Honour for Thick Of It writer

‘Omnishambles’ – the word created by The Thick Of It – has been named ‘word of the year’ by the Oxford English Dictionary.

Credited to writer Tony Roche, the word was first used by fearsome spin doctor Malcolm Tucker to berate ineffectual minster Nicola Murray in a 2009 episode of the Westminster satire.

However, the word gained traction this year when Labour leader Ed Miliband lifted the phrase in Commons speech to mock George Osborne’s ‘omnishambles Budget’.

The OED defines omnishambles as: ‘a comprehensively mismanaged situation, characterized by a shambolic string of blunders’.

It also spawned a spin-off word, Romneyshambles, to describe the Republican presidential candidate’s pre-Olympics visit to London.

Also shortlisted for word of the year were ‘mummy porn’, ‘pleb’, the verb ‘to medal’ from the Olympics and Mobot.

Published: 13 Nov 2012