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These emerging words and phrases are on the brink of officially entering the English language, according to the arguably arbitrary calculations of the Global Language Monitor.

Five years ago Paul Payack, president of the Global Language Monitor, began adding words to traditional dictionaries by searching out new arrivals across the internet. To make his list, a word has to be cited 25,000 times across a wide range of sources and geographical locations. "It has to have a global footprint," says Mr. Payack, a marketing consultant by profession and wordsmith by preoccupation, who gushes about the marvellous utility of his favourite word: stuff. (Give it try, he suggests: where doesn't "stuff" work in a sentence?)

Can you pick the correct definition for each new word? Try the quiz by clicking on the tab above.

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