According to the Oxford publishers, the term voted for by more than 300,000 people to reflect the “mood, or preoccupations of the past twelve months” refers to “a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations”.

Forget these judgy terms such as lazy and greedy — I say goblin mode is a celebration of the feral unfiltered self, a healthy and restorative state of anti-perfection. It might seem petty to be debating the semantics of a phrase that barely exists outside social media, but interpretation is everything.

Take “quiet quitting”, which some took to mean giving up on your job while still accepting that pay cheque, while others saw it as establishing healthy work/life boundaries. The only mention I can find of goblin mode in the FT was to describe the pound when it plunged in September. Plaudits to my colleague for getting it into a financial article, but I’m not convinced.

So while I can relate worryingly well to Instagram images tagged #goblinmode of cats stuffing cat food into their furry faces in the manner of Henry VIII at a banquet after one too many tankards of mead, here’s how I think it manifests itself on a more . . . human basis.

It’s a little holiday from being your best self and living your best life. Boxing Day, all year round, minus that January self-improvement nonsense

It’s eating pasta out of the saucepan (or Bridget Jones eating ice cream under a duvet); wearing a woolly hat not for warmth but because you haven’t washed your hair; dumping clothes on the floor to save time putting them away and then taking them out again; giving up on bras; sleeping in your clothes; eating all the raisins out of the cereal because there’s no chocolate in the house; dropping apple cores on the floor of the car. Some peak goblin mode behaviour: my brother-in-law putting a pillow inside a buttoned shirt because he couldn’t be bothered to find a pillowcase.

With their slick suits and pristine off-duty wear, I really doubt that Rishi Sunak or Emmanuel Macron do goblin mode. However, Boris Johnson’s version of it, especially when he went for a jog dressed as a human jumble sale, made Gollum look like a Hollywood actor dressed for the Oscars in comparison. Sadly, Bojo didn’t get the memo that it was best enjoyed as a private and temporary state.

It’s not about giving up on life or all social and moral systems — it’s mental hibernation. A little holiday from being your best self and living your best life. Boxing Day, all year round, minus that January self-improvement nonsense.

It’s stepping away from seeing yourself through the imagined gaze of other people. The publisher says the term, which went “viral” on social media in February 2022, rose in popularity after Covid lockdown restrictions eased: “It captured the prevailing mood of individuals who rejected the idea of returning to ‘normal life’, or rebelled against the increasingly unattainable aesthetic standards and unsustainable lifestyles exhibited on social media.”

I can’t say I ever fell for the vapid bullet-journalling, green-juice-sipping #thatgirl aesthetic on TikTok, or the equally exhausting #girlboss, to which some people see this mode as an antidote. But I do welcome the official recognition given to a modus vivendi that rejects a curated existence, and puts the id before the ego.

It’s also a vibe that questions consumerism, especially when viewed in the context of fashion. For the office, you probably do need a wardrobe of professional, modern clothes. For the recent Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall, complete with red carpet, I hauled myself out of the metaphorical hovel and wore a black velvet dress and lots of gold jewellery. But for hanging around the house I don’t need an influencer-style oatmeal cashmere tracksuit, slouchy socks and stoneware mug, just my ancient Uniqlo fleece trousers and practically prehistoric jumper with moth holes that look as if they have been mended by Dr Frankenstein.

It comes with a handy psychological boost, too: there’s nothing like looking really terrible to make you feel you’re Grace Kelly when you actually emerge from goblin mode and put on something clean. I ran into a fellow goblin a while ago and she looked unusually fresh and radiant. I asked what she had done, maybe Botox? A luxurious A-list facial? The answer: “I washed my face.” Goblin mode deactivated.

https://www.ft.com/content/ade6d721-19ec-4513-8d93-6027c5f26c74

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5249440&forum_id=2#45603169)