"TOXIC debt" has edged out "bromance", "textaholic" and "flashpacker" to become the Macquarie Dictionary word of the year for 2008.
Publisher Sue Butler said a committee considered many of the year's important events, including concerns about the environment and water issues.
"But the event of 2008 which overshadows all our lives was the GFC (global financial crisis), itself a term now added to the lexicon," she said.
"In this category, 'toxic debt' was thought to be the root cause, the lingering blight on our lives, and in addition it had, as a lexical creation, a visceral impact. It needed no explanation but said it all."
If you want an explanation though toxic debt is defined as "debt which, although initially acquired as a legitimate business transaction, proves subsequently to be financially worthless, as the subprime loans which precipitated the GFC".
Other words considered were "bromance" ("a non-sexual but intense friendship between two males"); "textaholic" ("someone who sends an excessive number of text messages"); and "flashpacker" ("a backpacker who travels in relative luxury").
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