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This news embiggens my spirit.
On Monday, Merriam-Webster, the most social media-savvy dictionary, announced that 850 words had been added to its online dictionary. One of those words is embiggen, which Merriam-Webster defines as "to make bigger or more expansive" and which was invented by The Simpsons writer Dan Greaney in 1996.
It comes from a Season 7 episode called "Lisa the Iconoclast." The episode introduced viewers to the city of Springfield's motto, passed down from its founder Jebediah Springfield: "A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man."
"Embiggens?" says schoolteacher Mrs. Krabappel. "I never heard that word before I moved to Springfield."
"I don't know why," answers Ms. Hoover. "It's a perfectly cromulent word."
It's a perfect joke that introduced two words that each entered the lexicon. But for some reason, only embiggen is going in the dictionary at this time. I don't know why cromulent isn't going in; it's a perfectly cromulent word.
The Simpsons airs Sundays at 8/7c on Fox.