Now, all those words to describe the chaos of these Covid-19 times might actually become official.Every year, Macquarie Dictionary graces us with a list of new Aussie slang with words short-listed to make it into its publication. This year, the Australian dictionary is asking your to vote before their own experts make a choice on “Word Of The Year”.“Here is the final shortlist for the Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year for 2021,” they wrote in a Twitter post. “This year, we’re keeping our choice of Word of the Year close to our chest until you have decided the People’s Choice. #WordoftheYear Make your vote count!”The list is riddled with words that describe the experiences, effects and boredom activities that a pandemic thrust upon us. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t know half of what I said in my opening paragraph though, I’ll admit I’ve really only ever heard of menty-b (aka, a cute and fun way to talk about that mental breakdown we’ve all had at least once in the last few years).This might be the first time I’ve heard the term “brain tickler” (which means those super fun Covid-19 test swabs they stick up your snoz), but I’ve definitely described the feeling of getting one that exact same way.I’m also very willing to introduce “front stab” into my vocab, which means “to betray (someone) openly”. Why keep it a secret, especially after the ridiculous amount of reality shows we’ve all been numbing our lockdown brains with prove that you’ll always be found out in the end anyway.While I DID experience a “porch pirate” (that is, someone stole the parcel I’d ordered myself in lockdown that got left out the front of my house), I simply did not have this perfect phrase to describe them. I almost hope it happens again, just so I can use it.Other short-listed words and terms include:Sober curious — being interesting in reducing or giving up alcohol consumption (aka me after every night out now that lockdown made my tolerance so low).Hate follow — when you follow someone who’s views you hate on social media, so does what it says on the tin, really.Dump cake — apparently this is when you throw all the cake ingredients directly into the tin. Is this actually a thing we can do now? Because it kind of appeals to my inner lazy chef.Humane washing — misleading marketing to make you think animal products were sourced humanely.Last chance tourism — another sad one (sorry) meaning travelling to a place where it might be your last chance to see an endangered species or geological features.Strollout — in reference to Australia’s poor effort around the vaccine and credited to Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus when she tweeted: “We don’t have a vaccine rollout, we have a vaccine strollout”.You can check out the full list and vote over on their website. Not to colour your opinion (but also, do as I say) but Covid-19 inspired “doomscrolling” won last year, so it’s only right we have justice for menty-b this year.
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