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.
Vanlife 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 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 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 MoreWe have come a long way in our understanding of the gamut of human sexuality. The latest in this series is the demisexual, a person who experiences a sexual attraction only towards a person with whom they have established a strong bond.
ZG: 5
This is a term that would still need explanation every time you used it. It is unfortunately misleading because an intuitive analysis would give you ‘half sexual’, which is not what it is at all.
Read MoreWhy a woman would want to go back to the lifestyle and culture of 1950s Australia I do not know. But apparently some women do.
ZG: 5
A movement that has not gained huge traction with the community yet. Let’s hope it stays on the margins.
Read MoreThe Ro is the reproduction number or measure of how infectious a disease is in a population which has no resistance to it, which is why we are just hearing about it now.
ZG: 5
This is a specialist term but it is being used in mainstream communications from specialists so we are becoming more familiar with it.
Read MoreThis is someone who is prepared to tell you what is really going on with regard to COVID-19. They can see that this whole thing is a hoax although the reasons given for it vary from one truther to another. But the common theme is that the whole crisis is overblown.
ZG: 8
The apparent indestructibility of these feverish imaginings means that, unfortunately, coronavirus truthers are going to be with us for the duration.
Read MoreA phobia is a fear that is so irrational or so extreme as to impair our ability to function in a sane and sensible fashion. It is reasonable to be anxious about coronavirus but it is not good when that anxiety becomes extreme.
ZG: 7
Let’s hope that we manage to keep on top of this as we are managing to keep on top of the virus itself. The word, in that case, should have diminishing currency.
Read MoreThe bin outing is dress-ups combined with putting out the garbage bins so that the adults in the house can turn a mundane chore into an opportunity to make a splash.
ZG: 7
The bin outing is simple but humorous and can be broadcast online. It seems to be Australia’s contribution to the world of conrona entertainment and community encouragement.
Read MoreThis was originally described by Josh Frydenberg as the cryogenic freezing of the economy but was changed, as discussions went on, to economic hibernation. Perhaps cryogenic freezing sounded a bit scary and was harder to imagine in terms of the economy.
ZG: 9
How economic hibernation plays out in Australia is going to be the subject for discussion for some time to come. Obviously we have done the employer/employee relationship up to a point, but the landlord/tenant one is still difficult.
Read MoreLinked to the coronacation is the corona escape. This is when the whole family packs up and heads off to some isolated retreat in the country for an indefinite period to escape the dangers of COVID-19 in the urban environment.
ZG: 7
The time for this is well and truly over but briefly it seemed like a tempting daydream.
Read MoreThis is an enforced holiday brought about by the circumstances around COVID-19. The word is a blend of coronavirus and vacation, combined in a way that is similar to staycation.
ZG: 7
This is a word we will probably choose to remember, even when the need for it has passed, as one that is indicative of the times.
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 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 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.
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