Australian Prime Minister Redefines Misogyny

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard berated sexist opposition leader Tony Abbott so thoroughly that the country's leading dictionary was forced to change its antiquated definition of the word misogyny. 

Australia’s go-to dictionary, the Macquarie, defines misogyny as a “hatred of women.” For now. The next edition will add an “entrenched prejudice against women,” according to editor Sue Butler, who explained that the language has moved beyond the original definition.

Gillard used the word in a tirade (watch it below - it's terrific) against Abbott in Parliament. Following a skirmish about a government official’s resignation over offensive text messages (they do that Down Under, too), Gillard retorted to Abbott: “If he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he doesn’t need a motion in the House of Representatives; he needs a mirror.”

Oh, snap. But in the flurry of reaction afterward, some pointed out that Gillard had misused the word “misogyny.” Macquarie to the rescue.

“I always think of myself as the person with the mop and the broom and the bucket who’s cleaning up the language after the party’s over,” said editor Butler. “And in this case it was a fairly big party, and what was left on the floor was misogyny.”

Try getting that out of hardwood.