speed matingnoun [U] UK /ˈspiːd.ˌmeɪ.tɪŋ/ US /ˈspiːd.ˌmeɪ.t̬ɪŋ/ a way of meeting new friends that involves attending an event at which you talk to a lot of people for a short time to see if you like them
But going to an event such as speed mating is not without stigma. Olivia is a pseudonym because she knows that if she used her real name her students “would take the mick out of me”. After the event, she is exhausted: “I didn’t expect it to be so full-on … It’s also just reassuring to know I’m not the only person to feel like this. It’s not sad and it’s not pathetic, being 29 and not having friends in a new city.” [The Guardian, 5 May 2018]
cheating mafianoun [U] UK /ˈtʃiːt.ɪŋ.ˈmæf.i.ə/ US /ˈtʃiːt.ɪŋ.ˈmɑː.fi.ə/ a system in which students can pay to receive help to pass their exams in order to increase their chances of securing a place at a good university
Students need top marks — sometimes over 99 percent — to get into the country’s highly oversubscribed universities and so examiners are bribed, answer sheets leaked and exam rooms infiltrated. No more, said Neena Srivastava, secretary of the Uttar Pradesh board of education, who described the cheating mafia as part of organized crime. “We are fighting against this evil. We have to cleanse the state of this menace.” [Washington Post, 9 February 2018]
plastic footprintnoun [C]
/ˈplæs.tɪk.ˈfʊt.prɪnt/ a measurement of the amount of plastic that someone uses and then discards, considered in terms of the resulting damage caused to the environment
As such, Greenpeace suggests a number of small changes people can make to reduce their plastic footprint. The first steps involve avoiding buying items such as plastic bottles of water and carrying a permanent or reusable one instead. It also advises using a refillable cup when buying takeaway coffee to help cut down on the estimated 2.5 billion disposable cups discarded every year in the UK. [The Telegraph, 10 January 2018]
phastnoun [C]
/fæst/ a ‘phone fast’: a period of time during which someone chooses not to use their smartphone
For the past month, I’ve been trying to phase my phone out – the same way you’d phase out an annoying acquaintance. I’ve started avoiding it for a whole 90 minutes before bed, which has been tough, I won’t lie, but definitely doable. It’s what Price calls a phast, or phone fast. She explains how regular, short breaks from our phones “are essential for our emotional and intellectual health”. [www.image.ie, 15 February 2018]
attention economynoun [U] UK /əˈten.ʃᵊn.iˈkɒn.ə.mi/ US /əˈten.ʃᵊn.iˈkɑː.nə.mi/ an economic system where the amount of information available on the internet means that companies must compete to attract the attention of potential consumers
As 63% of marketers world-wide set out to increase traffic and leads over the next 12 months, their first instinct will be to produce more content. Fight this instinct. Remember, we are living in an attention economy. The way to get attention today isn’t to shout more or shout louder; instead, think carefully about how you can use these 8 strategies to help people better navigate the information deluge. [www.thinkgrowth.org, 20 June 2017]
surveillance capitalismnoun [U] UK /səˈveɪ.ləns.ˈkæp.ɪ.tᵊl.ɪ.zᵊm/ US /sɚˈveɪ.ləns.ˈkæp.ə.t̬ᵊl.ɪ.zᵊm/ an economic system where a company, usually a website, makes money by selling its users’ personal data to other companies
Google and Facebook, in particular, are avatars and practitioners of the new “surveillance capitalism”, the system whereby it is not our need for goods and services that creates the greatest corporate wealth, but the data we generate that can then be sold on. [The Sunday Telegraph, 4 February 2018]
MAMILnoun [C]
/ˈmæm.ɪl/ abbreviation for middle-aged man in lycra: a man who takes up cycling in middle age, especially one who rides an expensive bike and spends a lot of money on clothing, accessories and so on
Richard’s transformation into a MAMIL began five years ago when, to get fit, he bought a road bike. At first, he wore a sensible pair of shorts and a loose-fitting jersey. But then the buying began in earnest. New wheels (the old ones were slowing him down, apparently), a pair of cycling shoes, then another pair, then a ‘quicker’ helmet, then a personal trainer to help him shed the pounds and improve his ‘power to weight ratio’. [Daily Mail, 11 December 2014]
binge racingnoun [U]
/ˈbɪndʒ.reɪ.sɪŋ/ the activity of watching a full series of a streamed TV programme in a 24-hour period
Netflix found that binge racing has increased 20 times over the past three years. What used to be a pastime reserved for the most committed television fans is now sweeping the nation – and the world … In 2013, some 200,000 people had done this, and now it’s up to 4 million and counting. [www.mashable.com, 17 October 2017]
knitflixingnoun [U]
/ˈnɪt.flɪksɪŋ/ the activity of knitting and watching a TV programme on Netflix at the same time
Once the activity of choice for our grandmas, knitting has seen a popularity boom across all ages in recent years … Now, there’s even a blog dedicated to knitflixing – aka watching Netflix while knitting – while more than 3,600 photos have been tagged #KnitFlix on Instagram. [www.huffingtonpost.com, 19 February 2018]
hate watchingnoun [U] UK /ˈheɪt.wɒtʃɪŋ/ US /ˈheɪt.wɑːtʃɪŋ/ the activity of watching a TV programme that you hate in order to gain enjoyment from criticizing it or complaining about it
Despite the embarrassment of rich, beautiful storytelling on TV, many of us indulge in exactly this sort of time-wasting habit: hate watching has reached new heights. Fed by almost endless options for shows to watch, bolstered by the snark contest that social media has become, viewers now regularly revel in finding plot holes and analysing awfulness just as much as they delight in quality programming. [www.bbc.com/culture, 26 June 2017]
super listenernoun [C] UK /ˈsuː.pə.ˌlɪs.ənəʳ/ US /ˈsuː.pɚ.ˌlɪs.ənɚ/ someone who listens to a large number of podcasts and helps to make them well known or popular by recommending them or promoting them, especially on social media
As the report explains, super listeners are the most active slice of the podcast pie, and while they don’t fully represent every kind of podcast fan, they end up being the most supportive and participatory when it comes to podcasts. These listeners place a great deal of trust in podcasts as news and entertainment sources. [Adweek, 16 November 2017]
vaguebookingnoun [U]
/ˈveɪg.ˌbʊk.ɪŋ/ the activity of wording posts on social media sites in a deliberately vague but worrying way in order to prompt the people who read them to express concern about the poster
Why do social media users feel the need to post such inane drivel? I appreciate that we’re all different but surely, if something affects you emotionally to such a degree that you feel the need to partake in vaguebooking, you need to get off social media, pick up the phone and talk to a real friend. Better still, do it in person, over a coffee … with real – not virtual – hugs/rants/tears/joy. [www.taobusinesssolutions.co.uk, 11 October 2017]
kidfluencernoun [C] UK /ˈkɪd.flu.ən.səʳ/ US /ˈkɪd.flu.ən.səʳ/ a child who encourages people to buy a product by recommending it on social media
The toy industry used to be fronted by an elderly enthusiast manning the desk of an overcluttered shop. Now, thanks to the internet, the children are taking over. Despite the web’s role in gradually ousting the high street toy store, it also might be its saviour — in the form of “kidfluencers”. [The Times, 7 October 2017]
cat cuddlernoun [C] UK /ˈkæt.kʌd.ləʳ/ US /ˈkæt.kʌd.lɚ/ someone whose job is to take care of cats at an animal rescue centre or veterinary clinic by grooming them and playing with them
Do you love cats? Would you like to spend all day petting cats – and being paid for it? If the answer to both questions is yes, you might be interested in the fact that a Dublin-based veterinary practice is looking to hire a ‘cat cuddler’. As in, they literally want to pay someone to play with kitties all day. [www.metro.co.uk, 24 May 2017]
scare actornoun [C] UK /ˈskeər.æk.təʳ/ US /ˈsker.æk.tɚ/ someone whose job is to scare people at tourist attractions, for example by dressing up as a monster and jumping out at them
A professional scare actor, Miss Yeung, 28, has been spending her weekend nights haunting people as Malice – one of the seven “Sinisters” – at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) at Universal Studios Singapore … “I hide in dark recesses and corners to jump and scare the guests, mostly screaming at them and giving the illusion that I am trying to kill them,” Miss Yeung said. [www.tnp.sg, 16 October 2017]
taskernoun [C] UK /ˈtæsk.əʳ/ US /ˈtæsk.ɚ/ someone who finds work by using an online marketplace where people list tasks they need done and people who want the job bid for it by stating the fee or hourly rate they are happy to work for
He says no one is forced to work at a particular time, do a job they don’t want to do, or work for a fee they’re not happy with. “It’s a fallacy that it’s a race to the bottom,” he says. “Less than 39% of tasks are actually assigned to the tasker who quotes the lowest price.” [The Guardian, 10 March 2018]
jackpottingnoun [U] UK /ˈdʒæk.pɒt.ɪŋ/ US /ˈdʒæk.pɑːt.ɪŋ/ the crime of hacking into a cash machine in order to obtain money
Jackpotting has been rising worldwide in recent years, though it is unclear how much cash has been stolen because victims and police often do not disclose details. Hackers require physical access to the cash machine using specialised electronics and malware to take control, including an endoscope. [The Guardian, 29 January 2018]
transaction launderingnoun [U] UK /trænˈzæk.ʃᵊn. ˌlɔːn.də.rɪŋ/ US /trænˈzæk.ʃᵊn.ˌlɑːn.dɚ.ɪŋ/ the crime of using a company’s payment system to process a payment for illegal products and services
Scammers were recently caught using fake Airbnb listings to launder money. Because there are so many listings on the site and no way to manually monitor all transactions, criminals can pay each other or cash out stolen credit cards in seconds. This electronic money laundering, also called transaction laundering, is a growing problem for regulators and law enforcement. According to our estimates, as much as $200 billion is laundered via ecommerce payments every year. [www.linkedin.com/company/evercompliant, 28 February 2018]
cryptojackingnoun [U] UK /ˈkrɪp.təʊ.ˌdʒæk.ɪŋ/ US /ˈkrɪp.toʊ.ˌdʒæk.ɪŋ/ the illegal activity of secretly using someone’s computer to obtain new cryptocurrency (digital currency produced by a public network rather than by a government)
Cryptojacking doesn’t require a download, starts instantly, and works efficiently. Making it even more insidious, hackers can sneak a mining component onto unsuspecting websites and pilfer cryptocurrency off of the legitimate site’s traffic. [www.wired.com, 29 December 2017]
sheronoun [C] UK /ˈʃɪə.rəʊ/ US /ˈʃɪr.oʊ/ a female hero, especially one who supports women’s issues
The COO of Facebook and a true shero, Sandberg is a mother, activist, author, speaker and leader … Through her book she conveys that women can be great mentors for each other … She believes that until women demand equality and power in all spheres, of which work is a very important part, the plight of women leaders will not change. [www.theodysseyonline.com, 11 July 2016]
ladydatanoun [U, C] UK /ˈleɪ.di.ˌdeɪ.tə/ US /ˈleɪ.di.ˌdeɪ.t̬ə/ the results of an investigation into how any of the government’s proposed changes to the budget would affect women
And that’s one reason the Labour MP Stella Creasy has just launched a campaign for what she’s calling “ladydata” (and, yes, the name’s meant to be ironic). She wants the government to commit to running all its budget decisions through an independent assessment of their gender impact, which would publicly reveal any differences in the way they affect men and women. [The Pool, 12 December 2017]
womenomicsnoun [U] UK /ˌwɪm.ɪ.ˈnɒm.ɪks/ US /ˌwɪm.ɪ.ˈnɑː.mɪks/ the activities undertaken by a government to enable more women to enter the workforce, especially into high-level jobs
For those who have already decided that Japan’s “womenomics” movement is an empty promise, the Kanagawa Women’s Empowerment Support Group has plenty of ammunition. Its pink-toned website introduces a panel of movers and shakers aiming to promote female empowerment in Kanagawa prefecture in the coming year: 11 high-profile corporate leaders — and all 11 of them men. [Financial Times, 8 March 2017]
