Ticket 2 Ride

New words and phrases creep into our vocabulary. There is a cool term for everything. Some of these you’ve heard, others maybe not. A few examples:

• Greedflation – Price increases beyond inflation or the cost of raw goods, blamed on corporate greed. First associated with Covid price hikes.
• Circular fashion – Clothing materials and products are designed to be reused, recycled, or biodegraded at the end of their lifecycle.
• Cancel culture – Public shaming of someone for acts, comments, behavior or other unacceptable actions.
• Denialist – A person who does not acknowledge the truth of a concept or proposition that is supported by the majority of scientific or historical evidence; a denier.
• Nepo baby – A person, particularly in entertainment or other competitive fields, whose career success is perceived to be largely due to having famous or influential parents.
• Crony capitalism – Instead of market competition, individuals with connections to those in political power to gain significant economic benefits, which gives them an unfair advantage over their competitors.
• Kinkeeping – The unrecognized work that is done to keep family members connected. Often one family member who plans, organizes and makes things happen.
• Rage farming – A manipulative tactic where online content creators deliberately elicit outrage from their audience to increase engagement, traffic, and potentially revenue.
• Cakeism – AI says, “the belief or attempt to have it both ways, particularly when the two desired outcomes are mutually exclusive.”
• Forever chemicals – These chemicals are widely used in various products and can contaminate water sources, soil, and even food, making them difficult to avoid. Very stable compounds that don’t break down. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to a range of health issues, including increased cholesterol and liver enzyme levels, reduced vaccine response, and potential links to certain cancers and developmental issues. Bad stuff.
• Microdosing – “Microdosing is the popular trend of taking a small amount of a psychedelic drug — an amount low enough that it doesn’t cause hallucinations. Some people feel like microdosing might boost their mood, focus, and creativity.”
• Beige flag – Quirky, not good or bad behavior. Can be annoying, not a dealbreaker.
• Click-Through-Rate – A metric that measures the percentage of people who click on a link, ad, or call to action after seeing it. We measure everything.
• Sticky – A posting or message that will always stay at the top even if newer posts exist. You were probably thinking something sexual – get your mind out of the gutter!
• Sanctuary city – Jurisdictions that are perceived as limiting cooperation with federal authorities, but policies do not prevent federal immigration authorities from enforcing immigration laws or deporting individuals. Cities that pride themselves on being welcoming.
• Republican Jesus – Worshipping a version of Jesus that embraces greed, hate, denying the needs of others, loves guns, and finds ways to justify cruelty to the less fortunate.
• Polyamorous – A new word for dating around, with each person knowledgeable and agreeable with this open arrangement. Apparently, dating around is a bourgeois term.

Had enough? This is but a sampling of the creation of words infiltrating our language. Finding these words are so much fun, I’ll follow up with more lists. You’re welcome!