The words of 2020
2020 was not a vintage year. You were more likely to finish Netflix than see your grandparents. However, it did inspire a few new additions to the English language.
A note on these words: they are either portmanteaus (a mixture of two words), words that have been around for a while and have found new meaning or words with added prefixes to change their meaning somewhat.
Covidiot
We can thank portmanteaus for providing the English language with many annoying words such as brunch, chillax and Brexit. It’s latest gift was a mixture of covid-19 and idiot that perfectly sums up those peculiar people who feel that the virus is some made-up idea by the mainstream media in collaboration with Bill Gates and George Soros to keep us all in our homes while mutant lizards take over the world. Or something.
Karen
Having known several Karens who do not fit the definition, I was loath to include this but it has featured far too heavily in the media to be left out. A karen is someone who behaves obnoxiously and acts as if the world owes her a favour. The word became popular when Amy Cooper threatened to call the police to attend to a black man who had told her that her dog had to be on a lead in Central Park. He…