America plays catch-up with Aussie slang

YEARS after local farmers invented terms such as farm fresh, farm-to-fork and paddock to plate American consumers have now come up their own version.

Farm-to-table is now widely used to describe food that is sold directly to consumers.

Although strictly not farmers, local meat and vegetable processors could be well advised to adopt the American slang if the United States is their target market.

Merriam-Webster’s first new Collegiate Dictionary in 22 years has also offered other insights into how American English has evolved over the past two decades.

New words added to the American vocabulary include teraflop a measure of computer calculating speed, telework reflecting changing work trends, cold brew for coffee steeped 12 to 24 hours at room temperature or below, and friend zone which is a state of friendship where one person’s romantic interest is not returned.

Farmers will be pleased to know the affectionate slang Doggo, first popularised by Australians who have a tendency to add ‘o’ to words like journo and arvo, has also been adopted into American culture as a relaxed term to describe man’s best friend.