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

 

voiceprint noun [C]
/ˈvɔɪs.prɪnt/
the unique characteristics of a person’s voice, used as a form of identification

The companies behind this technology say that a voiceprint includes more than 100 unique physical and behavioural characteristics of each individual, such as length of the vocal tract, nasal passage, pitch, accent and so on. They claim it is as unique to an individual as a fingerprint, and that their systems even recognise people if they have a cold or sore throat.
[The Guardian, 22 September 2018]

cyberhoarding noun [U]
UK /ˈsaɪ.bəhɔː.dɪŋ/ US /ˈsaɪ.bɚhɔːr.dɪŋ/
a psychological condition where someone finds it impossible to delete unwanted or old data from their computer or other device

You might laugh, but cyberhoarding has become a problem for me and many others. It is one of several new mental health problems that researchers believe is being fuelled by the internet and social media. A new team, named the European Problematic Use of the Internet Research Network, this week said it would examine the condition to measure its long-term impact on web users.
[The Telegraph, 10 October 2018]

predictalitics noun [U]
UK /prɪ.dɪk.tə.ˈlɪt.ɪks/ US /prɪ.dɪk.tə.ˈlɪt̬.ɪks/
a process in which a computer examines all the data available on someone and uses it to predict what diseases they are at risk of

As part of the NHS’s 100,000 Genome Project volunteers are being proactively screened to build up one of the largest DNA databases in the world, which researchers and clinicians will be able to use to fine tune this ‘predictalitics’ technique.
[The Telegraph, 7 May 2018]

About new words

dooring noun [U]
/ˈdɔː.rɪŋ/
a type of road traffic accident caused by someone in a car opening the door without checking it is safe to do so, causing a collision with another road user

I found 10 sources in cities in North America, plus one from Australia, that include dooring incidents, unlike official crash data. These police, hospital, insurance or EMS reports indicate that dooring accounts for 12 to 27 percent of urban car-bike collisions, making it one of the most common crash types.
[cyclingsavvy.org, 29 August 2018]

mistake fare noun [C]
UK /mɪˈsteɪk.feər/ US /mɪˈsteɪk.fer/
a very low price charged for a flight, the result of an error in the listing on the airline’s website

Although Air New Zealand ended up cancelling and refunding the tickets, mistake fares over the last few years, from $225 round-trips to New Zealand to $66 one-ways from the Maldives, have frequently been honoured by airlines. The lucky flyers who enjoyed unbelievably affordable travel didn’t deploy any shifty tricks to get them, either.
[www.independent.co.uk, 9 February 2018]

vomit fraud noun [U]
UK /ˈvɒm.ɪt.frɔːd/ US /ˈvɑː.mɪt.frɑːd/
a type of deception where a driver of an Uber taxi falsely claims that a passenger has vomited in their car and adds an extra charge to the passenger’s bill for cleaning costs

One Uber driver, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Herald people have been committing vomit fraud for a long time. “Many people don’t review their emails or credit card statements, so the drivers wind up pocketing the $80 or $150,” she added.
[www.mirror.co.uk, 24 July 2018]

About new words