Sunrise hosts stumped by the Word of the Year
The hosts of Sunrise were left confused by the Australian Dictionary Centre’s 2020 word of the year, with only one of the panel knowing what it means.
The organisation said the word of the year for Aussies in 2020 was 'strollout', which baffled David Koch.
“I talk a lot, we talk for three hours each day here, and I don’t think I have ever used the word strollout or even heard it,” he said.
“So how did it go around the world as distinctly Australian if Australians haven’t heard it?”
Both Mark Beretta and Edwina Bartholomew agreed, saying they had never heard the term before.
Host Natalie Barr was the only one who had heard the word before.
“I’ve heard it. It was definitely used when we weren’t getting as many vaccines out,” she said. "I’ve never said it, but it was definitely used.”
The term was penned by ACTU boss Sally McManus, who used the word to describe Australia's failing vaccine rollout.
#VaccineStrollout https://t.co/cTJK9aioqd
— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) May 13, 2021
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Twitter users were quick to praise the word, saying it summed up the government's efforts perfectly.
“Strollout is a crack-up name for it,” one said.
“Thanks for the laugh first thing this morning – it’s spot on,” another added.
The term is defined as “the slow implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination program in Australia”.
Former Labor leader Bill Shorten used a similar line to attack the government's vaccination program, saying it had “been more strollout than rollout out”.
Other words that were considered for the coveted title of Word of the Year, which will be considered for the 2023 edition, include the phrases double-vaxxed, Clayton’s lockdown, Fortress Australia, AUKUS and net zero.
Image credits: Sunrise