Although technically two words, "democracy sausage" — describing a barbecued sausage served on a slice of bread, bought at a polling station on election day — was chosen as the word of the year, with the phrase gaining popularity after the country's federal election in July.
The hashtag #democracysausage trended on social media on July 2 after opposition Labor party leader Bill Shorten was snapped by photographers chomping into a sausage sandwich at a polling station in one of the most striking images of election day.
Democracy sausage is the word of the year according to the Australian National Dictionary Centre. Oh the love of a sausage sizzle!
— Debby Vilensky (@DebbyVilensky) December 13, 2016
"Tastes like democracy," he boldly declared after showing off his unorthodox bite-from-the-middle approach.
Although the term had been around since 2012, Amanda Laugesen, director of the National Dictionary Center, said "democracy sausage" had risen to prominence in 2016.
@rtralphy @AtThePicnics saw Juppy attack his hot-dog/exotic sausage in bread much in the Bill Shorten style, not on pic.twitter.com/Rblc3td8fh
— Tom Gilmore (@tgilmore_92) August 21, 2016
The popularity of the word even led to the creation of a database, showing Australians where they could buy sausage sandwiches on election day.
Contenders for word of the year are chosen by researchers from the dictionary center's editorial staff, which also combines suggestions from the general public to choose a shortlist that is voted on by a team of editors.
Tasty Contenders
The win didn't come without a challenge though, with "democracy sausage" beating a number of other colourful entries to claim the prize.
On the shortlist was "smashed avo" — a popular avocado-based breakfast or brunch dish.
The word gained infamy after columnist Bernard Salt said young people should cut back on ordering the dish if they want to buy a house.
Democracy Sausage beats Smashed Avo for Oz word of the year? You cannot be serious. I demand a recount. #smashedavowordoftheyear pic.twitter.com/c1NHcOiJGq
— Bernard Salt (@BernardSalt) December 13, 2016
Another contender on the 2016 list was "shoey," which describes "the act of drinking an alcoholic beverage out of a shoe, especially to celebrate a sporting victory," which was thrown into the limelight by Australian F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo.
"Ausexit" was another word that made the cut, with the term describing the push for Australia to cut ties with Britain and become a republic.
Thanks to jjj, here is a gif of @DoctorKarl doing a shoey. pic.twitter.com/V0FlFSV96Y
— Mark Di Stefano (@MarkDiStef) December 11, 2016
Dr. Laugesen said the 2016 shortlist demonstrated some interesting trends in the creation of new words.
"They all say something about the rise of social media in terms of shaping our language," she told the BBC.
ICYMI, yes, Bill Shorten does know how to eat a sausage the right way… pic.twitter.com/YREl9oHIQa
— Richard Tuffin (@RichardTuffin) July 5, 2016
"Perhaps also the millennials having something to do with shaping social, political and cultural discourse — particularly with the smashed avo or the shoey."
The words differ somewhat from other global trends, with Oxford Dictionary choosing "post-truth," online site Dictionary.com picking "xenophobia" and Merriam-Webster set to select "fascism" as their respective words of the year.
