LANGUAGE SPECIAL 11/2019 Spotlight 23
If you don’t want sex with a
random stranger you’ve met
through an app, why not get together
with someone you know and trust?
You can be friends with benefits,
f *** buddies, or hook-up buddies. If
you get a text at 2 a.m. from your friend
with benefits, that’s a booty call.
I. He was helpfully telling me all the rea-
sons why women earn less than men.
- Oh, dear! Classic mansplaining!
When a man explains something to a
woman who doesn’t need his help, he’s
mansplaining (“man” + “explaining”).
It’s arrogant, like manspreading, when a
man takes up extra space by sitting with
his arms or legs spread very wide. Of
course, this is true of only a small minor-
ity of men, and women can be guilty of
patronizing behaviour, too. Women who
give their partners unnecessary advice
on how to look after their own kids are
mumsplaining.
J. We binge-watched The Crown last
night.
- You must love that show to watch six
episodes in one evening.
Binge-watching a TV show is similar to
binge-eating and binge-drinking — you
consume as much as possible in a short
time. These days, a lot of people watch
TV on demand, and a whole season of a
show will land at the same time. If you’re
watching a show on terrestrial TV week
by week, don’t worry if you miss an epi-
sode. You can watch it on catch-up.
K. My boyfriend and my brother have
totally got a bromance going on.
- I know. They’re always hanging out
together.
The word bromance (“brother” + “ro-
mance”) is often used for humorous ef-
fect, but it does reflect the trend that it’s
cool for straight men to have close friend-
ships.
L. I love your coatigan!
- Thank you! Yes, it’s just right for the
autumn weather.
A coatigan (“coat” + “cardigan”) is a light
woollen coat — or is it a thick cardigan?
The fashion world loves these combina-
tion words. We’ve had jeggings (“jeans”
+ “leggings”) and “treggings” (“trousers”
+ “leggings”) for years, but now we also
have the coatigan, the shacket (“shirt” +
“jacket”) and athleisure (“athletic” + “lei-
surewear”).M. It’s great to see plus-size models in
magazines, isn’t it?- Totally! It’s more body positive.
We’ve had enough of body-shaming and
fat-shaming. Let’s all be body positive
and learn to love ourselves (and each oth-
er), whatever shape we are.N. I’ve signed up for a boot camp.- Really? You’ll be super fit by the end of
it.
A boot camp is a military-style fitness re-
gime. It’s those people you see in the park
on a Saturday morning, being shouted
at by a guy in camouflage trousers. The
boot-camp approach of “intense effort
for maximum results” is also applied in
other contexts, so you might sign up for a
dating boot camp (to learn how to be the
perfect partner) or a relationship boot
camp (for couples’ counselling).O. I’ve started using a fertility tracker
app.- Can you control how the femtech
companies are using your data?
With fertility trackers, fitness trackers,
sleep trackers, diet trackers, alcohol
trackers, baby trackers, etc., you can track
your every move, your every heartbeat.
This data is a gold mine for the tech com-
panies who make the apps.apply [E(plaI]
, hier: anwenden
approach [E(prEUtS]
, Methode
cardigan [(kA:dIgEn]
, Strickjacke
counselling
[(kaUns&lIN]
, Beratung, Therapie
evolve [i(vQlv]
, sich entwickeln,
herausbilden
patronizing
[(pÄtrEnaIzIN]
, herablassend, bevor-
mundendrandom [(rÄndEm]
, zufällig, beliebig; hier:
irgendein
regime [reI(Zi:m]
, hier: Programm
season [(si:z&n]
, hier: Staffel
straight [streIt]
, hier: heterosexuell
terrestrial TV
[tE(restriEl )ti:(vi:]
, Antennenfernsehen
text [tekst]
, hier: SMSIs your English on point?
Add up your scores and see how well
you did.10 or more correct answers
Congratulations! Your English is to-
tally on point! You’re aware of all the
trends in society and language. Live
your best life!Fewer than 10 correct answers
We hope you enjoyed our look at
some of the new words and ideas that
have evolved over the past few years,
and that you now feel on board with
the millennial vibe.