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.
Scott Morrison assured us towards the end of February that there was no need for vaccine anxiety. However, events since then have heightened the nervousness rather than reduced it.
ZG: 10
One way or the other, the vaccine is at the forefront of our minds at the moment and generating much troubled discussion.
Read MoreThis is a scam in which criminals intercept invoices sent as attachments to emails and alter the bank details from the real one to a bank account set up by the criminal. Often the contact number (if there is one) is changed as well.
ZG: 5
As the frequency of these scams increases, so too will familiarity with the term for it. And loathing!
Read MoreSeitan is wheat dough which has been rinsed many times to remove the bran and starch from it. After that it can be flavoured with spices and sauces, pan-fried or boiled, and served as a meat substitute. It has more protein in it than an equivalent serve of lamb or beef and has a meaty texture and taste.
Read MoreVanlife is a movement that embraces minimalism and personal freedom and self-development. The corollary is that it opposes consumerism, the economic and political status quo, and the imposition of restrictions on the individual by the government.
ZG: 6
It is one of the surprises of the pandemic that we have discovered so many ways to escape our cities and find a new lifestyle that combines safety with pleasure.
Read MoreAfter the excitement of hydroxychloroquine there were a few drugs that were discovered to be effective in the treatment of the coronavirus. Dexamethasone was one of these.
ZG: 3
This drug got very little fanfare and caused very little controversy, unlike hydroxychloroquine and, more recently, ivermectin.
Read MoreIt has been suggested that ivermectin could be used to treat COVID-19. This is based on a laboratory experiment where it was found that a high concentration of ivermectin killed the coronavirus in monkey cells.
ZG: 5
Most of us had not heard about ivermectin until enthusiasts started spruiking its use as a treatment for COVID-19. With a bit of luck it will recede into the distance again.
Read MoreThe starting point for this word is the term enfant terrible which dates back in British English to the 1850s and was applied to a child who embarrassed their parents with ill-timed remarks. Later it was applied to adults who were, in their speech or behaviour, unconventional to the point of shocking other people. Such displays have come to be associated with precocious talent.
ZG: 6
This is a word that may well be found to be useful, given the amount of terribilism on display.
Read MoreIn the Taylor Swift song Champagne Problems, released at the end of last year, the expression is grounded in the fact that the parents of the boy who is about to propose are already opening the bottle of Dom Pérignon to celebrate, not dreaming for one moment that the girl is about to turn him down. The phrase gains meaning through the song until it becomes something like the expression first-world problem.
ZG: 7
A new word or phrase needs a champion to give it general currency. What better champion than Taylor Swift.
Read MoreThe drug tocilizumab was already in use in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In June 2020 an article was published in The Lancet outlining a study which tested its efficacy in the treatment of the coronavirus.
ZG: 4
This drug has figured briefly in our discussions of possible treatments for COVID-19.
Read MoreThis was initially referred to as a public exposure site, but was rapidly shortened to exposure site as we all became familiar with the routines of contact tracing and the lists of sites where people may have been at risk of contracting COVID-19 from an infectious person.
ZG: 8
This term has become a constant throughout the pandemic. It may one day plummet in frequency. Let’s hope so.
Read MoreWhereas quarantine hotels are for those people who need to be in quarantine, mostly international travellers and locals who cannot safely self-isolate at home, the health hotel is for any person in that group who is shown to have COVID-19 or who have symptoms that are regarded as suspicious.
ZG: 5
Fortunately most of us have not experienced these hotels, but the management of quarantine hotels and health hotels remains an issue for us all.
Read MoreThe digital nomad appeared around 2016, often a figure seated in front of a laptop in a coffee shop for some hours. Digital nomadism morphed into digital slomadism, a movement that espoused travel at a slower pace, giving the digital slomad time to really get to know a place before they moved on again.
ZG: 6
Not everyone can work wherever their laptop is, but the numbers of slomads are increasing.
Read MoreNow we have lawn porn. This is the parade of photos posted on a Facebook page called Lawn Porn so that people, mostly young blokes, can show off their perfect lawns and swap ideas and advice to help others achieve the same spectacular results.
ZG: 5
Most of us are attempting to reduce our lawns to the minimum so this could be described as a niche activity.
Read MoreAs the vaccination rollout draws closer, Australians are learning that they will need a proof of vaccination certificate on their smartphone or as a hard copy.
ZG: 9
In the months to come this is going to be a big issue. I expect the frequency of this term to rise as we discuss the system, the worth of the certificate, the situations in which it is required.
Read MoreAnother year, another COVID name. This one doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue and I think that in Australia most people would tend to refer to it as the new UK COVID strain.
ZG: 4
We struggled initially with the name COVID-19 but eventually learnt to use it. This one I think will take a little more effort.
Read MoreThe youth of Thailand were the first to adopt the three finger salute which featured in The Hunger Games, seen by this generation of protestors as a story for them, a story about young people defying an authoritarian and corrupt elite. In The Hunger Games the salute is a gesture of respect and friendship but as used, for example, in Thailand it is a sign of rebellion.
ZG: 5
There is much enthusiasm for The Hunger Games in Australia as well, but we have not yet attempted to apply it to our politics.
Read MoreThe banks call this a home loan deferral. It is not new but became a big factor in easing the strain on family finances in March 2020.
ZG: 7
For many people this is a looming crisis. Mortgage holidays sound like such fun at the beginning but they can cause considerable grief when they come to an end.
Read MoreThe definition of viral shedding was broadened to cover the circumstances in which an individual who has had the disease and recovered can still be shedding viral genetic material (RNA) some weeks afterwards. This is described as long shedding and such a person is a long shedder.
ZG: 5
This did reach mainstream news because of the Australian Open, but it is still more an item of medical jargon than a general term.
Read MoreIn other circumstances this might have been referred to as a field hospital but these pop-ups are being erected in the middle of cities, often in the carpark of the bricks-and-mortar hospital.
ZG: 7
These are appearing with horrible regularity and some of the stories emerging as hospital systems are overwhelmed are sobering in the extreme. Except of course to Trump.
Read MoreBritain launched its vaccine with lots of publicity and the day was called V-day. This resonates with VE day at the end of WWII so it has both gravitas and excitement.
ZG: 5
Unfortunately the excitement of V-day in the UK was overtaken quickly by the gloomy prospect of no Christmas.
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