Aleksandr's expression 'simples' topped a list of new words to be included in future editions of the dictionary if people continue to use them. Compilers of the respected tome admitted the catchprase of Aleksandr - star of the price comparison insurance ads - had taken the nation by storm.

Susie Dent, of the Oxford University Press - who regularly appears on Channel 4's Countdown - hailed it her favourite word of the year. She said: "Simples has quickly become a catchphrase said by anyone when they mean something is very easy to achieve. We may not like it, and it may well not last, but it proves that English is moving quickly and is as robust as ever."

"Defriend", meaning to remove someone from a list of pals on Facebook, is among other new words that may go in - along with "tweetup", a meet-up arranged via Twitter. The old word "redact", meaning to obscure, came back with the MPs' expenses scandal. Meanwhile a mix of jeans and leggings gives us "jeggings".

The top ten words and phrases of 2009 are:1 Simples; 2 Unfriend/Defriend; 3 Great Recession; 4 Staycation; 5 Tweetup; 6 Zombie Bank ; 7 Barbecue Summer; 8 Jeggings; 9 Redact; 10 Paywalls.

A lingua ut est victus est a lingua ut subolesco!

Meerkats are taking over the world!

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