The Australian National Dictionary Centre at the Australian National University (ANU) has announced that the 2012 Word of the Year is, actually, words of the year: ‘green on blue.’

This, sadly, is a result of the rise in Afghan soldiers attacking their Coalition partners. It means an attack by a force considered neutral.

Other words on the shortlist:

* Brotox — Botox for men
* Fossil farming — Buying prescription drugs from old people for illegal personal use or sale
* Fourth age — People aged 85 years or more
* Qubit — A quantum bit or piece of information (for use in yet-to-be-built quantum computers)

What word would you have liked to win? One from this list, or another word entirely? Have your say in the comments below.

Personally, I’d like to put forward ‘toddlerate,’ which I define as, ‘The extent to which you can tolerate your toddler’s maddening whims, such as what s/he will/won’t eat, wear, etc., which change by the second.’ Yes, my kids are still young. How did you know?