ube noun [C, U]
/ˈuːbeɪ/
a purple variety of sweet potato

Also known as ‘purple yam’, this bright purple vegetable features in increasingly popular Filipino cuisine and looks especially amazing in desserts. New Yorkers went crazy for ‘ube doughnuts’ last year, and the UK is hot on its heels.
[Sainsbury’s Magazine, January 2017]

soup dumpling noun [C]
/suːp.ˈdʌm.plɪŋ/
a Chinese dish consisting of a small ball of dough filled with soup

One of my favourite Chinese dishes is soup dumplings. The first time I tried them was in New York after a mate went on and on about them – and for good reason. Soup dumplings are everything you want in a small parcel – succulent and bursting with flavour.
[Grazia, 3 April 2017]

salad cake noun [C, U]
/ˈsæl.əd.keɪk/
a food that is designed to look like a sweet cake but is actually made of savoury ingredients such as soy and vegetables

Imagine biting into a beautiful cake, but instead of a sugary rush you get the fresh flavors of celery, carrot and red cabbage. Salad cakes – a new craze in Japan – offer exactly that experience … These sinless sweets substitute cream “frosting” for that made out of tofu, a “sponge” base for one of soy powder, eggs and vegetable oil, while the rainbow hues that decorate the “icing” come from natural vegetable colorings such as red beetroot juice.
[CNN.com, 13 March 2017]

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smellscape noun [C]
/ˈsmel.skeɪp/
a collection of the different smells associated with a particular place

“A smellscape is the olfactory equivalent of a landscape,” she says. “We spend most of our time walking around, we see things and we take about 80% of our information from that. But we’ve got four other senses, all of which contribute. And smell’s one of those senses that we pay very little heed to, but forms a huge part of how we absorb and how we know the world.”
[Sky News, 17 April 2017]

sun pillar noun [C]
UK /ˈsʌn.pɪl.əʳ/ US /ˈsʌn.pɪl.ɚ/
a narrow column of light that extends upwards or downwards from the Sun

“We cannot forecast optical phenomena,” a spokesperson said. “Sun pillars look very pretty if you are lucky enough to spot one. They are formed by the light reflecting off the ice crystals in high wispy clouds. The formation has to be just right for it to take place and we cannot predict it.”
[The Telegraph, 6 April 2017]

thundersnow noun [U]
UK /ˈθʌn.də.snəʊ/ US /ˈθʌn.dɚ.snoʊ/
a thunderstorm with snow instead of the more usual heavy rain

Thundersnow occurs far less frequently than a normal storm. This is because it is only able to occur during a couple of months of the year. It is incredibly rare in the UK. In the US, it is more common – they have an average of 6.3 instances of thundersnow a year.
[The Telegraph, 17 January 2017]

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volcano boarding noun [U]
UK /vɒlˈkeɪ.nəʊ.bɔː.dɪŋ/ US /vɑːlˈkeɪ.noʊ.bɔːr.dɪŋ/
the activity of moving down the side of a volcano while standing, sitting or lying on a board similar to a snowboard

Lakes, volcano [sic] and beaches dot the landscape of Nicaragua, set between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea in Central America. While searching for things to do there, we ran across volcano boarding. Maybe not the most thrilling experience you will have around an active volcano, but a distinctive one to say the least.
[www.tourismontheedge.com, 3 March 2017]

blob jump noun [C]
UK /ˈblɒb.dʒʌmp/ US /ˈblɑːb.dʒʌmp/
an activity in which one person sits at one end of an inflated airbag that is floating on water and one or more other people jump onto the other end from a platform in order to send the person flying into the air

Yaiza travelled to Ibiza along with 20 other Spanish applicants to battle it out for the two places available for Spaniards. They would be taking part in a blob jump. When it was Yaiza’s turn, she flew much further than expected, slamming into the water face first wearing a home-made astronaut suit.
[www.thelocal.es, 20 April 2016]

swimrun noun [C]
/ˈswɪm.rʌn/
a competition in which the people competing must swim and run a certain distance without stopping between events

Forget triathlons. The latest fitness trend and fashionable Scandi import is the “swimrun”, a fusion of cross-country running and open-water swimming – essentially a triathlon without the cycling. Originating in Sweden, it is gaining converts here, with thousands of people set to take part in the UK this year.
[The Times, 4 February 2017]

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awareable noun [C]
UK /əˈweə.rə.bᵊl/ US /əˈwer.ə.bᵊl/
a device worn on the body that uses computer technology and connects to the internet, and is used to monitor and decrease stress

This year sees the launch of a range of therapeutic tech bracelets designed to pick up on your stress levels and offer techniques to calm you down. Think of them as Fitbits for your brain or, as the tech industry is calling them, “awareables”. Unlike activity trackers and smartwatches, these gadgets prioritise emotional wellbeing over your step count.
[The Sunday Times, 12 March 2017]

holoportation noun [U]
UK /ˌhɒl.ə.pɔːˈteɪ.ʃᵊn/ US /ˌhɒl.ə.pɚˈteɪ.ʃᵊn/
a technology that allows three-dimensional models of people to be created and sent over the internet

Holoportation … is a virtual form of connecting people together and allowing them to interact as though they were in the same location. The benefit to this, over verbal communication, or even video-based communication, is the ability to read body language. 
[hololens.reality.news, 13 February 2017]

OLED noun [U]
UK /ˌəʊ.el.iːˈdiː/ US /ˌoʊ.el.iːˈdiː/
organic light-emitting diode: a type of device that produces a light, especially on electronic equipment

OLED … maybe you’re unsure exactly what it means and, more importantly, why it’s so important to home entertainment lovers. In short: OLED truly is the next big thing in home entertainment and it’s finally at a price where the average consumer can buy one of their own. It offers better image quality (think blacker blacks and brighter whites), reduced power consumption and fast response times over traditional LED TVs.
[www.techradar.com, 13 January 2017]

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uncanny valley noun [S or U]
/ʌnˈkæn.iˈvæl.i/
the uncanny valley effect occurs when something that looks human, such as a robot, causes a feeling of unease

The uncanny valley is a well known problem in robotics. It is the moment when something not human closely resembles a real person, but just isn’t quite there yet, which makes its unhuman elements stick out.
[www.digitalsignagetoday.com, 17 March 2017]

biohacking noun [U]
UK /ˈbaɪ.əʊ.hæk.ɪŋ/ US /ˈbaɪ.oʊ.hæk.ɪŋ/
using the principles of biology to make your body work more efficiently

Biohacking has become an umbrella term for all kinds of interventions in biochemistry to improve health and performance. But for most, it’s simply a way to optimise their own bodies through new discoveries in nutrition, supplementation, exercise and more extreme measures such as cryotherapy and epigenetics.
[www.inews.co.uk, 19 November 2016]

transhumanism noun [U]
/trænzˈhjuː.mən.ɪ.zᵊm/
using advanced science and technology to enhance the human body’s capabilities

Transhumanism … is already a living reality for many people, to varying degrees. Documentary-maker Rob Spence replaced one of his own eyes with a video camera in 2008; amputees are using prosthetics connected to their own nerves and controlled using electrical signals from the brain; implants are helping tetraplegics regain independence through the BrainGate project.
[Wired, 15 February 2017]

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