nanogardening noun [U]
UK /ˈnæn.əʊ.ˌgɑː.dᵊn.ɪŋ/ US /ˈnæn.oʊ.ˌgɑːr.dᵊn.ɪŋ/
small-scale gardening, for example growing plants on a balcony or patio

Nanogardening: have you heard of it? It’s what many new to the hobby of gardening are engaging in these days. Gardening, but on a micro-scale. For those with only very small spaces, such as a balcony or kitchen countertop, in which to grow plants, nanogardening offers an accessible and relevant starting place for their enthusiasm for plant keeping.
[www.gardencentermag.com, 9 August 2018]

turf art noun [U]
UK /tɜːf.ˈɑːt/ US /tɝːf.ˈɑːrt/
a lawn or other large area of grass that has had a pattern or image of something mown into it

‘Turf art’, as the gardeners at Wisley call it, has been decorating the lawns there for the past six years, and it still remains today one of the only locations to practise such a skill. ‘The garden team started off by doing patterns in the lawns with our Honda rotary mowers instead of traditional straight lines,’ explains Welsey Olliffe, garden manager.
[www.telegraph.co.uk, 29 July 2018]

bee brick noun [C]
/ˈbiː.brɪk/
a brick, similar in size and shape to a house brick, with holes in it to allow bees to nest

‘Each bee brick contains cavities for solitary bees to lay their eggs,’ Waitrose Garden explains. ‘Each cavity is moulded part way into the brick ensuring bees cannot enter the building. Bees lay their eggs inside the holes and seal the entrance with mud or chewed up vegetation. The offspring emerge the following spring and begin the cycle again.’
[www.countryliving.com, 9 January 2019]

About new words

waste bread noun [U]
/weɪst.ˈbred/
bread that is made partly with crumbs from leftover bread

On Thursday the first 100 loaves of “waste bread” …  will go on sale in 10 selected branches of Gail’s Bakery … Roughly one-third of each baked 750g loaf consists of leftover bread and the chain calculates that the 100 loaves being baked daily will save approximately 10kg of bread being wasted per day.
[www.theguardian.com, 5 October 2018]

sando noun [C]
UK /ˈsæn.dəʊ/ US /ˈsæn.doʊ/
a type of sandwich made with soft white bread, originating in Japan

“You have to use very fresh, soft, white supermarket bread that mimics the enriched white bread used traditionally in Japan. We know white bread isn’t healthy but here it works because something like sourdough has far too much flavour. Sandos are inverted sandwiches, in a way, because the point is to savour the filling and get almost no flavour from the bread.”
[www.telegraph.co.uk, 4 September 2018]

proats noun [pl]
UK /prəʊts/ US /proʊts/
oats (a type of grain often cooked and eaten for breakfast) with added protein

Protein oatmeal (AKA proats) is the nutritious breakfast that’s been missing from your mornings. Mixing protein and oats together makes for a tasty and, most importantly, filling breakfast, keeping hunger pangs at bay till lunch time. 
[us.myprotein.com, 30 November 2017]

About new words

bakuchiol noun [U]
/bə.ˈkuːtʃɪ.əl/
an ingredient that occurs naturally in a plant and is used in skincare with the aim of preventing wrinkles

A plant extract suitable for vegans, bakuchiol offers the same anti-ageing and rejuvenating properties as retinol, but without the irritating side effects. Derived from the “babchi” plant, this natural ingredient is great to include in your skincare routine if you love the idea of retinol, but your skin can’t handle its potent properties.
[www.lookfantastic.com, 16 January 2019]

tweakment noun [C]
/ˈtwiːk.mənt/
a cosmetic procedure that is carried out by a trained specialist but does not involve surgery

“Women are no longer having to go under the knife for a more youthful look, and patients are increasingly opting for swift, non-surgical procedures,” advises Baiarda. “Lunchtime procedures with minimum recovery time are increasingly popular with young, professional women in their twenties, thirties and forties. At my clinic there has been a 300 per cent surge in lunchtime tweakments in the past year.”
[The Telegraph, 11 December 2018]

skip-care noun [U]
UK /ˈskɪp.keəʳ/ US /ˈskɪp.ker/
a skincare routine that uses a limited number of products, all of which have essential ingredients for healthy skin

Have you heard of skip-care? A trend amongst Korean millennials for finding multi-functional products which cover all bases for a more streamlined approach to skincare, it hails from Seoul (which, it has to be said, was the origin of the laborious 12-step skincare regimes that gave us this problem in the first place).
[Vogue UK, 6 November 2018]

About new words

Mamri noun [C]
/ˈmæmrɪ/
abbreviation for middle-aged man with a running injury: a man who takes up running in middle age and suffers an injury, often due to his belief that he is fitter than he actually is

Men were 45 percent more likely than women to be injured. The scientists put this down to the Mamris’ tendency to follow homemade over-ambitious training plans which put too much strain on their creaking bodies … ‘Men tend to get injured due to training errors, increasing pace and distance too quickly when they are training for an event’.
[Runner’s World (forums), 4 June 2018]

pyjama paralysis noun [U]
/pɪˈdʒɑː.mə.pəˈræl.ə.sɪs/
a condition in which an ill person, especially someone in a hospital, develops certain health problems as a result of spending too much time in bed and not enough time moving around

The chief nursing office for England, Professor Jane Cummings, has called on all health and care organisations in the country to take part in the campaign to end so-called “pyjama paralysis”. The #EndPJparalysis challenge aims to achieve one million patient days of relevant patients being dressed in day clothes and moving around over a 70-day period.
[Nursing Times, 17 April 2018]

sausage tax noun [C]
UK /ˈsɒs.ɪdʒ.tæks/ US /ˈsɑː.sɪdʒ.tæks/
an amount of money added to the price of processed meats, such as bacon and sausages, and paid to the government with the aim of reducing the consumption of these foods and therefore the associated health problems

A new meat tax may be on the way, which is already being dubbed the ‘sausage tax’, in a bid to encourage us to eat less processed meat. Under the proposed tax, a £2.50 packet of sausages would cost £4.47 which, like the recently introduced sugary drinks tax before it, would in theory drive down sales of sausages and bacon.
[The Telegraph, 7 November 2018]

About new words

blokebuster noun [C]
UK /ˈbləʊk.bʌs.təʳ/ US /ˈbloʊk.bʌs.tɚ/
a book, usually one that sells a large number of copies, aimed particularly at men

Readers weary of blokebusters … will be relieved to learn that a new novel by Kate Atkinson is also due out on Thursday … An early review in London’s Evening Standard described it as a ‘terrific page-turner’.
[The Times, 2 September 2018]

coming-of-old adjective
UK /ˌkʌm.ɪŋ.əv.ˈəʊld/ US /ˌkʌm.ɪŋ.əv.ˈoʊld/
referring to a book or literary genre that focuses on the growth of a main character as they enter old age

She added: ‘It’s a coming-of-old tale which is a totally new genre, we are all living for longer, we have all this extra time and that’s what Beth’s story tells. Everybody can take something from the story. Very few books can be given to your mum, your granny and your children, it works across generations.’
[www.telegraph.co.uk, 14 October 2018]

ambient literature noun [U]
UK /ˌæm.bi.ənt.ˈlɪt.rə.tʃəʳ/ US /ˌæm.bi.ənt.ˈlɪt̬.ɚ.ə.tʃɚ/
books that are read on an electronic device such as a tablet and which use information about the current date and time, the reader’s location, weather conditions etc. to personalise the experience for the reader

But what say the reading purists? Those who recoil from the mere sight of a Kindle and love nothing more than the smell of a dusty library book. Is ambient literature too far removed from the real pleasures of reading? The initial creators of the genre think that to preserve literature in the digital age, it is crucial to move it forward and appeal to younger, digital-native readers.
[Metro, 10 October 2018]

About new words