1. Blursday
During the unprecedented times of the Coronavirus lockdown, millions of people worldwide were feeling completely cut off from the world, sitting in their pajamas for weeks on end. In a situation like this, when the line between days and weeks is blurred and the entire lockdown seems like a long and boring day, the best way to cope with the situation is humor. Hence, the term 'Blursday' was formed, describing this very state of mind and existence.
2. Rona
Much like the devil, the current pandemic has many names - Covid-19, Corona, and lately, it was shortened to simply 'rona. This makes perfect sense, as the words we use a lot often tend to become shorter, and this is a known linguistic rule. Much like Rona, also known as Miss Rona or Aunt Rona, as it is often diminutively called in informal speech, some of the other objects have got shorter, too. For example, linguists also observed that in Australian English, ‘quarantine’ is often called ‘quaz’ and ‘hand sanitizer’ is known as simply ‘sanny’.
3. Quaranbaking
It isn't clear who started the quaranbaking trend (from quarantine + baking) during lockdown as a means to self-soothe, but the trend caught on so rapidly that it actually caused flour and other baking supply shortages across the United States. In addition to the novel term and a newly-found mass appreciation for baking, all these self-proclaimed pastry chefs also created a new genre of comedy - baking fails - some of which we've proudly featured in the article 17 Cake Fails That Are Guaranteed to Make You Laugh!
4. Doom-scrolling
We've all been there at one point this year, tirelessly searching for news and new developments on the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic across the world and observing the way it has affected societies worldwide with almost obsessive perseverance. In fact, the second wave of the deadly virus spreading across countries like the United States and others have likewise resulted in widespread doom-scrolling, as I'm sure many of you will agree.
5. Quarantini
What do you do when you stay at home for days and have no way to interact with others? For many people, a zoom call with a round of quarantinis - a mix of quarantine and martini, but it can also be any other alcoholic beverage - have been the answer. In fact, these very video chats accompanied by quarantinis and 'loud socializing', let's call it, got their own term, too - 'virtual happy hour'.
6. Spendemic
For others, the coping strategy of choice wasn't quaranbaking or indulging in virtual happy hours. Another common way to distract yourself from the disaster that is 2020 is online shopping, and online retailers have experienced quite a surge of new customers. This phenomenon has received the name spendemic.
7. Dracula cough & sneeze
In order to teach kids how to cough and sneeze properly, teachers and parents have come up with a clever method, and it involves the most famous vampire in the world, count Dracula. Kids have been essentially taught to create coughing pockets by covering their faces with their arm and sneezing into their elbow as if they were Dracula maliciously raising his cape and covering his face.
8. Covidiot
The origin of this slang term actually comes from the Spanish 'covidiota', as many Spanish-speaking countries have been especially heavily affected by virus. According to Babbel, a language learning platform, the terms can be applied “to anyone who isn’t following lockdown rules, such as those who are still meeting friends, having parties, or sharing drinks — and everything else in between.”
9. Coronageddon
It's no secret that for many, the pandemic has been a devastating event, one that threatened their health, left them without a job, or affected their close family and friends. For these people, saying the pandemic was a 'coronageddon' is no exaggeration, even though it's too early to speak of the long-term global effects of the pandemic just yet. For others, though, the pandemic has offered a possibility to bond with their families and rest from work, and those have been referring to the pandemic as 'coronacation'.
10. Covexit
The last word on our list is 'covexit' - a newer word that emerged as different countries have started relaxing lockdown restrictions. The term can be used synonymously to 'a coronavirus exit strategy' and it's often used even in formal language, so don't be surprised if you hear or see it in the news.
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