Australian National University’s word of the year is a portmanteau for cost-of-living rage

ANU’s word of the year, ‘Colesworth’ is often used by commentators and on social media to allege the big two supermarkets are more or less the same. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Self-described language nerds at the Australian National University have chosen a term that taps into simmering cost-of-living rage as their word of the year – Colesworth.

The portmanteau, or blended word, refers to the power and market share of Australia’s dominant supermarket chains, according to the university, and hints at “what is perceived as an unfair duopoly”.