These are new words or phrases that have caught my eye. My definition of a new word is one which is not in the Macquarie Dictionary online.
Some words seem to have more significance than others in terms of reflecting changes in the Australian culture, so I will give each word a Zeitgeist rating (ZG) within a range of 1-10.
If you disagree with the rating that I give, please argue your case in the comment field provided.
I would love you to contact me if you have made any new word discoveries of your own.
The new use of chat is to be the equivalent of guys or gang, as in Hey chat, where are we going tonight? This derives from its use on social media where it serves as a form of address for the people in the chat group viewed collectively.
ZG: 7
Perhaps not an everyday expression today but keep an eye on its popularity in the future.
Read MoreThis is a term that has bumbled along through the 1900s (though unrecorded by the Oxford English Dictionary). Since 2020 its frequency has skyrocketed. This is of course all to do with sovereign citizens and their tendency to invent legal justifications for their actions.
ZG: 9
We are all now grappling with the strange beliefs of the sovereign citizens and wondering how things came to this pass.
Read MoreIt all begins with the Black drag scene in America in the 1990s where the expression spill the T meant ‘to open up about something’. T stood for truth. But some wit changed T to tea .
Read MoreI dealt with main character syndrome in 2021, a term with negative connotations. A person who sees themselves as the main character in their life story sees everyone else as playing supporting roles. So main character energy became the confidence and style with which you presented your life story. A positive thing.
ZG: 5
It is increasingly important on social media and in real life to have main character energy.
Read MoreThe Korean name for the domestic pop genre that developed in the early 1990s was gayo, but the term K-pop emerged in 1999, following the pattern of J-pop.
ZG: 5
This is part of a general surge of interest in Korean culture.
Read MoreI think that goggles are as familiar to us as glasses these days so whereas once we might have reached for glasses as our figurative viewing aid (rose-coloured glasses) now we can go with goggles (nostalgia goggles).
It is perhaps related to the nostalgia filter used in cinematography, a warm filter that creates a dreamy, nostalgic effect.
ZG: 5
Probably not common
Read MoreIn the context of drug taking this refers to the practice of a user withdrawing blood immediately after injecting and then injecting someone else with the drug-laced blood to give them what might be thought of as a secondary high.
ZG: 4
Part of the jargon of drug-taking.
Read MoreThe inquest into the death an Indigenous youth brought to light this item of legal jargon in relation to the police.
ZG: 6
A legal term which was brought to public attention briefly.
Read MoreThis is a scam usually directed at elderly Chinese women who believe that spirits can affect their lives and that various rituals can be performed to protect them and their families.
ZG: 4
This one is getting some attention at the moment but affects a small portion of the community.
Read MoreIn lemonading we turn disasters into opportunities, lemons into lemonade.
ZG: 6
This is one of these trendy words that might or might not take off.
Read MoreThis is tourism by night, a reaction to the overtourism that happens by day perhaps. Since we have exhausted the daytime possibilities let’s start exploring the world again by night.
ZG: 4
A marketing term but interesting in that it identifies a new trend.
Read MoreNaked running is not some nudist enthusiasm. It is going for a run without any of the digital devices that runners seem to feel are so essential to the process.
ZG: 3
A bit of jargon from the runners that the rest of us find amusing.
Read MoreIn one sense it should be easy to describe this new genre — fem (woman) plus gore (horror). But in another way it is difficult to pin down.
ZG: 5
Extremely popular within a very particular readership.
Read MoreThis word is a trademark that I think is shifting into a generic. I’m not sure what Daniel Fernández Pascual and Alon Schwabe (pictured above) will think about that since they trademarked the Climavore Diet in 2015. Their idea was that constant change in the environment has to be part of the choices we make in what we will eat.
ZG: 4
Eating with climate consciousness is still a new idea so the frequency is still low.
Read MoreThis is the verb to cloth as used by cricket commentators. He’s clothed the ball means that the batter has produced a mistimed lofted shot.
ZG: 2
An obscure bit of cricketing jargon.
Read MoreThis is a term that has been part of American English for ten years, one which we are only just acquiring. It is, of course, a blend of bro and professional and describes someone who is a confident player in the business world, so confident that he can be cool as well. Particularly if his work is IT-related.
ZG: 8
The brofessionals in the US don’t seem to have lasted long.
Read MoreWe used to have children who went through puberty to become adolescents who matured into adults who encountered middle age and finally old age. But now we can insert into this pathway the quarter-life crisis.
ZG: 6
Another new term that reflects the difficulties encountered by young people in our society.
Read MoreThere are established procedures for taking a break from your job. There is long-service leave and the sabbatical. In both these situations you retain your job and your employer continues to pay you, even if the pay is scaled down somewhat.
ZG: 5
There is a real sense that the working life for the younger generation is getting out of hand so ways to ease the strain are popular.
Read MoreAustralians have now become sufficiently familiar with this style of architecture to be able to refer to it as the barndo. It is a blend of barn and condominium.
ZG: 5
All it needs is a verandah and it could be the new Australian architectural icon.
Read MoreMany couples, increasingly in the younger generation, are finding that the solution broken sleep is to sleep separately.
ZG: 7
Not being able to get a good night’s sleep is such a common problem that any solution is popular.
Read More
