Brexit means Brexit… says Mrs T. May of Downing Street. Her assertion has prompted many people to ask exactly what ‘Brexit’ means. Answers have so far not been forthcoming.
Thousands of people confused by what Brexit means have been writing, telephoning and emailing The Oxford English Dictionary in the hope of getting a meaningful answer. Professor Lex Icon of the OED Editorial Board has been searching long and hard for a suitable definition.
“We asked the government and those who ran the Leave Campaign what Brexit actually means,” said Professor Icon, “but there were no answers and a lot of waffling.
“Then, illumination struck!”, he continued. “It became obvious that there were no specific answers because ‘Brexit’
itself is non-specific.”
Accordingly the new version of the OED, out next year, will contain the
following definition:
Brexit
Adjective
1. Indeterminate or unspecified.
‘A Brexit number of BNP supporters will attend the next march.’
Verb [NO OBJECT]
1. Be non-specific.
‘He pressed her for a definite answer, but all she could do was Brexit about it.’
