So here we are again. Another twelve months have gone by. By the time you read these words, there will be only New Year’s Eve ahead and then we step out of the old year, kicking the dust of it off our feet, and into the next.
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| Lulu in 'festive' mood... |
I confess that 2018 has been a bit of a mixed bag. Ups and downs, but overall the scales tip just to the side of positive, I think. And receiving Christmas cards and messages from people I haven’t perhaps heard from since last Christmas is a useful reminder to be more assiduous about keeping up with old friends.
Although I try not to make resolutions as such, it’s a useful time for reflection and a sense of renewal. I have a lot to be getting on with in 2019, and this year maybe—just maybe—I’ll live up to my own expectations.
Meanwhile, this is the time of year I like to take a quick spin through some of the fascinating new words that have been added to the dictionary over the last twelve months. Here are some of my favourites from the Oxford English Dictionary:
adownrights, is a revival of a word from the late 1100s, when it meant straight down, and can now also be used as a substitute for an expletive.
chode, a male sexual organ which is, ahem, larger in circumference than it is in length.
jamette, comes from the French diametre (diameter) and means someone on the fringes of society or beyond. It is also apparently used in some Caribbean countries to indicate 'a lady of negotiable affections…'
munted is a New Zealand word with two closely related meanings. One is something that is in a disastrous state of repair; broken or ruined. The other is to be drunk.
ojek, meaning a motorbike taxi.
rigwelted, an overturned sheep. A heavily pregnant ewe may roll over and be unable to right herself.
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| A rigwelted sheep...honest! |
satcaster, the actual time it takes a computer to perform a task, from the time the data is fed in to the time a solution is received.
spoggy, is chewing gum, a word used particularly in the Grimsby and Cleethorpes area of the UK.
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| spoggy--banned in Singapore |
ubuntu, a South African word meaning a quality that includes the essential human virtues; compassion and humanity. (Perhaps we could all do with a little of that in the coming year.
As always, I wish you Health, Luck, and Happiness in 2019!
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Trump is spoggy that's rigwelted the entire world. We're munted. I'm hoping for better from 2019. Wishing a great year for you, Zoë!
ReplyDeleteOoh, top marks, EvKa for managing to fit so many of those into one sentence. As for my opinion on Mr Trump, I shall exercise my right to remain silent. I think that's got me into quite enough trouble this year, don't you...?
DeleteCaro here- we use 'munter' as a noun, it applies to a lady who is not particularly attractive. 'Oh you are not going to ask her out are you, she's a right munter.'
ReplyDeleteMaybe there's a NZ beer bottle eyed connection there. If you are munted, you will find a munter attractive. Happy New Year to you Zoe, wishing you a healthy and creative 2019.
Yes, I saw that one, Caro, but I guessed that was the difference between 'munter' and 'munted'. Perhaps wearing a fine set of beer goggles makes Scots laddies view the ladies differently? It must, surely, also apply the other way around, too...
ReplyDelete'Munted' became widely used in New Zealand after the Christchurch earthquakes. It described the condition of Christchurch at that time very accurately.
ReplyDeleteIndeed! When I was writing ABSENCE OF LIGHT, I spent quite a lot of time talking to the Chief Home Office pathologist who was in charge of one of the Disaster Victim Identification teams who went out to New Zealand after the earthquake in 2011 and, of course, I also searched through a huge number of images of the damage to the city and surrounding area. 'Munted' about covers it!
DeleteZoe, I love the list of new words. It’s a kind of cultural report card. Not that I can use the terms in everyday life. But I know “ubuntu” will come in handy when I get to Cape Town in early February. “Up and downs” describes my 2018, too—in spades! The peaks were higher than the valleys were low, so all in all, I am more glad of it than glad to be rid of it. With fingers crossed that 2019 will bring more peaks and fewer valleys to you and to all my MIE friends. And to me, too.
ReplyDeleteI love words of every kind, and new ones especially, Annamaria, although I confess that I thoroughly enjoy going through the Oxbridge English Dictionary from the Radio 4 comedy programme I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. This dictionary gives existing words whole new meanings. Such as 'overrate' (nine) or 'polygamy' (the ancient art of wife-folding) or 'dipthong' (underwear fondue). OK, I'll stop now...
DeleteAnd yes, let's hope for a bright 2019 for all of us.
Ubuntu has also the connotation that we are interconnected - that who I am is influenced by who you are. "I am because we are."
ReplyDeleteHave a healthy, happy and productive year, Zoē. Wishing you all of the best.
Ah, I was unaware of the added subtlety of 'ubuntu', Stan. That makes it an even better word than I first thought.
DeleteThank you for the kind words. The same thoughts to you and yours, also.
Everything about this post is thought provoking, Zoë, adownrights to your decision to position "chode" directly on top of "jamette." Happy New Year, and yes, I resolve to work on my humor in 2019.
ReplyDeleteSorry to miss this response earlier, Jeff. No hidden meanings in the order of the list -- purely alphabetical, sir. (And there, your Honour, I rest the case for the defence...)
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