New words — Sue Butler — Lexicographer at large

Lexicographer at large

New Words

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.

AI hallucination

AI hallucination

There’s always something to spoil perfection. Just as we discover this wonderful new toy, generative AI, that will create texts for us while we go off and have a cup of tea, we find that it is capable of making mistakes, and of presenting those mistakes in its generated texts with all the plausibility of Donald Trump making election promises.

ZG: 6

This is an interesting one because we should all be aware of the danger that hallucinations present in AI-generated text, but I suspect we are not taking it as seriously as we should.

Sue ButlerJanuary 22, 2024Comment

personality hire

personality hire

This is the person employed because they have charisma rather than technical know-how. A capacity to establish rapport with colleagues and make everyone happy will be increasingly important.

ZG: 5

This is a term that is popular in business jargon at the moment. It will probably endure as the workplace character and culture changes.

Sue ButlerJanuary 15, 2024Comment

just-in-case

just-in-case

This is the opposite of just-in-time. They are both systems for managing inventory for production. Just-in-time (JIT) supplies materials more or less just as they are needed whereas just-in-case (JIC) secures materials ahead of time to make sure that they are available when they are needed.

ZG: 5

Very much a jargon word of particular businesses but part of the current preoccupation with supply lines and production.

Sue ButlerDecember 25, 2023Comment

delulu

delulu

This is short for delusional and become a smear word ten years ago in K-Pop for obsessive fans who really thought that their idol would fall in love with them and marry them.

ZG: 8

A colloquialism that has taken off.

Sue ButlerDecember 25, 2023Comment

shadow work

shadow work

Carl Jung expounded on the idea of the shadow self, a term he coined for the parts of the self that are hidden in our consciousness. We all present an image of ourselves to the world that is as we want ourselves to be, but buried in our unconscious mind are other aspects of ourselves that are equally potent but not to our liking.

ZG: 6

A jargon word of the wellness business. You are either wholeheartedly into shadow work or you have never heard of it.

HealthSue ButlerDecember 25, 2023Comment

friendshoring

friendshoring

First we had offshoring, the movement of production of goods out of the country of origin to other countries where the cost of production is lower and the workers are less empowered. Now we have friendshoring.

ZG: 6

A jargon word of politics and business but much in use at the moment.

PoliticsSue ButlerDecember 25, 2023Comment

UCC

UCC

A UCC (Urgent Care Clinic) deals with illnesses, medical conditions and accidents that are not life-threatening and do not require an ambulance to take the patient directly to hospital, but are serious enough to require immediate attention.

ZG: 7

Government advertising is slowly spreading the word about UCCs so in time we should all be familiar with them.

MedicineSue ButlerDecember 19, 2023Comment

ladder up

ladder up

This phrase has been part of the jargon of finance and business for a while now but I think it is emerging into broader contexts.

ZG: 5

Still a jargon word for the knowledgeable with overtones of business and marketing expertise.

Business, EducationSue ButlerDecember 18, 2023Comment

crash blossom

crash blossom

People have been commenting on amusingly ambiguous headlines for many a decade so I am not sure why one particular example has given the class of such ambiguities a name.

ZG: 5

This is probably one for the wordlovers and language commentators.

Arts LItSue ButlerDecember 16, 2023Comment

snail mucin

snail mucin

This is of course the slime which a snail secretes to smooth its path over rough terrain, but if you walk into a chemist’s shop and ask for snail mucin you will be shown a bottle of a beauty treatment from South Korea.

ZG: 5

I’m not sure that snail mucin is everyone’s cup of tea but for those devoted to beauty treatments it is a must.

HealthSue ButlerDecember 16, 2023Comment

step change

step change

A step change is a sudden positive change in outcomes for a business or organisation, or a sudden improvement in the way an individual behaves. In business it is a radical change in strategy or operations and it is probably in business and marketing and planning that this term is mostly used.

ZG: 6

Trendy for those who want to sound professional.

BusinessSue ButlerDecember 11, 2023Comment

not my circus, not my monkeys

not my circus, not my monkeys

This is a dismissive phrase roughly equivalent to ‘not my problem’. The speaker says that the situation, whatever it is, is not their responsibility.

ZG: 6

I think this amusing expression is picking up in frequency.

ColloquialSue ButlerDecember 4, 2023Comment

unalive

unalive

Sometimes in the online world there are sites which will ban any texts that use the words kill or suicide. If you want to discuss topics that relate to killing or suicide you need to avoid the actual words and substitute a euphemism. Unalive has come to fill this role.

ZG: 6

It is in the expanding chat on social media that this code becomes relevant. See algospeak.

Colloquial, InternetSue ButlerDecember 4, 2023Comment

Bazball

Bazball

Bazball was on show for most Australians this year in the Ashes test series. It was not what people were used to in test cricket where the rule was to play conservatively and protect your wicket. Test cricket was very different from one-day cricket and T20 where the batter aggressively attempted to score from every ball if possible.

ZG: 10 for cricket enthusiasts

And probably zero for the rest of the community. Who knows how long Bazball will be around?

SportSue ButlerDecember 4, 2023Comment

algospeak

algospeak

As an editor for Macquarie Dictionary, I see myself as an unusual example of the people who do need to deal with subjects online and in social media that the rest of the world would regard as taboo or offensive.

ZG: 5

An editor’s needs are niche but this affects many discussions on social media.

Sue ButlerDecember 4, 2023Comment

Gravy Day

Gravy Day

In 1996 Paul Kelly wrote a ballad which he called How to Make Gravy. The song is about a man in prison writing to his brother and thinking about Xmas coming up.

ZG: 7

For many people Paul Kelly’s songs have been the background to our lives for some time now, so this one is probably well known.

Arts LIt, SocietySue ButlerDecember 4, 2023Comment

hostile architecture

hostile architecture

Have you tried to find a place to sit down in a public space and noticed that the benches are all curved, have arm rests at regular interval, the seat dips in a peculiar way that is rather uncomfortable?

ZG: 3

This is a jargon word of architects and bureaucrats and local councils.

SocietySue ButlerDecember 4, 2023Comment

fried rice syndrome

fried rice syndrome

There have been so many cases of food poisoning from fried rice that the dish has given its name to the botulism acquired from incorrect storage of cooked rice.

ZG: 4

Most of us have other ways of describing this condition.

MedicineSue ButlerNovember 27, 2023Comment

tick-a-box Aboriginal

tick-a-box Aboriginal

This is a term used as a put-down for someone who fulfils a technical requirement to claim Aboriginality without any authentic engagement with Aboriginal culture. Other terms are JCL (Johnny Come Lately) and DNA Aboriginal.

ZG: 2

Even in the Indigenous community I think this expression is confined to those who are more politically engaged.

Colloquial, Politics, SocietySue ButlerNovember 27, 2023Comment

FIGG

FIGG

Thank goodness for acronyms. The long name is forensic investigative genetic genealogy, a huge mouthful. This is a comparatively new tool (developed in 2018) for solving crimes such as homicide or sexual assault, or for finding missing persons.

ScienceSue ButlerNovember 27, 2023Comment