Category: Wordability In Brief

Short entries on new words and usages which Wordability has spotted and
enjoyed

Text Neck and a Bowl of Guacamole

Wordability always enjoys seeing a new term sweeping across the internet. However, this is tempered when that term is, frankly, a bit silly.

Yes, technological advances have inevitably produced new ways of behaving and the possibility of new medical conditions. Yes, it is probably true that hunching over a mobile phone while texting can cause problems for your neck.

But Text Neck? This is the new name for this condition and it has received mass coverage in the last couple of days. American doctor Dean Fishman, who dreamed up the term and the definition, has even renamed his entire practice and website after it.

But Wordability’s problem is that the name trivialises a condition which is clearly worth thinking about, because it sounds glib. Frankly, it feels like something dreamed up to get headlines and to give people something to joke about, and means they will remember the name but not really think seriously about what it means.

And my personal problem with it? Every time I hear it, I think of Tex Mex. And then fajitas. And then burritos. And then I wonder whether you can get any chiropractic problems from leaning over a bowl of tortilla chips. Guacamole Neck anyone?

An Indian Summer for Older Ladies

One of the positives of the recent unseasonal heatwave to hit Britain has been the lack of ‘phew what a scorcher’ headlines.

However, the sight of bright blue skies and sandals in October has had Wordability wondering about the phrase Indian Summer.

Technically, this has not been an Indian summer as it has not been preceded by frost, which is apparently the appropriate precursor. Mind you, it has also not been preceded by American Indian raiding parties, which is suggested as one of the many etymologies of the term.

But given that we are now part of Europe, Wordability thinks it may be time to abandon the colonial term and instead adopt the description used by many of our eastern neighbours. In Russia, an autumnal period of heat is a Grandmother’s Summer, and various other translations and arrangements of old ladies and summer dominate many other countries.

Or maybe we should accept that China is the emerging power, and refer to it as “a tiger in the autumn”.

There is another approach. If our weather patterns are really changing, and summer is now coming in April and September, maybe it is time to come up with a new term. Perhaps we could call it summer. And then May to August could just be called the wet and cloudy bit in the middle.

Or failing all of that, what would be a suitable new phrase? Wordability invites you to decide.

Tevez Scores a Language Success

When Carlos Tevez apparently refused to come on for Manchester City in the Champions League this week, it is unlikely that he was thinking much about language, unless of course you count his claim of the whole thing being a misunderstanding.

But unknowingly, the Argentinian striker may have added to the tapestry of the English Language. Within a day, the phrase ‘doing a Tevez’ started to be used, to basically mean to refuse to do your job when politely asked to carry it out.

It’s a bit of a linguistic comedown for the superstar – if you Google “doing a Tevez”, you find a mixture. As well as the references to this week’s events, it seems that doing a Tevez had a previous meaning, referring to a hip-swivelling goal celebration. Amateur players were previously quite proud to do a Tevez if they scored, and many have even put their efforts on YouTube. Not sure how many people will follow suit with the new meaning.

Of course, the delicious irony to all of this is that after five years of playing in England, during which time he has managed to display little mastery of the language, Tevez’s most lasting contribution from his time here might end up being a permanent addition to the vernacular.

Welcome back to Glee

I am not a fan of Glee, which is returning to UK TV screens, but I am amused by the word doing the rounds to describe its fans. Apparently, they are known as Gleeks.

I’m sure there are other TV shows which have spawned unusual words to describe its fans. But instead of making me rush to my TV set, the word Gleek may be setting me off on an alternative quest.

It turns out that Gleek was a popular card game around 400 years ago, where cards were exchanged to try and gain sets. A Gleek was three of a kind, while a mournival was four of a kind. There was a range of other delightful terminology.

It’s a lovely example of a word changing its meaning over a very long period.