin mode is that it takes over your body,” she says. “It is a
scrambling of the brain. It’s when you act crazy, and you enter a very mythological space –
you want 35 to jump on the back of a salamander and make trouble.”
Call it a vibe shift or a logical progression into nihilism after years of pandemic induced
disappointment, but goblin mode is here to stay. And why shouldn’t it? Who were we
trying to impress, anyway? As one #goblinmode audio says: “If you can’t handle me in
goblin mode, you don’t deserve me at my slay.” 40
“It is cool to be a goblin,” Marnell says. “Everyone is so perfect all the time online, it is
good to get in touch with the strange little creature that lives inside you.”

From: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/mar/14/slobbing-out-and-giving-up-
why-are-somany-people-going-goblin-mode

Detailed reading
For the uncommon words and phrases shown below, choose the option which seems
closest to the meaning, as used in the context of the passage

1 A ‘harbinger’ (l.3) is something which is

A a sign of the future
B an explanation of events
C a social criticism
2 If something is ‘hyper-curated’ (l.22) it is
A trying to be imaginative
B exaggeratedly careful
C false and deceptive
3 If we ‘encapsulate’ (l.27) something, we try to
A explain
B summarise
C include
4 If something is ‘debased’ (l.31), it is
A of lower quality
B real or honest
C very basic
5 A ‘vibe shift’ (l.37) is
A an improvement in habits
B a change in social atmosphere
C a decline in customs

© David Ripley, InT hinking

http://www.thinkib.net/englishb