Dictionary.com Names ‘Demure’ as Its Word of the Year for 2024
Popularized on TikTok by Jools Lebron and other trans creators, "demure" is now Dictionary.com's annual word of the year for 2024.
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I have hated this word since 2007.
"Why?" you might ask? Imagine you are in an English class, and the teacher decided to do the worst thing imaginable and have every student read out loud.
This sucks for everyone involved, from the people who suck at reading, to the people who suck at speaking in public, to the people who just don't want to participate in group activities. Nobody likes it.
I'm in the "if these 3rd-grade-reading-level-in-highschool-having-dumbasses weren't slowing me down I would be done with this book by now" crowd. It also used to irritate me to no end when people mispronounced (in my opinion as a teenager) easy words.
One fine day a particularly dense student comes across this "word of the year 2024 winner" of a word, hesitates slightly at the unfamiliar letter combination, and says..... "Dee-murrrrrr" like Dee the name, and the first half of "Murray"
The teacher is always quick to correct pronunciation, but for some reason... Doesn't.
Then the word pops up again. Same thing. "dee-murr". The next student reads the following handful of paragraphs. Comes to the word again, and says "dee-murr" with complete confidence.
Eventually it gets to me, and finally someone can correct the people who have been saying it wrong.
When I get to a sentence that has it, I pronounce it with a not-so-subtle emphasis to try and indicate in that undeservedly-areogant way that only a teenager can, I'm right, you're wrong. This is how you say it. way.
And the teacher fucking corrects me and says "Dee-murr"
I did a double take and said "It's pronounced demure." to which the teacher replied "It's dee-murr, just keep going"
Teenage me chose that hill to die on.
"I had a college reading level when I was in second grade, I corrected 3 elementary teachers grammar, and my family's library has more books than you even looked at in college, I know how to pronounce words, as you should the second you look it up in the dictionary." (paraphrased, I can't remember exactly what I said except the college reading level since I was quite proud of that in school)
Wouldn't you know it, the teacher apologized, asked me if I wanted to teach the class for the day, stood on his desk and said OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN and everyone clapped.
Or I got detention, hated that teacher for all time, and now every time I see or hear that godforsaken word the embers of rage stir deep within my soul...
Probably that second one.
You were not very demure.
My daughter's online English class is reading Lois Lowry's The Giver out loud in class currently. Same like regular school- kids have to read from the text when called on.
My daughter had to read it on her own in the sixth grade and hates it. I told her, "at least this time you don't have to read it. This time you just have to listen to the worst possible audiobook version!"
This sort of shit is exactly why my daughter hates reading books for pleasure. She's a good reader too, but school has made her totally uninterested in any literature that isn't a graphic novel or manga.
My 5th grade English teacher threw my personal book against the wall of the classroom, and ripped the spine in half. The book was now in two pieces, front half and back half. Ish.
Because I was reading my own book during class instead of following along a book I had finished on the first day it was assigned.
She never got in trouble with the administration despite having a completely inappropriate anger outburst over something so simple and was destroying a students' personal property...
I even proved I read it by giving specific details of various chapters. Jonny Tremaine is not a long or complex book.
My parents came to the school and all that happened was the school gave my parents the price of the book. I never got another copy until about two months ago (I'm in my 30s)when I saw it at half price books and decided I wanted the whole series.
Adults really don't seem to understand children by the time they have them. Like... You were a child once, you should know how children think. More or less. You should very much know that making a child read something they don't like, and literally punishing them for reading something they DO like is very likely to fuck with their desire to ever read for pleasure again. Not me, luckily... But very easily anyone who isn't as stubborn and "I'm right even though you're the adult" attitude I had would easily be put off.
Hopefully when she no longer has to follow along and can read whatever, whenever, she pick it up a bit more. If she hasn't already read the series, you should try gifting her the first Artemis Fowl book, I've given it to a few people over the years and they loved it and decided to get the rest of the books on their own. My wife even likes the books and she hates reading because she's dyslexic.
Jonny Tremaine is not a long or complex book.
I hated that book so much. I don't know why, but I just absolutely hated being forced to read that book.
I have always been a big reader, and I was mostly okay with the books I was assigned, but that one... I remember feeling like every word was a slog.
All I remember about it now is that he burned his hand badly with silver.
Lul r u me? So demurr
