Dictionary adds new term for dead-end, low-paying job
The Merriam-Webster dictionary has a new word to describe a low-paying, dead-end occupation: McJob.
The 11th edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines a “McJob” as “a low-paying job that requires little skill and provides little opportunity for advancement.”
Fast-food giant McDonald’s is not impressed with the definition. Jim Cantalupo called it a “slap in the face” to the 12 million people who work in the restaurant industry in the U.S. and wants Merriam-Webster to put something more flattering in the dictionary.
But the publisher of the dictionary is standing by the McJob definition. It said the term has been in use for more than 17 years with that definition in a variety of publications, including the New York Times and Rolling Stone.
“Words qualify for inclusion in the dictionary because they are widely and commonly used in a broad range of carefully edited sources,” Arthur Bicknell of Merriam-Webster told the Associated Press.
The Oxford English Dictionary also contains a similar definition of McJob. Its definition cites a 1986 Washington Post article, which states a McJob is “an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector."
The 11th edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines a “McJob” as “a low-paying job that requires little skill and provides little opportunity for advancement.”
Fast-food giant McDonald’s is not impressed with the definition. Jim Cantalupo called it a “slap in the face” to the 12 million people who work in the restaurant industry in the U.S. and wants Merriam-Webster to put something more flattering in the dictionary.
But the publisher of the dictionary is standing by the McJob definition. It said the term has been in use for more than 17 years with that definition in a variety of publications, including the New York Times and Rolling Stone.
“Words qualify for inclusion in the dictionary because they are widely and commonly used in a broad range of carefully edited sources,” Arthur Bicknell of Merriam-Webster told the Associated Press.
The Oxford English Dictionary also contains a similar definition of McJob. Its definition cites a 1986 Washington Post article, which states a McJob is “an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector."
