Macquarie Dictionary has announced its 2022 Word of the Year winners, including the People’s Choice award. In previous years, this accolade has gone to such etymological gems as “onesie” and “Karen”, but this year it has a decidedly Aussie flavour. 

Yea, verily, the people have spoken, and their choice for the 2022 word of the year is… ‘bachelor’s handbag’. For the uninitiated, this refers to that sad bag of supermarket barbecue/roast chicken that many a lonely bloke will pick up on his way home from work.  

According to the Macquarie Dictionary Committee, “Bachelor’s handbag is a funny, clever coinage – so quintessentially Australian, summing up the role of a barbecue chook perfectly.” 

What impact this announcement will have on barbecue chook sales is yet to be determined, but we can definitely see future marketing opportunities for carry-bag producers. A man-bag to conceal your bachelor’s handbag, perhaps? And in this world of equal opportunity, should not married men get their own handbag, too? Watch this space. 

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