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.
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.
Read MoreThis 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.
Read MoreThis is a TikTok trend which has attracted a number of enthusiastic followers. The idea is that you go for a walk but first you unplug yourself from whatever devices are occupying your time and attention. Remove the earbuds and headphones so that you can observe your surroundings and listen to the sounds made in the environment.
ZG: 5
It is a thing of the moment. Whether it will last is another matter.
Read MoreWay back in the 1950s the protein supplement was introduced into the food market, initially as something to assist the sick and the elderly. But in recent years it has become a fad, an obsession, with some alarming health consequences.
ZG: 5
An item that is popular within a small circle of fitness fanatics.
Read MoreI had to wade through a certain amount of tiger stripe cocktails online in order to find tiger-striping but Google and I got there eventually. This tiger striping is the practice of alternating an alcoholic drink with a non-alcoholic drink.
ZG: 6
There is something quirky about this coinage which means it is likely to catch on.
Read MoreA buccal massage is one in which the therapist attempts to stretch and relax the muscles of the cheek. They do this by inserting their finger into the mouth and lining it up with the thumb on the outside of the cheek. They then begin gently stretching the muscles of the cheek.
Read MoreVanlife is a movement that embraces minimalism and personal freedom and self-development. The corollary is that it opposes consumerism, the economic and political status quo, and the imposition of restrictions on the individual by the government.
ZG: 6
It is one of the surprises of the pandemic that we have discovered so many ways to escape our cities and find a new lifestyle that combines safety with pleasure.
Read MoreAfter the excitement of hydroxychloroquine there were a few drugs that were discovered to be effective in the treatment of the coronavirus. Dexamethasone was one of these.
ZG: 3
This drug got very little fanfare and caused very little controversy, unlike hydroxychloroquine and, more recently, ivermectin.
Read MoreIt has been suggested that ivermectin could be used to treat COVID-19. This is based on a laboratory experiment where it was found that a high concentration of ivermectin killed the coronavirus in monkey cells.
ZG: 5
Most of us had not heard about ivermectin until enthusiasts started spruiking its use as a treatment for COVID-19. With a bit of luck it will recede into the distance again.
Read MoreThe drug tocilizumab was already in use in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In June 2020 an article was published in The Lancet outlining a study which tested its efficacy in the treatment of the coronavirus.
ZG: 4
This drug has figured briefly in our discussions of possible treatments for COVID-19.
Read MoreThis was initially referred to as a public exposure site, but was rapidly shortened to exposure site as we all became familiar with the routines of contact tracing and the lists of sites where people may have been at risk of contracting COVID-19 from an infectious person.
ZG: 8
This term has become a constant throughout the pandemic. It may one day plummet in frequency. Let’s hope so.
Read MoreWhereas quarantine hotels are for those people who need to be in quarantine, mostly international travellers and locals who cannot safely self-isolate at home, the health hotel is for any person in that group who is shown to have COVID-19 or who have symptoms that are regarded as suspicious.
ZG: 5
Fortunately most of us have not experienced these hotels, but the management of quarantine hotels and health hotels remains an issue for us all.
Read MoreAs the vaccination rollout draws closer, Australians are learning that they will need a proof of vaccination certificate on their smartphone or as a hard copy.
ZG: 9
In the months to come this is going to be a big issue. I expect the frequency of this term to rise as we discuss the system, the worth of the certificate, the situations in which it is required.
Read MoreAnother year, another COVID name. This one doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue and I think that in Australia most people would tend to refer to it as the new UK COVID strain.
ZG: 4
We struggled initially with the name COVID-19 but eventually learnt to use it. This one I think will take a little more effort.
Read MoreThe most exciting development in the area of vaccines in the last ten years has been the genetic vaccine, that is, a vaccine that relies on introducing part of the DNA or RNA of a virus into a human cell which then replicates part of the virus protein from the DNA or RNA code, producing an immune response.
ZG: 7
I expect that we will be hearing a lot more about this and that we will all be much more knowledgeable about vaccines than we have been in the past.
Read MoreThere are many versions of the quarantini but the there are some basic ideas which shape the nature of the cocktail which began life as the martini you have in quarantine.
ZG: 6
This is another example of black humour, designed along with the drink to keep our spirits up during The Rona. It will probably fade as the joke wears thin, and definitely fade when the crisis is over.
Read MoreThe Ro is the reproduction number or measure of how infectious a disease is in a population which has no resistance to it, which is why we are just hearing about it now.
ZG: 5
This is a specialist term but it is being used in mainstream communications from specialists so we are becoming more familiar with it.
Read MorePlasma therapy is not new — it has been mostly a medical tool in the world of sports medicine.
ZG: 5
Treatments for COVID-19 are being sought diligently. This is one line of investigation.
Read MoreThis is someone who is prepared to tell you what is really going on with regard to COVID-19. They can see that this whole thing is a hoax although the reasons given for it vary from one truther to another. But the common theme is that the whole crisis is overblown.
ZG: 8
The apparent indestructibility of these feverish imaginings means that, unfortunately, coronavirus truthers are going to be with us for the duration.
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