Not lovin’ it: Most companies are thrilled when their brand names become so well known that they are officially recognized as part of the popular lexicon. But sometimes, as the makers of Spam luncheon meat will tell you, it can get McUgly:

Not all publicity is good, though, and the company showed no love for Merriam-Webster. In its latest Collegiate Dictionary, it added the word “McJob” and defined it as “low-paying and dead-end work.” In an open letter to Merriam-Webster, McDonald’s Chief Executive Jim Cantalupo said the term is “an inaccurate description of restaurant employment” and “a slap in the face to the 12 million men and women” who work in the restaurant industry.

Cantalupo is a little late in his indignation. According to Dictionary.com, the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, included the term with essentially the same definition in 2000.

Heed this warning, kids, and read your dictionaries regularly, so you won’t miss that thrilling moment when yesterday’s slang is canonized in the Church of English.