Homer: Cambridge Dictionary Word of the year inspired by frustrated Wordle players

The Cambridge Dictionary has revealed its word of the year for 2022 as "homer" with bosses crediting disgruntled Wordle players.

Homer, an informal American English word for a 'home run' in baseball, was searched for nearly 75,000 times during the first week of May when it was an answer in the online five-letter word puzzle.

95% of searches for homer were from outside North America as frustrated players turned to the Cambridge Dictionary to learn what it meant.

Speakers of British English used words like "outraged" and "furious" to complain on social media about the choice of "homer" as the Wordle answer for May 5.

The American spelling of "humor" caused the second highest spike in 2022.

In third place was "caulk" meaning to fill the spaces around the edge of something, for example a bath or window frame, with a special substance.

Wendalyn Nichols, Cambridge Dictionary publishing manager, said: "Wordle's words, and the public's reactions to them, illustrate how English speakers continue to be divided over differences between English language varieties, even when they're playing a globally popular new word game.

"The differences between British and American English are always of interest not just to learners of English but to English speakers globally."

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