robert groves

‘Eclipse glasses’, ‘net neutrality’, and ‘tankie’: March’s Words in the News

Like February, March is another month with annual events which dominate internet searches. Earlier this month there was a lot of googling of corned beef and Irish soda bread, which shows how seriously we all take St Patrick’s Day. Meanwhile, Budget day ensured that The Budget was high-profile on search… Read More

Everyone’s a little bit Irish: Irish words in the English Language

St Patrick’s Day is here again, and you know what that means. Throughout the United States, people will be dressing in green, pinching those who don’t dress in green (bizarre but true), wearing green plastic derby hats, drinking green beer, and putting on very bad Irish accents. Of course St… Read More

‘Dressgate’, ‘Propose Day’, and ‘Bennettesque’: February’s Words in the News

As if February didn’t have enough to be getting on with. Candlemas and Groundhog Day (in North America at least) start the month with their predictions about the weather. Then there’s Valentine’s Day, which is great if you’ve got a date, and not so great if you don’t. And this… Read More

‘SYRIZA’, ‘#greensurge’, ‘kippers’, and ‘je suis Charlie’: trending words in January

Unfortunately January gave us a tragic start to 2015 with a deplorable terrorist attack on the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The magazine itself was obscure outside of France, but news of the attack generated such widespread sentiment that the hashtag #jesuischarlie immediately took over social media. Read More

‘Black Friday’, ‘Movember’, and ‘Philae’: trending words in November

Unfortunately the most googled word for the month of November has been “Kardashian” (not for the first or last time); but the less said about that the better. November is the beginning of the festive season, so it’s no surprise trending terms included Guy Fawkes Night/Bonfire Night and Black Friday,… Read More

iScotland v the rUK: trending words in September

There’s an elephant in the room, and we all know what it is. Many things happened in September 2014, but the biggest event in the UK has to be the Scottish Independence Referendum, or the “indyref” as it became known on Twitter and beyond. While… Read More

Ice Bucket Challenge and Supermoon – Trending words in August

Let’s be honest. Last month’s top buzzword has been Ice Bucket Challenge. And I don’t have to define it for you, because we’ve all seen more videos of celebs and four-year-olds alike pouring cold water over their heads than we saw of duckface selfies last year. The Ice… Read More

Bedroom tax, reshuffle, and digital make-up – Trending Words in July 2014

The weather isn’t the only thing that’s been heating up this summer. July saw some interesting developments in the world of politics. One term that’s popping up a lot is the so-called “bedroom tax”. This is not an official name. In fact, there is no official name, because… Read More

Slender Man, Spornosexuals, and Smartphones – Trending Words in June 2014

Of course June is mostly about the World Cup. Which, if you’re English, is pretty bad news (but hey, there’s always Wimbledon!). Unfortunately, this month has yielded bad news of a more serious nature. Violence in Iraq has made ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) a household… Read More