Although I was unfamiliar with the term, I realised that I was quite familiar with the activity. One early example of a prediction market was the popular pursuit of betting on who would emerge from a papal conclave as the next Pope. That was banned in 1591.
ZG: 8
The surging popularity of this form of gambling has brought it to our attention.
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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.
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It’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.
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The 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.
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The 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.
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We 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.
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In 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.
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New 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.
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Wasian 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.
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Also 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.
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This 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.
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The 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.
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Run 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.
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Each 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.
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This 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.
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I 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.
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Chick-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.
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This 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.
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