Lockdownversary

The twenty-third of March marks the anniversary of the first UK lockdown, that fateful Monday evening when the PM announced drastic measures to halt the spread of COVID-19. On social media there is talk of a lockdownversary, a portmanteau word which shows how elastic English is. Read More

RNA vaccine and vision board highlight new words for March

One year ago, in March 2020, there was a very clear theme linking many of the new words that were being added to Collins Dictionary. Terms such as social distancing, contact tracing, shutdown order, and… Read More

World Book Day: read up on the language of books

Thursday marks UK World Book Day. Fifteen million UK primary and secondary pupils will receive a £1 voucher to cash in for a book priced by publishers at a nominal £1. The aim is to encourage reading for pleasure. Reading for pleasure is, paradoxically, not pure and simple pleasure. Read More

From sploot to EGOT: discover the latest words added to the Collins Dictionary

Have you ever seen your pet sploot? You may well have done, even if you didn’t know that there was a word for it. This is what an animal does when, instead of tucking its legs neatly under its own body, it lies flat on its… Read More

Spanish word of the week: claro

This week's Spanish word of the week is claro. Claro is a word you’ll very often hear in conversation. The more you use it appropriately in your own conversation, the more natural your Spanish will sound. Read More

9 words to decode Reddit’s GameStop trading lingo

The events surrounding trading in the shares of the American company GameStop have provided us with one of the more intriguing news stories of recent times. The story of a bunch of small investors threatening to bring some of the giants of the financial world to their knees by taking… Read More

9 words to sweep you into the world of Bridgerton

2021 is set to be the renaissance of Regency romance, as Netflix viewers indulge themselves in the delicious escapism of Bridgerton, a period romance with a modern twist. The salacious gossip of the anonymous Lady Whistledown, who has stepped gracefully into the role of a Georgian Gossip Girl, has kept… Read More

TikTok’s Sea Shanties: Explore their vocabulary

Well, blow me down. Improbable as it may seem, there’s no denying that sea shanties are having a very real moment in the spotlight. Near the end of 2020, a video from a young Scottish singer started to do the rounds on the social media platform… Read More

Ten US political terms to baffle Brits

(Updated from 7 US political terms to baffle the Brits, published on 7th November 2020) The United States will inaugurate a new president on January 20th when Joe Biden will be sworn in as the forty-sixth person to hold the office. While observers in Europe… Read More