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.
It seems that young people all go through a stage where they no longer have the family to sustain them but on the other hand they have neither the time nor the skills to cook for themselves. This results in a poor diet.
ZG: 4
The age group for whom this is relevant is certainly quite familiar with it.
Read MoreIt’s been a while since we had a new fashionable diet. This one is a reworking of the Mediterranean diet — lots of veggies and nuts, a bit of fish and poultry all slathered in olive oil.
ZG: 5
I think that this diet is getting some air time at the moment.
Read MoreThe Walama list is the final step in the procedures involved in a Walama List court. This is a sentencing court for adult Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people who have pleaded guilty, agreed to a statement of facts about the case, and consented to having their matter dealt with in the Walama List.
ZG: 2
Hardly known at the moment but we hope that it has a big future.
Read MoreThe formal name for this is gluteal amnesia — which I quite like. The idea of the glutes losing all memory of what they are supposed to do appeals to me.
ZG: 4
In an ageing population, simply standing upright is a matter for concern.
Read MoreWe have come to accept that Australia is not the place for English flora, in particular, the English meadow of herbs and grasses and soft flowers. Buttercups, for instance. Our climate is too harsh and our open spaces tend to fill up with scraggy weeds and parched remnants of plants.
ZG: 3
A word for urban planners and landscapers but interesting that we are still finding new names for new kinds of gardens.
Read MoreIn the row that erupted between Prince Harry and the Chair of a UK charity that he co-founded, he was accused of bullying, and of misogyny AND misogynoir.
ZG: 3
An invented academic word that might be venturing into the mainstream.
An academic word, a feminist’s word, possibly becoming mainstream.
Read MoreNew technologies create new jargons, some of which become mainstream. Now that more of us have solar batteries on the roof, we are learning more about the flow of power to and from the grid.
ZG: 4
Not commonly known at the moment but possibly a word for the future.
Read MoreWasian is a blend of white and Asian. As is often the case with such terms, Wasians themselves are divided over whether the term is a badge of pride or a negative label implying racial ambiguity.
ZG: 6
There seems to be enthusiasm for these labels along with all the other social tags.
Read MoreAlso called AI psychosis, this is not a recognised medical condition and it does not, fortunately, affect the majority of us. It is characterised by an excessive reliance on chatbots leading to paranoia and delusions.
ZG: 7
There is considerable alarm in the community about the reach of AI into all our lives.
Read MoreThis appeared as an acronym standing for ‘Trump Always Chickens Out’ in a piece in the British Financial Times in May 2025 by journalist Robert Armstrong who argued that as soon as the American market experienced distress, Trump dropped the policy that was causing the pain.
ZG: 6
This will probably have a short life but at the moment it is a significant word.
Read MoreThe idea for this practice, called Lüften in German, is that once or twice a day you should open the doors and windows for five minutes to let the stale air out and the fresh air in.
ZG: 4
A trend in America which may or may not take off in Australia. Fresh air used to be easy to acquire but in the days of sealed houses and with the threat of mould we may need to take drastic action to get it.
Read MoreRun Nation has picked up an element of Rugby League to feature it as a sport in its own right.
ZG: 4
This unlikely sport has been gathering a bit of a following.
Read MoreEach new Olympics brings a new sport to our attention. This time it is skimo, the name being an abbreviation of ski mountaineering.
ZG: 3
Not even the Olympics was enough to give this sport much attention.
Read MoreThis is a translation of the Japanese nureochiba, literally, ‘wet fallen leaf’, a term used by Japanese women to denigrate their retired husbands who, suddenly stuck at home with no occupation and no friends, seem to be like a wet leaf stuck to the wife’s shoe.
ZG: 3
An interesting and vivid expression English has borrowed.
Not a common term but a bit of vivid imagery.
Read MoreI don’t know if you, like me, were puzzled by the comment made by U.S. Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth in explaining — justifying? — the snatching of Nicolás Maduro. ‘He effed around and he found out’.
ZG: 6
The phrase is probably more common in America than it is in Australia but FAFO parenting is trending.
Read MoreChick-lit we know. Bridget Jones’ Diary, published in 1996, was one of the first. Australian Indigenous author, Anita Heiss, decided to make use of the popular genre to introduce mainstream Australia to Indigenous culture and history. It was to be chick-lit with a purpose.
ZG: 5
The enthusiasm for creating various different lits has not slackened. This one should be popular this year.
Read MoreThis term originated in the world of hacking where attempts are made to discover a password. The hybrid attack combines two strategies.
ZG: 4
Not a common term yet but one we will encounter more frequently.
Read MoreI first talked about grief technology in May 2023 and then, more specifically, about a deadbot in July 2024, commenting that deadbot did not seem to be an appealing name. It seems that work on this AI front has progressed and we now have the grief bot.
ZG: 6
The emotional attachment to chatbots is causing alarm.
Read MoreA virtual power plant (or VPP which I am sure will become the standard name) is an amalgamation of all the small energy supplies from individual rooftop solar into one large reservoir of energy, a single power plant, which can be better managed in terms of its relationship to the grid.
ZG: 8
This is a concept with which we will all become very familiar in the not-too-distant future.
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