“Metaverse” lost word of the year to “goblin mode”.

In what can only be bad news for Mark Zuckerberg’s virtual reality dreams, the publisher behind Oxford English Dictionary released the results of its word of the year survey. In a three-way match between “metaverse,” “goblin mode,” and “#istandwith,” metaverse received just 4 percent of the vote.

Goblin Mode — a phrase I’ve seen exclusively on TikTok, Twitter, and news articles about its use on TikTok and Twitter — came in first place with an overwhelming 93 percent. Looking forward to Meta’s pivot in 2023 to Goblin, Inc.