Oxfords Word of the year 2023 crept up on me with such stealth that I had never heard of it and certainly not used it. Rizz!

https://corp.oup.com/news/eight-words-go-head-to-head-for-oxford-word-of-the-year-2023/

Word of the Year 2023
After more than 32,000 votes, and a team of language experts, Oxford’s Word of the Year 2023 is…
rizz.

What does it take to command attention without even trying. A whole lot of charisma, or the shortened form, ‘rizz’.



Pertaining to someone’s ability to attract another person through style, charm, or attractiveness, this term is from the middle part of the word ‘charisma’, which is an unusual word formation pattern. Other examples include ‘fridge’ (refrigerator) and ‘flu’ (influenza).

In our bobbing world of wacky conversations we certainly discuss the theory of rizz we just didn’t know there was a twinkly new word for it. The word ‘allure’ was used.

15 of us have been cold water swimming, ‘bobbing’ for nearly 3 years. In that time we have gathered irregular non-bobbers who come to watch from the sidelines. There are benches where family and friends can sit and take in the sea air.

Allure or rizz as it can be called is an entirely unintentional characteristic. I’ve had it all my life, this is not a boast just a statement. From conversations after swimming you either have it or you don’t. As you can see from the top photo. I am an entirely normal human being , not glam in any way. You would pass me in the street both now and thirty years ago, as in the portrait. What neither the portrait or photo show is the message writ large on my forehead that says ” Talk to me”

Rizz, is both a blessing and a curse. Strangers can be fascinating but sometimes there just isn’t the time or space in my schedule for a deep and meaningful with someone I don’t know.

One bobbers mum came to watch us one day last summer. She has rizz and she knows how to use it. ( I don’t use it because I am at heart an introvert, it uses me.) When we got out of the water she was deep in conversation with a man . By a gorgeous blogging piece of serendipity they were both from Oxford. He was originally from Plymouth but after a long career in glamour photography had settled in Oxford. How on earth did he alight next to a woman, also from Oxford to enjoy a 30 minute conversation in the sun. Marie has Rizz, it exudes out of her like honey from a hive.

Rizz is genetic. Marie’s daughter, a bobber has it. A few weeks ago I was talking to a stranger. ( Of course I was!) We alighted on a person we both knew in common. ” Magnetic smile” were the exact words used. Marie’s daughter emitting her rizz!

So there we are, a whole blog about a word I hadn’t heard of until two days ago.

Now about the portrait, and there are two more by other artists, also done because of rizz. When I was a mature Fine Art student I was approached to have my portrait painted as part of someone else’s course work because I had an interesting face. For interesting I think we can swap the word rizz. Curiously not one of the three portraits have the words ‘ talk to me’ across my forehead. I absolutely know those words are there because why else would an introvert get so involved in extrovert things.

https://www.peterorrock.com/about

I have lost touch with Peter but he has 30 paintings for sale on Artfinder.