It may have been a long time since most people last listened to a cassette tape, but the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) just gave cassettes a crushing blow. No longer will “cassette tape” be included in the Concise edition of the OED. “It was so past its prime that it was not worth keeping it in,” editor-at-large Jesse Sheidlower told USA Today.
To make matters a bit worse for those put off by the removal decision, words like “retweet,” “cyberbullying,” “sexting” and “mankini” are being added. Seriously, mankini?
“Cassette tape” will, however, still remain in the extremely large unabridged version of the OED. While it’s true that cassette tapes aren’t a best seller these days and automakers have stopped equipping cars with cassette decks, Time Magazine noted that while other words that are getting the cut, like “brabble” and “growlery,” truly aren’t really used anymore, cassette tapes aren’t that ancient and are, in fact, still being manufactured.
And we have to say, it’s true. While the new century may have made cassette tapes seem nearly non-existent, who doesn’t still have a few cassette tapes, whether they were purchased or compiled into a mixtape by their own hands, lying around the house?
Oh, and with creative people being able to turn the cassette tape into USB hubs and wallets, we find it hard to believe “cassette tape” is unknown and unsaid as “brabble” to the average person.
So we recommend listening to your favorite mixtape this weekend to pay homage to the cassette tape or if you’re having trouble finding somewhere to play a cassette tape (hey, maybe that’s the real problem!), you can always pick up Rob Sheffield’s “Love is a Mix Tape” for a good read and a nice tribute to all the magic, music and memories a cassette tape can hold.