The use of pluto as a verb meaning ‘demote’ or ‘devalue’ takes inspiration from the recent demise of the ‘planet’ Pluto. Pluto’s official status as a planet has been controversial since as far back as 1992, but in 2006 the debate came to a head when the International Astronomical Union created an official definition for the term planet, and decided that Pluto no longer met all of the specified criteria. After being described as a planet for the 76 years since its discovery, Pluto has now been reclassified with the expression dwarf planet.

The use of pluto as a verb meaning ‘demote’ or ‘devalue’ takes inspiration from the recent demise of the ‘planet’ Pluto. Pluto’s official status as a planet has been controversial since as far back as 1992, but in 2006 the debate came to a head when the International Astronomical Union created an official definition for the term planet, and decided that Pluto no longer met all of the specified criteria. After being described as a planet for the 76 years since its discovery, Pluto has now been reclassified with the expression dwarf planet.

The use of pluto as a verb meaning ‘demote’ or ‘devalue’ takes inspiration from the recent demise of the ‘planet’ Pluto. Pluto’s official status as a planet has been controversial since as far back as 1992, but in 2006 the debate came to a head when the International Astronomical Union created an official definition for the term planet, and decided that Pluto no longer met all of the specified criteria. After being described as a planet for the 76 years since its discovery, Pluto has now been reclassified with the expression dwarf planet.