‘Cornplating’ explained as Wicked fan claims to have spotted original Wizard of Oz actor in movie

It feels like every day on the internet, a brand-new zany buzzword comes along that soon finds itself in social media lexicon as if it had always been there.

From dating trend terminology like 'Shrekking' to all the way through to your now-vintage 'LOL' or 'BRB' acronym slang - it's clear the weird and wonderful world of the world wide web is forever coming up with new ways to communicate and find a neat little term to put across an abstract concept.

And the latest one everyone's chatting about online is none other than 'cornplating', after one Wicked fan claimed to have spotted the original Wizard of Oz actor in the beloved Universal flick.

Taking to X, the movie fan shared a side-by-side photo of Margaret Hamilton, who played Miss Gulch, The Wicked Witch of the West, in the 1939 cult classic, next to a photo of clouds from the upcoming 2025 sequel to Wicked, which appeared to show the outline of her visage as a tribute to her character.

"Margaret Hamilton’s profile (the original Wicked Witch of the West) seemingly shows up in the clouds in Wicked: For Good," they wrote.

One social media user penned: "Now how tf did y'all catch that???"

"THIS IS AN INSANE DETAIL!!!" beamed a second while a third chimed in: "Why did it literally take me all f*cking day to see it."

There's a new buzzword we need to add to our social media dictionaries... (Universal)

Others, however, couldn't help but refer to the bizarre phenomenon known as 'cornplating' after seeing the easy-to-miss detail.

"Cornplating final boss," quipped a fourth.

Another beamed: "This is insane cornplating but I am here for it!"

And a final X user confessed: "I love corn plates!"

Fans were gushing over the example of 'cornplating' (Universal/MGM)

But, what on earth is 'cornplating'

Well, in short, it's a slang term that describes the act of discussing or scrutinising insignificant details in the media when there's nothing more substantial to say about it.

The phenomenon is based on an exaggerated example of fan engagement, where one social media user posted an observation about a character holding a plate of corn in a scene from Disney's Encanto, which was perceived as them running out of interesting content to share.

Can you see it? (Universal)

The Encanto fan in question posted a screenshot from the film, which showed the character Dolores looking surprised while holding a plate of corn.

"I never realised she was holding a plate with corn in this scene," they captioned the quick, a statement which quickly sparked an avalanche of responses from people claiming the fandom was 'running out of sh*t to say about this movie'.

What do you think, is this Wicked observation an example of 'cornplating' or is it genuinely an interesting take?

Wicked: For Good is set to hit cinemas later this year (21 November).