Words, Words, Words...

*I like novelty words & I cannot lie

Photo: reading Jane Eyre in a church, credit: David Horgan.

Dear Reader,

hello there. This week I've been thinking about words. Specifically ones that used to be rarely used but that one now hears (perhaps) too much, those words that did exist before but now seemed to have morphed usage-wise, and also some totally new (ish) words.

Generally I love that language is always evolving (hurrah for the Jabberwocky!) - that the lexicon is a mutable, playful entity yet some of these shifts and coinings irritate me deeply, many though I think are really quite charming. So please do tell me your thoughts on the below as well as your most loved or loathed new words.

As always thank you for reading and supporting!

Love,

Emma

x o x o

p.s. this is a literary snack but for something of more substance check out this or this.

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Pivot - once reserved for ballet dancers now all about career, lifestyle, and ambition shifts.

Vex - for me this word is Austen and Brontes all the way, (i.e. ‘you vex me terribly Mr Darcy’ ‘I will tease and vex you to my heart’s content, dear reader’), or at least it was up until about five-ten years ago now it seems to be teenage annoyance all the way.

Salty - in line with ‘vex’ we have ‘salty’. No longer a way to describe chips but a way to describe anger.

Boop- not of Betty fame but that cute noise one makes when you affectionately tap a loved one on the nose with a finger a la Alexia in Schitt’s Creek.

Piece - an extremely useful word that I used to believe belonged in sentences such as ‘would you like a piece of cake?’ or ‘what a lovely piece of music!’ but now which seems to refer to aspects of life, for example - ‘she had sorted out the career and family piece but she was missing out on the spirituality piece’.

Dewy - no longer a poetic word to describe autumnal morning gardens now this is all about desirable skin texture.

Filter- in line with dewy this is no longer for Britta water or swimming pools but to describe cosmetics (that is make-up that makes you appear as if you have a constant social media filter covering your face).

Grimace- no longer an ugly smile but instead a giant purple gay-icon of a McDonalds and (Mets) baseball mascot.

Calm- formerly the state one feels after a yoga class, or on a beach in the Med, now a catch-all ‘fine’ -‘good’ - ‘nice’ - ‘OK’ -type adjective that appears to have replaced the once ubiquitous ‘cool’.

Grammable- I deeply, deeply loathe this one. The idea of going somewhere - a cafe, a city, a country- because it will look appealing on the internet, will impress or indeed make others envious on Instagram is so depressing.

Hold Space - one from the booming world of self-help. What an odd metaphor, or is it personification? Are we holding the atmosphere like we’d hold a dear friend or a small child? Said in yoga classes, by self-labelled ‘healers’, by leaders of women-only empowerment groups, by Gwyneth Paltrow.

Skippity- for me this is my cat whacking me with his paw at unexpected moments. Skippity bap! He goes with his claws in or out depending on mood. But, no, apparently this is a catch-all phrase for starting or ending conversations, for metaphorical, or real, mic drops, for random interjections. It's a satisfying nonsense word. So over and out and skippity to you!

*I left all social media, bar LinkedIn (lol! stayed on that for work purposes), recently and I have consequently experienced a new lease of life. That’s not hyperbole and I know it’s annoying to hear, like, oh I’m so pure and holier than all y’all doom-scrolling** over there and yes I understand it works well for some, especially artists and creatives, (including my husband who is a self-taught artist and who is very successfull over on IG), but as a lay-person leaving these platforms has only made me feel clearer, calmer (as in serene), more energised and thus happier.

**another new-ish word alert!