It’s that time of the year when all the dictionaries start making their pick for “Word of the Year.” And you’d have to imagine they’ll ALL go with something related to the pandemic.
Collins Dictionary is the first to make a Word of the Year pick for 2020, and they chose . . . “lockdown.”
They say the use of the word “lockdown” across websites, books, and news is up 6,000% from last year, which makes a lot of sense.
Some of their runners-up for Word of the Year are: BLM . . . coronavirus . . . furlough . . . self-isolate . . . and social distancing.
But not ALL of their runners-up were serious. One was “Yolt” which is the new yeet. Then there is “Snappin.” Someone “snapping” used to mean they had reached their breaking point and had an emotional outburst (usually anger). These days, however, if someone tells you that you’re snappin’, it’s actually a compliment, meaning that you look really well put together.
I think we all hope 2021 features way fewer lockdowns and way more snappin or yolting.