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.
This was originally an American sports expression used in football and meaning that a team filled a particular area of the field with players, either to draw the opposition into that zone and leave other areas open, or to defend with numbers.
ZG: 7
With an election coming we are on the alert for Tumpisms in speech and behaviour. This is one that has high frequency at the moment although the caravan may move on.
Read MoreThis is a rare neurological condition which remains a mystery to medical practitioners. The symptoms are visual disturbance often accompanied by brain fog and tinnitus.
ZG: 3
The sufferers are acutely aware of this name that has been recognised for their condition but it belongs to a niche area of medicine.
Read MoreAt the moment a search on green fairy in Australia is more likely to bring up absinthe than cannabis. The green fairies seem to be an NZ thing. They are people who grow cannabis for medicinal purposes and supply clients who are frustrated in attempting to access it legally.
ZG: 4
A New Zealandism which will very probably spread to Australia.
Read MoreThis stands for extreme ultraviolet. EUV lithography is the holy grail of chip manufacturing, allowing for the use of light, initially at 13.5 nm, in the writing of the circuits.
Read MoreAre we finally getting a reaction to the excesses of bling. This new fashion emphasises taste and style. There is no flaunting of material wealth, no vulgar desire to impress by a demonstration of riches, but an elegance which shows cultivation and discernment.
Read Morehushed hybrid
A hybrid office was a post-COVID office where employers and employees had reached a compromise. The employees could stay at home two or three days a week but on the other days everyone had to be in the office. This seemed to get the best of both worlds.
Read MoreNot yet an official sport, it is nevertheless one that is gaining in popularity. It achieved prominence with a successful attempt to set a Guinness World Record for running 100 metres on all fours.
ZG: 4
It is not yet mainstream but could become so very quickly. I think I still prefer hobbyhorsing.
Read MoreCoffee badging involves turning up at work and being registered on the company’s surveillance system as in the office (as by swiping a badge). Usually the employee stays for a little while — long enough to have a cup of coffee.
ZG: 5
Not everyone one is having this struggle with their employer but for those that are having it coffee badging is a strategy to employ.
Read MoreAn ad in the middle of the tennis caught my attention. It was for a gut medication that claimed some enormous number of CFUs — which I found were colony-forming units. Our current preoccupation with the gut has led to more medications, more science jargon.
ZG: 4
It’s medical jargon at the moment but, with the interest in gut pills, will probably become mainstream.
Read MoreIf you are attaching some solar panels to a building that is fundamentally poorly designed for its environment, and you are doing this more to impress people with your zeal for saving the environment than to actually save power, then this technological gadgetry can be described as eco bling.
Read MoreMy spellchecker objected to broscience (keeps insisting on bioscience) and it would not be alone in doing this. Broscience is a mildly derogatory word for the advice that men in the bodybuilding world hand out to each other, based on their own experience.
Read MoreThe shadow fleet, also known as the dark fleet, came up in connection with an oil tanker (a shadow ship) that was drifting in the Baltic Sea, causing some concern as to what might happen to its cargo.
Read MoreA ghost gun is a homemade gun which is therefore without a serial number and cannot be traced.
Read MoreDonald Trump has made the news in many ways this week but one surprising item was the launch of the $TRUMP meme coin to mark his inauguration.
Read MoreThis was the term coined in 2002 but it seems to have been joined by conspiritualism which allows for a conspiritualist. For some time now we have seen the rise of those who eschew mainstream and traditional religions in favour of a generalised belief in some power out there that looks over our lives.
ZG: 6
This is a disturbing trend.
Read MoreThis is a strategy in politics where people who object to a policy are first of all held to account for their bad behaviour and lack of courtesy.
ZG: 3
The behaviour and reaction may catch everyone’s attention although the term for it is not well known.
Read MoreTo eat something up is to do it easily and well. In the context of fashion that means pulling off a good look with amazing clothes and fabulous makeup.
ZG: 7
The older generation may not know it but the young ones do.
Read MoreThe term sanewashing was coined in 2007 by an American academic, Dale Carrico. But it was a word that was desperately needed this year in which Trump won the Presidency and so increased markedly in frequency.
ZG: 4
Not a common word — yet!
Read MoreWhen the Penrith Beach was first opened in 2023 there were many who were doubtful that it would be popular.
ZG: 7
Probably this has even greater currency out west but it has been accepted and added to the list of joke Australian placenames.
Read MoreA grainy low-resolution image implies that the content of the message — the joke in the meme is more important than the artwork. It is the visual equivalent of swift repartee in speech.
ZG: 7
This could be something we encounter more often in an election year.
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