The student-run magazine of San Francisco State University

Xpress Magazine

The student-run magazine of San Francisco State University

Xpress Magazine

The student-run magazine of San Francisco State University

Xpress Magazine

Vape beats out bae for Oxford’s word of the year

Illustration by Catherine Uy for Xpress Magazine
Illustration by Catherine Uy for Xpress Magazine

So, in case you have not heard the news yet, vape beat bae as the Oxford word of the year.

That day was also the first time anyone considered me remotely funny on Twitter either because when I tweeted out “I guess bae isn’t bae” I got retweeted by the magazine and favorited by National Public Radio’s Twitter—and, let me tell you, I felt like a rockstar.

Now, in case you are still a bit confused by the above tweet, bae stands for “before anyone else” or “before anything else” and has been plastered across social media for the past few months along with pictures of lovey-dovey couples or some times with posts hashtagged #wcw or #mcm. Originally, I just thought a lot of people suddenly became lazy spelling babe, but it essentially means the same thing.

Vapes, or vapor smoking, has also become exceedingly popular within the past couple months, with many twenty-somethings switching out “old fashioned” cigarettes for this new form of smoking and vapor shops popping up everywhere. With all the flavor options, including things like bubble gum and pineapple, the ability to control your nicotine intake (if any), and even the option to add vitamins into your vapor pen, it is no wonder that this fad has turned into its own culture and beat out something as in your face as bae.

I do not smoke or vape myself, but I think a lot of things about vapor pens are cool, like controlling your nicotine levels and the fact that the stench is nowhere near as bad (in my opinion) or lingering as cigarette smoke is a huge plus. I even have a friend who has substituted a vapor pen for her cigarettes so she can wean herself off of her nicotine addiction. The thing I cannot stand is when people who vape feel entitled enough to smoke their gummy flavored shit wherever they like. Hell, I have seen people vape in line at the grocery store and blow the vapor into the cashier’s face. It is still producing a smell and some sort of physical puff of something, people—just because you want to do it inside does not mean you should. And honestly, most people will think you are a dick.

So bae is not actually bae and vape rules supreme for now. If people do not act entitled just because of the different kind of air they are breathing in and blowing out, I do not have any further problems with this decision; bae was getting old anyway. And it means poop in Danish, so there is that to think about to next time you tell someone they are your bae.

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The student-run magazine of San Francisco State University
Vape beats out bae for Oxford’s word of the year