words in the news

‘Project Fear’, ‘Feel the Bern’, and ‘Titan Secondaries’: February’s Words in the News

2nd Mar 2016

If I told you about a forthcoming referendum on whether a certain country should remain in a certain political union, and that the campaign to leave this union had branded the campaign to stay in Project Fear, you’d probably assume I was talking about Scotland in 2014. Read More

Gloving, Basic Income, and Lemmium: December’s Words in the News

8th Jan 2016

As we settle back into our routines with fresh faces and Christmas behind us, we’re bringing some great neologisms into 2016 that December gifted to our linguistic stockings. The adjective nonbinary isn’t exactly new, even when referring to gender (where it indicates a person who identifies as neither female nor… Read More

‘Black Friday’, ‘Moon Hitler’ and ‘Cyber Monday’: the Christmas madness begins with November’s words in the news

7th Dec 2015

You know, it seems like the Christmas season starts earlier every year. But I’m not talking about seeing Christmas decorations in a shop in late August (which, by the way, actually happened). I’m referring to the fact that people couldn’t wait until 27 November to start talking about Black Friday. Read More

‘Hoverboards’, ‘pastebin’ and ‘Norwegian option’: October’s Words in the News

13th Nov 2015

October brought us Back to the Future Day. The popular time-travelling film trilogy began (on-screen) when Marty McFly drove a Delorean from 26 October 1985 to 5 November 1955. In the sequel (released in 1990), he and Doc Brown flew the Delorean from what was now the past… Read More

‘Cereal café’, ‘Corbynomics’ and ‘Kill list’: September’s Words in the News

2nd Oct 2015

The start of September looked quite serious, with breaking news of a kill list (a list of high-profile targets) for drone attacks against ISIS. And as the migration crisis continued, August’s “ring of steel” was joined by Fortress Europe, a reference to border closings and other measures to curb immigration… Read More

‘Dismaland’, ‘ring of steel’ and ‘pansexual’: August’s Words in the News

4th Sep 2015

The Summer holidays are over and schools are back in session. For any parents who took their kids to abroad to Paris, Orlando, or California during the past couple months, the Disneyland parks may already seem terrifying beyond belief. The credit card bill certainly will be. But, the elusive artist… Read More

‘Corbynmania’, ‘gig economy’ and ‘Operation Stack’: July’s Words in the News

7th Aug 2015

As a closet prog rock fan, I’m well acquainted with the Peter Gabriel era Genesis song which describes an invasion of Britain by a triffid-esque poisonous plant called the giant hogweed. So it came as a surreal shock when I read that this plant was not only real but had… Read More

‘Greferendum’, ‘paperology’ and ‘leap second’: June’s Words in the News

3rd Jul 2015

In June, Greece was the word. Or more accurately, Grexit was the word. Yes, since the financial crash eight years ago, the spectre of a Greek exit from the Euro has never really gone away. But last month many commentators agreed it loomed larger than ever, when it was announced… Read More

‘Austerity’, ‘Portillo moment’, and ‘1%er’: May’s Words in the News

4th Jun 2015

I expected to have to open this month’s post with confidence and supply (an arrangement in a hung parliament in which the second largest party agrees to support the minority government in budget and confidence votes only). Confidence and supply is the main alternative to a coalition government. It keeps… Read More