At the end of the third quarter of 2022, the Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, and Dictionary.com all released new additions to their editions. If the lexicographers dictionaries employ do their jobs seriously, we can learn a lot about English-speaking society from what they add. And many, though not all, do.

Some of what we learn from the recent batch is just silly: Several dictionaries have added the phrase “pumpkin spice,” reflecting the almost certainly correct determination that the awful October flavor syrup is here to stay, along with the words for it. Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com add “shrinkflation.” It’s a playful word for a grim phenomenon that’s making you poorer in practical terms as we speak: “the practice of reducing a product’s amount or volume per unit while continuing to offer it at the same price.”