
super-smeller noun [C]
UK /ˈsuː.pəˌsmeləʳ/ US /ˈsuː.pɚˌsmelɚ/
someone whose sense of smell is so powerful that they can smell things most other people cannot
From petrol and perfume to Parkinson’s disease, super-smellers can detect scents others are oblivious to … One of the most extreme cases of a super-smeller to emerge in recent years is a Scottish woman who noticed a certain “musty smell” on her husband in the years preceding his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease. It was only once she walked into a support group for people living with Parkinson’s that she realised the scent was common among them.
[theguardian.com, 22 January 2022]
tomato flu noun [U]
UK /təˈmɑː.təʊ fluː/ US /təˈmeɪ.t̬oʊ fluː/
an infectious disease found in children that usually causes red blisters to form on the skin
Ever since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, people have been more concerned than ever about potential disease threats. The newest of these is called “tomato flu,” and has affected over 100 children in India, according to a recent correspondence in The Lancet. The authors report that tomato flu, likely a viral disease, was first identified in the Kollam district of Kerala, India on May 6, 2022.
[www.healthline.com, 26 August 2022]
milestone anxiety noun [U]
UK /ˌmaɪl.stəʊn æŋˈzaɪ.ə.ti/ US /ˌmaɪl.stoʊn æŋˈzaɪ.ə.t̬i/
a condition in which someone feels frightened or very worried because they have not achieved the same things in life as other people of the same age
Sometimes it seems like everyone but you is reaching the traditional milestones – getting married, buying a house, having a baby, getting a promotion or starting a new business. The strain of not hitting these landmarks by a certain age can negatively impact wellbeing … Counsellors say that milestone anxiety is increasingly cropping up in therapy sessions, and that family, friends and social media can add to these feelings of inadequacy.
[linkedin.com, 16 September 2022]
Quite interesting new expressions.
I know, Venga!
Some people can also smell cancer or cancerous growths.
[it would be good to have a word for our super perceptions of our external senses – we talk about super-hearing – even in joke – and supertasting/supertasters. And given what Liz and Kate have said about touching]…
I remember when the i wrote about milestone anxiety.
[that LinkedIn blogging service tells rather a lot, doesn’t it?]
As for the tomato flu in Kerala…
I hate milestone anxiety, as I’m feeling it at 44..Super-smeller could have negative connotations ( I’m not a native English speaker but in my mind to smell -can be sth good but also sth bad), I’d rather call them super-noses or super sniffers (though super sniffer is also tricky). As for tomato-flu- my 1st thought was, what the f#ck ,tomatoes can get flu?!
Or you can get flu from tomatoes [and the way that they are prepared – tomatoes are not exactly sterile, you know!].
Supernoses would be a good one.
Being a sniffer [again that applies to canines especially the ones who sniff out drugs] – I can feel the negative connotations too.
Milestone anxiety is not that great, whether you put it on yourself or someone else puts it on you in comparison.