New Words For 2020

In the real world, word usage is way ahead of the official recognition by Merriam-Webster or any other dictionary.  It’s sort of like the unwritten rules.  You know them, but you can’t find them in print anywhere.

Here are a few that I have discovered around the HMA water-cooler over the past 12 months that can be used in the year ahead:

Inbox Fatigue – what you get when you have too many unread e-mails to review.

Bloggable – a topic worthy of a blog post.

On Brand — anything that supports or correlates to your public image or identity.

Googleitis – asking for too many answers on Google.

% — now acceptable use of the percentage symbol when paired with a numeral in most cases, according to the AP Stylebook.

Mantrum – the childlike rage demonstrated by a grown man when he doesn’t get his way.

Nearfetched – believable; the opposite of farfetched.

Triggered — used to explain that someone has been emotionally hurt and is harkening back to a trauma as a result of somebody saying or doing something.
Xennials — also known as the Oregon Trail Generation; people on the cusp of the Generation X and Millennial demographic, typically born in the late 1970s to early 1980s.

Stan – meaning totally obsessed with. An homage to the song “Stan” by Eminem and not to be confused with my friend Stan “The Man” Hoover.

Ship – not to be confused with the thing in the water; to ship a couple means you totally want them, totally see them as, or love them as a couple.  Also short for “championship.”

New Meanings:

Tailwind — a force that promotes progress.

Goat (G.O.A.T.) – greatest of all-time.

Woke – social awareness.

What else can be added to the list?