Stop taking those selfies, and come help throw some yabbies into the barbie!

The word is out... "selfie" is the 2013 word of the year, says Oxford Dictionaries. Almost all the major media reported it, including ST (Nov 20):

Oxford Dictionaries gave an interesting account of the first use of "selfie" -- back in 2002:

And here's that first "selfie", from ABC Online:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-19/selfie-beats-twerk-as-word-of-the-year/5102154

That very first "selfie" appeared 11 years ago! Luckily, ABC was able to retrieve it, using something called the Wayback Machine:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/20/first_selfie_found/

Britain's Times newspaper took a little dig at the choice of "selfie" as the Word of the Year:

It is May 19, 1536, at the Tower of London, and Anne Boleyn is about to come to a sticky end. But by a freak of history, the mobile telephone has been invented, and therefore the “selfie”.

The executioner takes a selfie of himself beside the block. “Me at work”.

Anne Boleyn takes one just before the axe falls. “Me getting the chop. *Sad face*”.

Henry VIII snaps his selfie afterwards, possibly holding up Anne’s head. “Me and my ex. New wife. New church”. 
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Actually, one should not be surprised that "selfie" is of Australian coinage. Aussies just love to abbreviate words, starting with Aussies (for Australians). There's also...

Barbie, for barbecue
Bickie, for biscuits
Chewie, for chewing gum
Ciggie, for cigarettes, etc, etc.

Here's one list:

http://www.upfromaustralia.com/aussieslang.html

So, if an Aussie says, "Throw a yabbie on the barbie!" he means "Throw the lobster onto the barbecue grille!"

That's all for to-die (today), mate.