Archive

‘Fake news’, ‘Insta’ & ‘Unicorn’ – Lucy Mangan’s take on #CollinsWOTY 2017

2nd Nov 2017

Fear not the dull days between All Hallows’ Eve and Guy Fawkes Night! The Collins’ Word of the Year award is here to spice up the festive interregnum! Although, in the interests of full disclosure, I thought it was going to take me most of the interval just to work… Read More

Hot cod! Are you feeling apptimistic or indulging in aquafaba? Lucy Mangan explains.

9th Oct 2017

I came across a new (to me) word myself this week, as I was reading avidly about New York in a bid to stop myself from become wholly consumed with envy of my husband who had managed to need to go there for a week for work. The word is… Read More

Snailing, plandid shots & snark: Exploring the latest word submissions

20th Sep 2017

It’s been a fortnight since we last gathered round this digital fireplace, which means there must be a new political and Instagram term to share – and so there be. In the former slot we have “Moggmentum”, submitted – with enthusiasm, despair, or the simple diligence of… Read More

Youies, bothies, there are many ways to photograph a two-faced cat… Lucy Mangan digs into the latest word submissions

31st Aug 2017

Well, hello and welcome back! I hope we’ve all enjoyed the summer break. The modern world has galloped on apace while we’ve been sunning ourselves in Fuengirola , so let’s catch up ASAP… Contributor runriot informs us that in the world of pixellated pictorial record one can now take a… Read More

‘Jobsborne’, ‘ultracrepidarianism’ & ‘unicorn latte’: Lucy Mangan mulls over your latest word submissions

17th Jul 2017

With DeathKnell’s submission of “flatulate” – to break wind – comes a sudden appreciation of the fact that all our words for farting are supremely well-suited as descriptors of the act. “Flatulate” (and “flatulence”) and “fart” themselves are almost onomatopoeic –… Read More

Do you ‘Jiffle’? – Lucy Mangan ponders your most recent word submissions

26th Jun 2017

It has, I think we can all agree, been a tough few weeks – months – year or two – for all of us. And the contributions to the Collins’ wordstock often reflect that. This week we have griefsploitation from LLKKMM, which is the practice of trying… Read More

Lucy Mangan takes a look at some election buzzwords and their meaning

7th Jun 2017

Every election yields its share of bafflegab – intentionally confusing jargon – along, of course, with all the gab that is not necessarily intended to baffle but somehow manages to do so anyway. This election has been no different. As the nation prepares to… Read More

Lucy Mangan is back and looks at the mystery that is ‘covfefe’

31st May 2017

There is really only one new contribution to our glorious language this week. The word was with Donald Trump and that word was… covfefe. It appeared in a tweet sent from the leader of the free world’s official Twitter account at… Read More

‘Avocado hand’, ‘cromniomancy’ and ‘negaholism’ – Lucy Mangan takes a look at your recent word submissions

16th May 2017

I remember once in the mid-nineties watching an episode of Oprah in which people came on to talk the then nascent mogul through their “bagel injuries”. How could bagels injure you, I wondered. Were they the weapon of choice in America? It seemed unlikely in a country free of gun… Read More