homework therapist noun [C]
UK /ˈhəʊm.wɜːk.θer.ə.pɪst/ US /ˈhoʊm.wɝːk.θer.ə.pɪst/
someone whose job is to help students with their schoolwork and exams and to help them deal with issues such as stress and anxiety

Homework therapist? Yes, you read that correctly. It is a growing educational trend in the US, with parents paying fees of $150 to $600 (£115 to £465) for regular sessions of up to 75 minutes. In succeed-at-all costs New York, where parents will do almost anything to get their offspring in pole position on the starting grid of life, paying hundreds of dollars an hour for this specialised and individual approach may be no big deal.
[The Times, 8 September 2018]

break-up concierge noun [C]
UK /ˈbreɪk.ʌp.kɒn.sieəʒ/ US /ˈbreɪk.ʌp.kɑːn.siˈerʒ/
a person or company whose job is to help someone after their relationship has ended, such as by finding new accommodation for them

Onward is a break-up concierge – now, you may be asking yourself, what is a breakup concierge? Is it just someone who delivers you ice cream until you’re ready to move on? Well, kind of. There may not be ice cream, but they are dedicated to helping you through a breakup and getting your life started again – and maybe you can request some ice cream on the side.
[www.bustle.com, 25 February 2019]

data humanist noun [C]
UK /ˌdeɪ.tə.ˈhjuː.mə.nɪst/ US /ˌdeɪ.t̬ə.ˈhjuː.mə.nɪst/
someone who presents information in a way that is beautiful to look at and tells a story

The information designer and data humanist Giorgia Lupi describes her profession as “telling stories with data,” which sounds like an oxymoron, until you see her work … Her work, consistent with her upbringing, brings a tactile feel to computer code, and her appointment is an occasion to assess information design — a field located between graphic design and data science — and the possibilities it holds.
[The New Yorker, 25 May 2019]

About new words

tiny house noun [C]
/ˌtaɪ.ni.ˈhaʊs/
a very small home (measuring less than 37 square metres) whose residents are usually supporters of the Tiny House movement, which promotes a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle

Living large is officially a thing of the past. Settling in a tiny house is more than just a trend – it’s a lifestyle choice that people all over the country are happily taking up. Although many structures can measure less than 300 feet, with ideas this stylish and innovative, small-sized homes are anything but a sacrifice.
[Country Living, 9 January 2019]

co-ho noun [U]
UK /ˈkəʊ.həʊ/ US /ˈkoʊ.hoʊ/
abbreviation for co-housing: a system where several people buy neighbouring houses at the same time and start a community where facilities are shared

The “co-ho” concept has many variations; it usually means a group of like-minded people clubbing together to find a site and then designing and building their own homes. Often co-housing developments have shared spaces and may be aimed at a particular interest group.
[www.telegraph.co.uk, 8 May 2019]

microflat noun [C]
UK /ˈmaɪ.krəʊ.flæt/ US /ˈmaɪ.kroʊ.flæt/
a very small apartment, usually found in large cities where there is not enough housing for all the people who live there

A first-time buyer has forked out £285,000 on a microflat the size of a caravan in a bid to get on the London property ladder. Lissa Cardell, 32, bought her minuscule apartment in Croydon just over a year ago and says she is happy to compromise on space because it is “completely her own”.
[www.dailymail.co.uk, 11 October 2018]

About new words

Steve noun [U]
/sti:v/
the nickname for a recently discovered natural appearance of purple lights in the sky, similar to the aurora borealis and aurora australis

Goldilocks star noun [C]
UK /ˈgəʊl.dɪ.lɒks.ˌstɑːʳ/ US /ˈgoʊl.di.lɑːks.ˌstɑːr/
a type of star that astronomers consider has exactly the right combination of features to support life

Astronomers want to know which stars are the most likely to have habitable planets. These stars can be thought of as Goldilocks stars that are just right – at least in some ways – for potentially life-supporting planets. … A new peer-reviewed study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters … might help to narrow down the search for Goldilocks stars.
[earthsky.org, 17 March 2019]

space grease noun [U]
/ˈspeɪs.griːs/
a particular type of matter found in space made up of molecules of carbon with a greasy consistency

A team of eight scientists recreated and analyzed material similar to interstellar dust, and used it to estimated how many grease-like carbon molecules … are in interstellar space, beyond the bounds of our solar system. The estimated amount of “space grease” in the Milky Way far exceeded expectations: 10 billion trillion trillion tonnes – or enough to fill 40 trillion trillion trillion packs of butter.
[www.cnn.com, 28 June 2018]

About new words

microstress noun [C]
UK /ˌmaɪ.krəʊ.ˈstres/ US /ˈmaɪ.kroʊ.ˌstres/
a small act or event that makes someone feel frustrated or anxious and that can combine with other similar acts or events over time to cause emotional harm

As much as we may be living our lives according to the Big Picture, it is the Small Stuff that tends to come between us… . Those tiny, daily, grrrr-type irritations, that some clever folk at Mind International have labelled microstresses. According to their poll, Brits spend the equivalent of 27 days a year worrying about microstresses – yup, that’s just under two hours a day, every day feeling tense. It’s the small stuff like losing your keys, missing a train, forgetting your gym card, running late for a meeting or your car breaking down.
[www.thinrichhappy.com, 9 February 2018]

rage room noun [C]
/ˈreɪdʒ.ˌruːm/
a room where people can pay to smash up objects with the aim of feeling less stressed afterwards

Before discovering the rage room, I tried all kinds of ways to deal with stress: karaoke, trampoline, dodgeball, the gym. Going to the gym is about getting healthy, looking good, but when I’m smashing up toasters, the intent is different. When I behave like a caveman, I leave any negativity behind.
[www.theguardian.com, 29 March 2019]

pyt exclamation
/pʊt/
a Danish word used in response to a stressful situation to tell oneself or someone else not to worry

Pyt can reduce stress because it is a sincere attempt to encourage yourself and others to not get bogged down by minor daily frustrations. One Danish business leader has suggested that knowing when to say “pyt” at work can lead to more job satisfaction.
[www.popsci.com, 1 March 2019]

About new words

mommune noun [C]
UK /ˈmɒm.juːn/ US /ˈmɑː.mjuːn/
a group of mothers who live together with their children, sharing possessions and responsibilities

And so, more by accident than design, the women hit on a new domestic set-up: the “mommune” … . And for the next two years, the three of them and their six children shared their lives: Vicky in the spare room, Nicola a weekend resident and daily visitor. “We were a family,” Janet says. “We went to the supermarket together, cooked together, ate together, shared childcare. Our parents met.” The children, she adds, “became like siblings”.
[www.theguardian.com, 29 September 2018]

mumsplainer noun [C]
UK /ˈmʌm.spleɪnəʳ/  or momsplainer US /ˈmɑːm.spleɪnɚ/
a mother who gives unwanted advice or explains something about pregnancy, childbirth etc. to someone, often a pregnant woman or new parent, that he or she already understands

Just wondering… Is ‘mumsplain’ a word…. My gripe with this particular mumsplainer is she ONLY interacts with me when it is to criticise.
[twitter.com, 3 April 2017]

birth striker noun [C]
UK /ˌbɜːθ.ˈstraɪ.kəʳ/ US /ˌbɝːθ.ˈstraɪ.kɚ/
a woman who chooses not to have children because she is concerned about the world’s population being too big

My friend … is another “birth striker”, deciding when she was about 21 that she didn’t want to have children. “At the time lots of friends and family told me that as I got older, the biological clock would start ticking,” she recalls. “But actually the opposite has happened. The older I’ve got the more my decision has solidified. There are now a lot of wider issues that I’m passionate about in terms of the planet and climate change that have confirmed that decision for me.”
[www.telegraph.co.uk, 21 April 2019]

About new words