New Words

I find it fascinating how the English language is ever evolving. In the last little while we have become familiar with new words and expressions because of the pandemic such as: social distancing; patient zero, and flatten the curve. Without forgetting the term remotely which is the opposite of in-person or face-to-face as workers and students interacted before covid.

            Also, among the words and expressions trending in 2021 there is: second gentleman (the husband of the female Vice President); binge watching (what a lot of isolating and bored people do--watch episodes upon episodes of the same program); using friend and unfriend as verbs contrary to what we learned in school all those years ago; hangray (being angry because of hunger); chillax (chill out and relax); no biggie (not a serious problem); chirpse (flirt).

            And, did you know what podcast meant until it began to be a popular method for anyone so inclined to offer comments on life, politics, etc?

            What about the cloud? It may sound mysterious but it is simply a service offered by tech companies for storing and accessing data on the internet rather than on a computer hard drive.

            What about neurodiversity? It means people being valued for their individual strengths. About time, I say.

            And a term that will surely become ever more in the news: net zero – a balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and removed from the atmosphere. Let’s hope it’s something all nations will continue to strive to achieve.

            But, I hope not everyone is looking to polyamory as a way of life. What is it? (See last week’s blog). It’s the practice of non-monogamy with the consent of one’s spouse. A deliberate excuse for each partner to cheat??