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Opinion
Coronavirus

2020 Hindsight: The Year in New Lexicon

We’re saying all kinds of silly things now. Steve Burgess takes stock.

Steve Burgess 21 Dec 2020TheTyee.ca

Steve Burgess writes about politics and culture for The Tyee. Find his previous articles here.
Burgess2020.jpg
Columnist Steve Burgess takes on the unpleasant task of reliving 2020. Illustration by Dorothy Woodend.

Most dictionaries agreed that the Word of 2020 was “pandemic.” But the year saw a bumper crop of novel verbiage. Some examples:

Social distancing

What is the typical timeframe between a hit shooting up the charts and the moment when you hope to God never to hear it again? In 2019 it was “Old Town Road.” In 2020 it was, among other phrases, social distancing. Can you believe that 10 months ago you had never heard it before? Can you believe it’s been months since you had “Old Town Road” stuck in your head? You’re welcome.

Contact tracing

Until now, contact tracing referred to a Hallmark movie about a love-struck guy trying to find the girl of his dreams after accidentally knocking her over with his bicycle while she’s wearing a giant beagle costume to promote her non-profit veterinary clinic. The new 2020 meaning doesn’t go nearly as well with popcorn and/or bonbons. However, both meanings may involve snuggling.

Yeet

If you can purchase alcohol without showing identification, you are not permitted to know what this means.

OK Boomer

The appropriate response to someone trying to guess the meaning of “yeet.”

mRNA vaccine

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, so-called “messenger RNA” vaccines, protect the recipient via a different method than previous vaccines. It’s a whole new thing and it’s going to be big! And at least we’re getting something of a medical science education this year.

Maskholes/Covidiots

A person whose brand of Donald Trump-style denial has metastasized into a terminal case of dumb-assery. Also see: anthem singers.

Zoom fatigue

It’s great technology but... and sometimes it can still... don’t agree and... not really Janet’s area of expertise so... one of the big rabbits in Watership Down that... killed while attempting to use a soldering gun. COULD WE HAVE ONE PERSON SPEAKING AT A TIME PLEASE?

Karen

2020 was a bad year for nice people named Karen. “I have been thinking of switching to my middle name, Wai-Yuen,” says Vancouver filmmaker Karen Lam. She blames a Caucasian doctor and a clerical mishap for sticking her with a first name now considered the official brand of nasty white ladies who call the cops when Black people are gardening or having barbecues. “I tag every ‘Karen’ meme with #notallkarens,” she says. “It’s my way of giving back.”

Sure, KAREN.

Transmission rate (Rt)

Angela Merkel described the Rt formula for virus transmission (under one is good, over one is trouble) last April, a time when Donald Trump was tweeting “LIBERATE MINNESOTA.” (Rt by the way should not be confused with RT News, which transmits Russian propaganda bullshit.

Fomites

Surfaces that can carry disease. Most of the references to fomites are about potential coronavirus carriers like doorknobs or SkyTrain poles. But file the term away — in future it will still be useful to describe your bathroom rug or that stuff in the back of the crisper drawer.

Bubble

Previously a sports term that referred to players in danger of being cut, this year it described the world in which players spent three months alternating between hockey (or basketball) and Fortnite.

Doomscrolling

A.k.a. checking Twitter. Sometimes even the kittens don’t help.

PPE

Now a reference to personal protective equipment, it used to refer, more or less, to a mysterious video of Trump in a Russian hotel room. Life was more amusing back then.

QAnon

The magical land of Loony Tinkerbell where all things are possible if you only believe.

Hydroxychloroquine

Scoff all you want, but in clinical trials it killed way fewer people than injecting bleach.

Surge

Circa 2003: a power fluctuation. Circa 2007: George Bush's new Iraq strategy. Circa 2019: a plot synopsis for HBO's Chernobyl. Circa 2020: A daily guaranteed bummer from Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Superspreader

Worst. Marvel. Flick. Ever. [Tyee]

Read more: Coronavirus

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