The
American Dialect Society defines "wardrobe malfunction" as "an unanticipated exposure of bodily parts". The term was also one of the new entrants into the
Chambers Dictionary in 2008, along with words like
electrosmog,
carbon footprint,
credit crunch and
social networking. The dictionary defines it as "the temporary failure of an item of clothing to do its job in covering a part of the body that it would be advisable to keep covered."
Origins The term was first used on February 2, 2004, by Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson in a statement attempting to explain the
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy, during which Jackson's right breast was exposed. Timberlake apologized for the incident, stating he was "sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance of the Super Bowl..." The term
wardrobe malfunction appeared in numerous stories in major US consumer and business publications, newspapers, and major TV and radio broadcasts. Journalist
Eric Alterman described the incident as "the most famous 'wardrobe malfunction' since
Lady Godiva."
Related terms The American Dialect Society had a number of related terms for
word of the year nominations in 2004, including
Janet moment ("unplanned bodily exposure at a public function"),
boobgate ("scandal over Janet Jackson's exposed breast"),
nipplegate (like boobgate, "but used earlier in squawk over Jackson's possible nipple ring"), and
wardrobe malfunction ("overexposure in a mammary way"). People came up with clever terms to describe an occurrence of
accidental nudity, like
nipple slip or
nip slip. ==Female==