“Hangry” Becomes Mainstream

I first remember hearing the term “hangry” on a Snickers commercial a few years ago. It’s when a person becomes irritable or angry because of hunger.  I thought it was a copywriter’s clever innovation, adaptation and combination of “hungry” and “angry.”

Apparently I’ve just been in the dark on this English language gem.

Merriam-Webster says the word has been around since 1918.  The Oxford English Dictionary, which added the word in 2018, states that “hangry” dates back to 1956 when it appeared in a psychoanalytic journal.

A recent Subway commercial featuring Tony Romo and Charles Barkley have Barkley claiming he’s getting “hangry” just talking about and seeing all the sub sandwiches.

Then, during a Thursday night football game a couple weeks ago, I heard “hangry” used again.  The game was only available to watch on Amazon Prime.  An ad for Amazon Fresh, a same-day grocery delivery service, claims to keep people from becoming “hangry.”

If a word is used in commercials for three different products, it’s a legitimate part of accepted everyday vernacular.  I’d have figured this out sooner, but I was still at the dinner table.