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 increase in numbers of patients has brought to light this term which was part of hospital jargon. The surge capacity of a hospital is a measure of its ability to handle a sudden increase in patients.
ZG: 6
It really is a bit of hospital jargon brought to light by unusual circumstances. Let us hope we don’t have one.
Read MoreCertain gatherings have been found to spread COVID-19 in a fashion that was spectacular and these have come to be called super spreader events.
ZG: 9
The most significant of these are the ones that have come to be identified in retrospect. Of course the new rules are designed to make these a thing of the past.
Read MoreUrban Dictionary published COVIDIOT with the meanings (a) Someone who ignores the warnings regarding public health or safety. (b) A person who hoards goods, denying them from their neighbours.
ZG: 10
There has been some astonishment at the panic behaviour and the reckless behaviour exhibited by some members in our community which has prompted increased use of this word.
Read MoreThis is the harvesting of water from floodplains after heavy rain. It can be done by channelling water into storage sites for later use.
ZG: 5
As we become increasingly aware that there is not enough water in our rivers to sustain all the use that people want to make of it, the debate becomes more heated about who gets what share of it.
Read MoreHypnobirthing is a technique that applies the practices of hypnosis to the process of giving birth so that the mother can take control of her pain using relaxation techniques, deep breathing and meditation, positive visualisation and affirmation.
ZG: 6
For understandable reasons there is a fairly constant flood of advice to new mothers on how to manage childbirth.
Read MoreThe clachan finds a place in the Australian English lexicon because we have the remnants of the only one found outside Ireland. A clachan is a traditional Scottish or Irish village.
ZG: 4
Of historical interest, particularly to those who are interested in the Irish influence in Australia.
Read MoreFor those of us who find children too exhausting, and fur babies almost as bad, there is a solution. The house plant.
ZG: 4
Methinks the house parents protest too much. This one seems a trifle forced.
Read MoreThis is a formalised version of streetball, itself a form of basketball designed for an urban setting.
ZG: 4
The Olympics would have perhaps given this sport a higher profile but that won’t be until next year now.
Read MoreThe simplest definition I have found for this is ‘to stay 1.5 metres away from other people at all times’. This is from NSW Health.
ZG: 10
The golden rule of the pandemic which mostly people adhere to unless they are Covidiots.
Read MoreThe World Health Organisation has coined this word (info the shortened form of information + (pan)demic) to draw attention to the way in which hysterical rumours about COVID-19 are flooding the internet.
ZG: 8
A slightly artificial coinage deliberately created to draw attention to an important facet of the pandemic situation, so one which the WHO hopes everyone will learn.
Read MoreThis is a name for the Southern Cross as used in the Eureka flag, which in the last decade has been associated with right-wing jingoism and racism.
ZG: 6
The Aussie Swazi has attracted more attention as we become increasingly aware of the threat posed to society by right-wing extremism.
Read MoreIt seems that milk baths are particularly recommended for skin conditions, sunburn, and reactions to poison ivy, but even just for generally dry skin.
ZG: 4
New beauty treatments come and go almost as quickly as new diets. It remains to be seen if bathing in milk becomes something we all want to do.
Read MoreBackstabbing and frontstabbing appear to have a literal meaning in computer games, where you can stab the enemy from behind or from in front.
ZG: 4
It is a term that is secure in the jargon of computer games but is just beginning to venture into mainstream use. There is a use for it and it is supported by the existence of backstabbing.
Read MoreThe composting burial is a procedure that begins by placing the body of the person that has died in a casket along with wood chips, soil, straw and alfalfa. The heat created as the body decomposes speeds up the process and eliminates germs.
ZG: 4
Not for everyone yet, I think, but as our concern for the environment grows, who knows what might become the new appropriate way of dealing with the funeral process.
Read MoreApparently there is nothing like the anger experienced by a computer gamer who has just been outwitted by the game and killed. In such circumstances gamers simply abandon the game in a fury.
ZG: 5
A term that is high-frequency among gamers but limited in use in other contexts. That said, why would you say that you quit when you could say that you rage-quit. Much more powerful.
Read MoreWe played briefly with the German word hamsterkauf for the phenomenon of panic buying in the supermarkets, especially of toilet paper.
ZG: 4
I would have liked to give this word a higher score but sadly it shows no signs of staying the distance.
Read MoreWe now have the notion of street play, the kind of thing that used to happen in an unorganised way where children would take to the street to play various games. In a world where cars dominate our lives, this is something that needs to be organised.
ZG: 7
An excellent way of reclaiming the streets for children which seems to be generating some enthusiasm among parents and councils.
Read MoreOne of the preventive measures against CoVid-19 is self-isolation for anyone who has come into contact with someone who has the coronavirus but is not showing any signs of having contracted the disease.
ZG: 10
Self-isolation means not going out at all for anything. Most of us now are very close to that, making the occasional foray for food and toilet paper but hardly emerging otherwise.
Read MoreThe official name for this is respiratory clinic, sometimes pop-up respiratory clinic because of their pop-up nature. But the media and the general public have all gone for fever clinic.
ZG: 9
They are not everywhere yet but we are all aware of them and aware of the reasons for their existence.
Read MoreThe expression to throw shade at someone, meaning to be scornful or disrespectful towards someone, dates back to American college slang of the 1990s.
ZG: 6
The fact that the row within the Royal Family made news around the world has helped to spread this little bit of American slang.
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