C2 · Mastery

Coinages in Context

Explore coinages, borrowed slang and words associated with particular periods, distinguishing a new form from a new meaning.

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Words & phrases: 30
Lessons: 3
Conversations: 1
Readings: 1

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Words you’ll make your own.

Explore every meaning in this unit. Learn how to say it in Danish when you start.

English

a 'climate nut' (a once-derisive label for a climate activist; Word of the Year 2019)
level of transmission, infection pressure
'curling parents' (over-protective parents who sweep every obstacle from their child's path)
flight shame (guilt over the climate impact of flying)
the sharing economy
to geek out, to immerse oneself obsessively in a hobby
an online shitstorm (a wave of public outrage)
to doomscroll (to scroll endlessly through grim news)
a podcast
to swipe (on a dating or phone app)
a hater (someone who posts hostile comments online)
woke (acutely aware of social injustice; often used contentiously)
a boomer (dismissive term for an older, out-of-touch person)
to binge-watch
a life hack (a clever shortcut or trick)
fake news (deliberately false news stories)
FOMO, the fear of missing out
a lockdown (of society, during the pandemic)
a face mask (a word that exploded into everyday use in 2020)
a COVID certificate documenting vaccination, a negative test or recovery; Word of the Year 2021
a superspreader
stranded by volcanic ash (after the Icelandic eruption; selected as Word of the Year in Norway in 2010)
a do-over (something that has to be redone)
quick to take offense, 'offense-ready' (a contentious buzzword of the 2010s)
clickbait (sensational headlines written purely to attract clicks)
mansplaining (a man explaining something condescendingly to a woman)
online hate (hostile messages sent or posted online)
Zoom fatigue (exhaustion from endless video meetings)
climate anxiety, eco-anxiety
cancel culture