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.
In 2015 Bill Gates gave a TED talk in which he argued that the war we had to fear in the future was the one waged on us by some microbe for which we were utterly unprepared. He proposed that we should be conducting germ war games in which we improved our approach to such an attack.
ZG: 6
We have to get out of the woods with the real thing before we start playing pretend games with germs. Perhaps we will remember and be more attentive in the future.
Read MoreThis is an anti-malarial drug, used for over 50 years in treating malaria. It was suggested that it might be effective in fighting the COVID-19 virus, a suggestion enthusiastically taken up by Donald Trump but less enthusiastically by his medical advisors who pointed out that there was no research to prove the case one way or the other.
ZG: 6
I thought this one would come and go quickly but it lingers on. Every now and then Trump makes some new pronouncement on it that brings it into the media again.
Read MoreThis is a protected area within which people can travel, either from one country to another or within a small group of countries which are thought to have controlled the COVID-19 outbreak.
ZG: 8
More of these will appear and will be warmly welcomed. The risk is always of course that the virus will reappear in which case the bubble will burst.
Read MoreThese are painful lesions on the toes which appear to be a symptom of the coronavirus. They range in colour from red to purple and are accompanied by a tingling, burning feeling.
ZG: 5
There are a number of secondary effects of COVID-19 which are being reported. These are reminiscent of chilblains and just as uncomfortable, I suspect.
Read MoreContact tracing for people who test positive to SARS-COV-2 involves stepping back through a network of people to find the original source of the disease. All pathways lead to this person who is patient zero.
ZG: 7
With the possibility of clusters of infected people occurring as we ease up on restrictions, the search for patient zero in each case will become increasingly important.
Read MoreThe idea of the pandemic drone is not to pick out an individual but to detect a pattern within a city. Detecting a cluster of such cases can help in the fight to keep the virus at bay when some of the constraints on society are relaxed.
ZG: 4
Another one of the hi-tech solutions to our COVID-19 problem, but not one that seems to be much in use as yet.
Read MoreIn the absence of any vaccine or treatment, being able to identify outbreaks of the disease and act quickly to prevent further spread is the best defence we have.
ZG: 7
We are going to need this in place very soon so there will be a lot more discussion about how it works and what kind of results it give us.
Read MoreThis is the habit, newly acquired for some as a result of the coronavirus lockdown, of snacking at fairly regular intervals during the day, possibly to relieve stress or boredom.
ZG: 4
While we are all aware of the increased snacking that is going on and the tendency to fatten the curve (of our stomachs), we probably think that we have more to worry about than the disapproval of dieticians.
Read MoreThis is the common short version of human challenge trial which could be the shortcut to testing a possible vaccine for SARS-COV-2.
ZG: 6
How to prove that a vaccine works is a bit of a problem. We are just reaching the point of human testing with a few vaccines so this is increasingly relevant.
Read MoreThis word dates back to a book with the title The Climate Diet: How You Can Cut Carbon, Cut Costs, and Save the Planet, written by Johnathan Henry Harrington and published in 2008. So the idea has been around for over a decade but it seems to have gained currency in the last six months or so.
ZG: 6
There is much speculation that as we emerge from COVID restrictions we may shape our world a little differently. Making our diet climate-friendly may be a one of the adjustments we could include.
Read MoreOne possibility for a safe return to work is to have an antibody test to confirm that someone has had asymptomatic coronavirus and is now immune to the COVID-19.
ZG: 7
It is hard to tell at this stage whether this will become a reality in relation to COVID-19.
Read MoreThis is a term used by spy agencies to describe the process in which politicians jump to a conclusion that they want and then ask the agencies to find the evidence for it.
ZG: 2 or 8
I give it 2 for low frequency, but it really ought to be 8 because it is something we should all watch out for, in our own and our government’s approach to life.
Read MoreThis is a synthetic fuel made by splitting water molecules and adding CO2 to the hydrogen using renewable energy. The process actually pulls carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
ZG: 5
This is still in development but if it works and allows us to fly around the world again without feeling guilty about what we are doing to the environment, then it may very well become a term that we all know.
Read MoreThis belongs in a set of types of virus transmission which usually balances the giver to the receiver, as in person-to-person transmission.
ZG: 7
The fear of community transmission is going to be with us for some time. This is medical jargon but we are learning a lot of that these days.
Read MoreZoom is an app that facilitates online meetings, chats and group messaging. It was popular in the business and education world, but now that we are all living virtual lives, Zoom has become a popular app for any kind of virtual engagement with other people.
ZG: 6
While it is true that we are becoming much more familiar with ways of connecting online than we had ever thought possible, it is also true that, when this is over, we will want to meet in person more than ever.
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.
Read MoreA phobia is a fear that is so irrational or so extreme as to impair our ability to function in a sane and sensible fashion. It is reasonable to be anxious about coronavirus but it is not good when that anxiety becomes extreme.
ZG: 7
Let’s hope that we manage to keep on top of this as we are managing to keep on top of the virus itself. The word, in that case, should have diminishing currency.
Read MoreIt seems that we have reached such a degree of familiarity with the coronavirus that we can shorten it to just corona, as to catch corona. It has been further shortened to rona or the rona.
ZG: 9
It seems that the subtleties of coronavirus any of various viruses of this type, SARS-CoV-2. for the specific coronavirus that we are dealing with now, and COVID-19 for the disease caused by SARS-COV-2, is beyond us. Corona will do.
Read MoreThe bin outing is dress-ups combined with putting out the garbage bins so that the adults in the house can turn a mundane chore into an opportunity to make a splash.
ZG: 7
The bin outing is simple but humorous and can be broadcast online. It seems to be Australia’s contribution to the world of conrona entertainment and community encouragement.
Read MoreThis was originally described by Josh Frydenberg as the cryogenic freezing of the economy but was changed, as discussions went on, to economic hibernation. Perhaps cryogenic freezing sounded a bit scary and was harder to imagine in terms of the economy.
ZG: 9
How economic hibernation plays out in Australia is going to be the subject for discussion for some time to come. Obviously we have done the employer/employee relationship up to a point, but the landlord/tenant one is still difficult.
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