Goblin mode

Etymology

A compound of goblin (a grubby, mischievous creature) and mode. The phrase appeared as early as a 2009 tweet but went viral in February 2022 after a fabricated headline — a doctored screenshot falsely quoting Julia Fox — circulated online; it was named Oxford Word of the Year in 2022 by public vote.

noun · /GOB-lin mohd/
A mode of behavior in which you reject self-improvement and social expectation to be unapologetically lazy, slovenly, or self-indulgent.
What it names
It names the deliberate, gleeful abandonment of the polished, optimized self — eating cereal at 2am, skipping the shower, ignoring the tidy aspirational version of you. It works as a permission slip for anti-aspiration, usually invoked when the pressure to be "that girl" gets exhausting.
Example
I had big plans for the weekend but went full goblin mode instead — three days of leftovers and no daylight.
Related idea
Close to sibling bed rotting, but goblin mode is active and gremlin-ish — snacking, mess, chaos — where bed rotting is stillness.