Defining the year? Words heard in 2018

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Accidial When your partner calls you from the pub without intending to. Can end in divorce apparently

Bingeable Content so toothsome you want to consume it all in one sitting

Contenvy Any new stuff you come across especially from a rival that you wish you’d thought of first

Data lake Raw liquid data, dark and unstructured and unfathomable

Ethereum A brand of crypto-currency distributed by blockchain

Fake reviews All those 5 Star hotel and restaurant reviews you see online

Gammon An angry, right-leaning reactionary male, usually middle aged

H Haptics Communication via touch – how my Apple watch reminds me to stand up

Incel Someone who wants to initiate a sexual/romantic relationship but is unable to

Jugaad Resourceful innovation usually done by winging it in challenging conditions with the help of Blue Tack and Meccano

Kombucha Fermented tea for digestive health. ‘It’s tea, Jim but not as we know it.’

Latinx or Latinxs Gender neutral Latino or Latina

Mansplaining Condescending and often unsolicited male explanation mode

Nomophobia The mortal dread of being without your mobile or being temporarily unable to operate it

Overshare Tendency to reveal excessive personal detail in social media: warts and all.

Pivot How to make a U-turn sound strategically clever

Quidnunc The Office gossip with a college degree

Rando Unknown person, suspicious and engaging in socially dodgy behaviour

Single-Use The Blue Planet’s big plastic villain

T Transitional Outerwear Your new Autumn coat

Unicorn Startup company valued at $1 billion. Statistically rare but there are already 130 or more in China

Vuca The Spirit of the age: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous

Wordies People who love words – Are Susie Dent  and Gyles Brandreth Rowdies and weirdos? (Anagram)

X XED Cross elasticity of demand. The joys of economics. Wired headphones sales decline because the iPhone no longer has an audio jack but sales of audio jack adapters grow strongly as a consequence

Youthquake Ohhhhh, Jeremy Corbyn! Demographic morphology

Zuke Zucchini or courgette with attitude and an Instagram page

 

 

 

A Small Neological Diversion

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Language is constantly evolving, and new words are the flotsam and jetsam on the oceans of social and technological trends.

But totally new words are rare because we like to use old ones – wholly or in part – to make the strange seem a little more familiar. This was especially true of 2018 – a vintage year for new and new-old words.

But how many of these words on the poster below do you really know?* and what others should be on the list? – it would be great to hear your nominations….

Paul and The Walton Street Band

*For those looking for answers, visit http://www.strategic-leaps.com on Christmas Eve when we’ll post a few answers