‘Operation Moist’ Hopes to Capture Merriam-Webster’s Attention

The term "Moist" has gained a somewhat negative reputation over the years. Interestingly, Urban Dictionary characterizes it as "a word people pretend to hate because the internet told them to." Embracing its identity, Kraft Real Mayo believes that the general dislike of the word is not entirely justified and seeks to challenge this perception.

In an initiative named "Operation Moist," Kraft Real Mayo is launching a campaign for Merriam-Webster to consider "Moist" as its "Word of the Year." To kick off this effort, Kraft has placed a sizable six-foot replica of its mayo jar outside the Merriam-Webster headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts. By the way, the giant jar does not contain actual mayo.

The label on the oversized jar reads, "Dear Dictionary Gatekeepers, here is a 2023-pound jar of Kraft Real Mayo, aka the Moist Maker, aka the Moistiest." It expresses concern about the internet and media “degrading” the term "moist" and asserts that Kraft's mayo is evidence that "moist is a great word, and that every meal is better moist!"

If Kraft is successful in convincing Merriam-Webster to name "moist" Word of the Year, it would join previous selections such as "gaslighting," "justice," and "feminism." As part of the campaign, Kraft is hosting a live "Search-A-Thon" on Twitch, encouraging people to actively search for "moist" online to raise awareness. Additionally, they've created a "Search Moist" website as a quick link for online searches and plan to launch the #SearchMoist hashtag on social media.

Frances Sabatier, the brand manager for Kraft Real Mayo, expressed the brand's desire to leverage its dedicated mayo-loving fanbase. "Kraft Real Mayo has such a devoted fanbase of mayo lovers, and we want to embolden them to help us change the perception by searching the word 'moist' online so many times that it’s elected Merriam-Webster's word of the year," he told MassLive.

Selecting a baby name can be tough, especially with thousands of options available. Some parents stress over the lasting influence of their child's name, wanting to ensure a prosperous future. Trends in naming kids mirror shifting cultural norms and evolving ambitions for children.

Getting baby names right has taken on a new level of importance for expecting parents. In fact, TikTok has become a platform where creators gather substantial followings by discussing baby name trends and highlighting names to avoid due to their trendiness. They openly share names they considered but didn't use, along with names they'd rather not encounter again. TikTok's baby name inspiration videos now focus on various themes, including "old money" names such as Caroline, Elizabeth, and Charlotte, "main character" names like Blaze, Arrow, and Falcon, and "aesthetic" names like Rowan, Wren, and Atlas.

Celebrities are accustomed to unconventional names. Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, and musician Grimes named their first child X Æ A-12, often called "X." Their second child is Exa Dark Sideræl. They also affectionately refer to their daughter as Sailor Mars, inspired by the "Sailor Moon" manga series.

Occasionally, parents opt to invent a name, a decision that carries some level of uncertainty. While they might create something distinctive and appealing, there's also a chance of the child being given a name perceived as peculiar by others. This situation arose for a baby, drawing significant attention on Reddit. The name of the child came to light through a thread titled, "The Most Unusual Name I've Encountered in Real Life."

It reads, "So my mother just told me the name of her ex’s child and my GOD is it a doozy. He and his wife named their daughter: Audtom. Because his name is Tom and her name is Audrey. I could not f---ing believe my ears."

Commenters had strong opinions, with many criticizing the name choice. Others suggested more seamless ways to combine the parents' names, including one person who wrote, "Assuming this is pronounced 'Autumn' and not 'Odd-Tom,' would it have killed them to just spell it Autom?"

Another person suggested, "Not me thinking 'Tomrey' would be better," and another joked, "They missed an opportunity: 'Tawdry.'”

Redditors even came up with baby names that they considered to be the worst. Take a look at some of these names below.

"When I was a kid I stayed at a bed & breakfast with family photos on the walls," one user wrote. "There was a sister named Gridget. I actually think about this a lot." It's kind of like a spin on the name Bridget. This Redditor seems really stuck on the name they found.

This unique name caught this person off guard. They even tried to figure it out by mixing it with other names. "I once saw a baby announcement where the mom was named Shannon, the dad was Daniel, and they named the baby Shanniel," they wrote.

Sometimes people just go with the flow when picking a name for their kid. Maybe it felt right at the time, and they didn't even realize it's also the name of a condition. While working at a gas station, this Reddit user observed a mother who let her child run around wild. They wrote "One small girl was pushing on a display stand and the mother screamed: ‘DYSLEXIA GET YO A-- OVER HERE!"

Back in school on the playground, this person probably had a rough time. This is particularly true because their name coincidentally rhymes with a sexually transmitted disease. Nevertheless, a user pointed out that it's a clever fusion of two names. "Donnaria. A combination of her Mom's name (Donna) and Grandma's name (Gloria)," they wrote.

Bacardi, Hennessy, Tanqueray, Alizé – the names keep coming. It turns out a Redditor, who happened to work in children and family services, encountered kids with names inspired by alcoholic beverages almost every day. "You don't know how bad it really gets. Lots of kids named after alcoholic beverages."