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This week’s post relates to the language used to describe an activity that gives a great deal of pleasure to people the world over – growing and taking care of plants and flowers, whether outside or in the home.
Continue reading “Green fingers and thumbs (The language of gardening)”
ber month noun [C, usually plural]
UK /ˈbɜː ˌmʌnθ/ US /ˈbɝː ˌmʌnθ/
one of September, October, November or December
The ber months are calling. Whether it’s September’s gentle sun, October’s adventures, November’s tropical retreats or December’s festive warmth, there’s a perfect escape waiting for you. Imagine waking up to golden beaches, exploring vibrant cities or discovering wellness retreats that leave you completely recharged.
[notjusttravel.com, 4 September 2025]
October theory noun [S]
UK /ɒkˈtəʊ.bə ˌθɪə.ri/ US /ɑːkˈtoʊ.bɚ ˌθɪr.i/
the belief that October is a like a second New Year, giving people the chance to set new goals and make important life changes
Many users across the platform have increasingly been posting about the “October theory,” and what that means for the rest of the year. According to Chloe Van Berkel, a content creator on TikTok, October is almost like New Year’s Day. The month kicks off the start of the fourth quarter of the year … a reflective period in which people look back on their year to see what they’ve accomplished.
[independent.co.uk, 3 October 2024]
summerween noun [C or U]
UK /ˌsʌm.ə.ˈwiːn/ US /ˌsʌm.ɚ.ˈwiːn/
a celebration of Halloween held in the summer instead of on 31 October
Summerween is a playful blend of summer vibes and Halloween thrills. Imagine sipping your favorite icy drink while surrounded by spooky skeletons and glowing pumpkins. It’s the best of both worlds! This quirky trend is catching on, giving Halloween enthusiasts an extra reason to celebrate and decorate months in advance.
[parade.com, 14 July 2025]
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by Liz Walter
There are often occasions when we don’t want to do something or when we refuse to do something. There can be many reasons for not doing something, and the language we use to talk about it may depend on them. Today’s post looks at some of the most common ones.
Continue reading “I don’t have the heart for it: not wanting to do things”
lawnmower poetry noun [U]
UK /ˈlɔːnˌməʊ.ə ˌpəʊ.ɪ.tri/ US /ˈlɑːnˌmoʊ.ɚ ˌpoʊ.ə.tri/
a type of poetry that uses the image of the lawnmower and the act of mowing the lawn to explore a variety of themes
British poets including Philip Larkin and Andrew Motion have driven a “lawnmower poetry” microgenre, using the machine to explore childhood, masculinity, violence, addiction, mortality and much more, new research shows. “Lawnmower poetry had its highpoint in the late 20th century but now would be a good moment for a revival,” says the study’s author, Francesca Gardner, from Cambridge’s English Faculty and St Catharine’s College.
[cam.ac.uk, 17 May 2025]
mood reading noun [U]
/ˈmuːd ˌriː.dɪŋ/
a method of choosing books to read based on the way you feel at the time, rather than reading books in a fixed order
I wrote about this recently when talking about tackling my TBR pile, but mood reading has a lot going for it. Only you know what you feel like reading, what aligns with your emotions. Don’t force a book on yourself, pick according to whatever mood you’re in. If that’s classic 80’s horror or a romance novel with werewolves, so be it.
[bookshelfdiscovery.com, 20 July 2025]
booktivist noun [C]
UK /ˈbʊk.tɪ.vɪst/ US /ˈbʊk.tə.vɪst/
a person who uses what they read in books to help them try to bring about political or social change
Guides invent 72 new “empowering” badges that reflect their lives. Among them is a badge called … “booktivist”, a portmanteau of “book” and “activist” that aims to help girls discover what empowers them through reading.
[thetimes.com, 21 July 2025]
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Do you know someone who is ‘good in a crisis’ – someone who stays admirably calm in difficult circumstances when the people around them are too stressed to make good decisions? Perhaps you are good in a crisis. This week, I’m looking at all the words and phrases we use to talk about such people.
Continue reading “Calm and collected (The language of staying calm in a crisis)”
vibe coding noun [U]
UK /ˈvaɪb ˌkəʊ.dɪŋ/ US /ˈvaɪb ˌkoʊ.dɪŋ/
a way of creating computer programs using AI to generate code from prompts, focusing on what the program should do rather than on the details of the code itself
What is vibe coding? A computer scientist explains what it means to have AI write computer code − and what risks that can entail. Now, just as you can ask ChatGPT to spin up a recipe for a favorite dish, you can now ask generative AI tools to write computer code for you. Andrej Karpathy, an OpenAI co-founder who previously led AI efforts at Tesla, recently termed this “vibe coding.”
[theconversation.com, 4 June 2025]
glazing noun [U]
/ˈgleɪ.zɪŋ/
the tendency of AI programs to use excessive praise and flattery towards the user
Everyone’s panicking about AI “glazing.” Even if you’ve never heard the Gen-Z slang, you probably know what I’m talking about—that tendency of ChatGPT to shower you with praise, calling every mediocre idea “brilliant” and every half-baked thought “insightful.”
[jeremyutleydesign.com, 28 July 2025]
AEO noun [U]
UK /ˌeɪ.iːˈəʊ/ US /ˌeɪ.iːˈoʊ/
abbreviation for “answer engine optimization”: a form of SEO that allows AI tools to answer users’ specific questions, instead of simply giving links to websites
AEO is a digital marketing strategy focused on optimizing content to directly answer user queries in search engine results. [It] focuses on answering user questions directly. Rather than simply targeting keywords, AEO targets specific queries. These are often phrased as questions and aim to deliver the most relevant, concise answer possible.
[aioseo.com, 14 August 2025]
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by Liz Walter
We all know that there’s no such thing as a perfect life. Even people who are generally happy and successful will always have some experiences that make them upset or frustrated. Today’s post looks at the language we use when we speak about this.
Continue reading “Taking the rough with the smooth: talking about imperfect situations”
SIM farm noun [C]
UK /ˈsɪm ˌfɑːm/ US /ˈsɪm ˌfɑːrm/
a device that can hold several SIM cards, used by criminals to send very large numbers of texts and calls at the same time, with the aim of defrauding people
The new offence will make the possession or supply of SIM farms without a legitimate reason illegal, shutting down a key route used by criminals to exploit the public, and will carry an unlimited fine in England and Wales and a £5,000 fine in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
[www.gov.uk, 24 April 2025]
scam farm noun [C]
UK /ˈskæm ˌfɑːm/ US /ˈskæm ˌfɑːrm/
an organized network of people who, often against their will, participate in criminal activities that involve defrauding people
Scam farms are organised criminal operations where scams are run at scale, often through call centres or coordinated online activity. But what’s more disturbing is the growing link between scam farms and human trafficking. Some scam farm workers have been lured with fake job offers, only to have their passports taken, their communications monitored, and their lives threatened.
[https://cyberwardens.com.au, 19 July 2025]
FaaS noun [U]
/ˌef.eɪ.eɪˈes/
abbreviation for “farming as a service”: a business model where farmers rent specialized machinery, technology, and services as they need them rather than buying them
FaaS startups are improving agriculture by offering end-to-end solutions for sustainable and tech-driven farming. From precision agriculture to farm electrification, these 10 innovative startups are reshaping food production in 2025.
[startus-insights.com, 1 March 2025]
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This week’s blog post is a companion to one that I published last month on ways of talking about luck. Today’s post focuses on the language of chance – that force that makes things happen without any obvious cause.
Continue reading “Random and fortuitous (Words for talking about chance)”
blobbery noun [C]
UK /ˈblɒb.ᵊr.i/ US /ˈblɑː.bɚ.i/
a garden, or a garden design, where shrubs and bushes have been cut into round shapes and arranged in a way that creates a landscape of blobs
Although the blobbery is a new trend, there is a rich history of incorporating blob-like shapes into topiary. You can create a blobbery with all one plant, or mix up shrubs with different textures and colours – but either way, creating an area of flowing, curved topiary shapes will add year-round structure and interest to any garden.
[countryliving.com, 2 August 2025]
meadowscaping noun [U]
UK /ˈmed.əʊ.ˌskeɪp.ɪŋ/ US /ˈmed.oʊ.ˌskeɪp.ɪŋ/
a trend where carefully maintained lawns and flowerbeds in a garden are replaced with meadows of wild flowers to look more natural and to attract more bees and other insects
If mowing your lawn feels more like a chore than a joy, or you’re craving a backyard that feels more like nature than a golf course, it might be time to consider meadowscaping. This growing gardening trend is about swapping traditional lawns for vibrant wildflower meadows, spaces that are beautiful, low-maintenance, and bursting with life.
[eatliveescape.com, 5 August 2005]
chaos gardening noun [U]
UK /ˈkeɪ.ɒs ˌgɑː.dᵊn.ɪŋ/ US /ˈkeɪ.ɑːs ˌgɑːr.dᵊn.ɪŋ/
a gardening trend where a mix of seeds is sown randomly, resulting in a garden where flowers of many different colours and types grow together with no uniform design
I first heard the term “chaos gardening” on TikTok, where thousands of videos have surfaced depicting backyard gardeners mixing random seeds together in a mason jar, sprinkling them into a garden bed or bare spot of their yard, and essentially hoping for the best.
[veranda.com, 11 June 2025]