Democracy sausage wins Australia’s word of the year

Democracy sausage: A barbecued sausage served on a slice of bread, bought at a polling booth sausage sizzle on election day . Democracy sausage has been named Australia's 2016 word of the year. The Australian National Dictionary Centre, based at The Australian National University (ANU), selected democracy sausage because of its increased prominence in Australia in a year of election campaigns. Centre Director Dr Amanda Laugesen said the term was chosen from a shortlist which included census fail, smashed avo, shoey, deplorables and Ausexit . "Arguably, the democracy sausage has been one of the best things to come out of a tumultuous year in politics and political campaigning," Dr Amanda Laugesen said. The term was first recorded in 2012, but its use increased significantly during the federal election in 2016, especially with the popularity of several websites set up to help voters find polling stations with sausage sizzles. "Its use was also boosted by a controversial incident where Opposition Leader Bill Shorten - who noted his sausage sandwich was 'the taste of democracy' - ate his sausage from the middle," she said.