Words of the year underscore a dark, surreal 2016

EVERY December, lexicographers around the world choose their "words of the year", and this year, perhaps more than ever, the stories these tell provide a fascinating insight into how we've experienced the drama and trauma of the last 12 months.

There was much potential in 2016. It was 500 years ago that Thomas More wrote his Utopia, and January saw the launch of a year's celebrations under the slogan "A Year of Imagination and Possibility" - but as 2017 looms, this slogan rings hollow. Instead of utopian dreams, we've had a year of "post-truth" and "paranoia", of "refugee" crises, "xenophobia" and a close shave with "fascism".

Earlier in the year, a campaign was launched to have "Essex Girl" removed from the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Those behind the campaign were upset at the derogatory definition - a young woman "characterised as unintelligent, promiscuous, and materialistic" - so wanted it to be expunged from the official record of the language.