Neologisms #1

Can you guess these words that have entered the lexicon in the last 20 years or so?
Many of these words are portmanteaus - combinations of two other words
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: October 17, 2023
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First submittedSeptember 1, 2013
Times taken39,577
Average score72.2%
Rating3.71
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Definition
Word
A photograph one takes of oneself, typically using a phone
Selfie
Unsolicited bulk e-mail
Spam
A word or phrase, preceded by #, used to identify a topic on Twitter
Hashtag
Expensive jewelry or the "sound" it makes when light hits it
Bling
A bride who has unreasonable demands for her wedding
Bridezilla
A hyper realistic AI-generated fake image
Deepfake
A person who provokes others (chiefly on the Internet) for their own personal amusement
Troll
A heterosexual man who enjoys fashion and personal grooming
Metrosexual
A vacation where you stay at home
Staycation
Describes a person who has been awakened to the social justice movement
Woke
"Sport" that involves running through an urban environment, navigating obstacles while preserving momentum
Parkour
The "5th taste", corresponding to the flavor of meat or MSG
Umami
Chicken inside a duck inside a turkey
Turducken
People who are easily controlled in the manner of sheep
Sheeple
An extremely masculine man (hint: a specific male name)
Chad
Audio show made available for internet download
Podcast
To lure someone into a relationship by means of a fictional online persona
Catfish
A middle-aged woman "on the prowl" for younger men
Cougar
+10
Level 74
Sep 2, 2013
Nice quiz idea. I enjoyed that one.
+5
Level 56
May 23, 2016
I feel so old. I only got 10 (although I kicked myself for not getting 12 - how did I not get cyberbully and umami?!)
+12
Level 57
Jan 24, 2017
According to Wikipedia, Umami was coined in Japanese in 1908 and in English in 1985, not sure I'd call that a neologism...
+16
Level ∞
Jan 24, 2017
As far as words go, 1985 is very recent! And I feel like "umami" has entered common usage even more recently.
+7
Level 82
Jan 24, 2017
I've also seen the taste described as "savory," though savory is even less of a neologism, even if this usage is fairly new.
+10
Level 75
Jan 24, 2017
I think the food media world really amped up its usage in the last few years. I never heard it in my whole life, and then all of a sudden I heard it everywhere - on all the cooking shows and in food magazines. Everyone is always looking for the latest "new thing" to promote.
+8
Level 81
Apr 10, 2020
Does 35 years fall into approximately 20? Or are we all just getting older?
+11
Level 69
Jan 24, 2017
Chuckey would have been a better term for the turducken
+7
Level 58
Jan 24, 2017
I've never heard it referred to as anything but a three-bird roast.
+2
Level 76
Oct 22, 2023
I'm guessing you're either A) not from the States, or B) not a fan of the NFL. Nothing wrong with either of those, BTW.
+10
Level 75
Jan 24, 2017
I'm waiting for a lambpigsteer. Put that in your smoker.
+6
Level 34
Jul 26, 2018
...go vegan, save the world...
+12
Level 88
Jan 2, 2020
Go childless.
+17
Level 75
Jan 2, 2020
^^ I'm vegan and childless, do I get extra points?
+1
Level 76
Jan 2, 2020
Pebeanrot for vegans.

Half a point for mixed eaters?

+12
Level 87
Jan 3, 2020
"Chuckey"? If you sprinkled it with parmesan, would that be a "chuckey cheese"?
+5
Level 70
Jan 24, 2017
What about freerunning as an alternative to parkour?
+8
Level 66
Jan 24, 2017
Agree with this. I tried freerunning first, then parkour. And why is "sport" in quotes?
+3
Level 49
Jan 26, 2017
Free running is different from parkour in that the latter seeks the fastest route, as referenced in the clue by "...preserving momentum." Free running involves movement not necessary for the definition, such as flips.

"Sport" would be in quotes, I suppose, because it is not inherently competitive, compared to other forms of running. Athletic, to be sure, but not necessarily bound by rules for competition.

+4
Level ∞
Jan 1, 2020
Freerunning will work now.
+2
Level 71
Jan 15, 2024
@moofish's argument for keeping the scare quotes around "sport" don't really make sense. Of course parkour isn't necessarily governed by the rules of sport or competition, but neither is any sporting activity. Kickboxing is a sport even though you're not always competing or might have other reasons to engage in it or pursue it (recreation, self-defense, fitness). With governing bodies, regular competitions and competition rules, parkour is certainly also a sport.

I suggest removing the scare quotes from "sport".

+5
Level 74
Jul 6, 2018
I should have known staycation -- it's about the only vacation I can afford.
+1
Level 44
Apr 15, 2019
How about Freerunning for Parkour... pretty much the same thing but freerunning is the flashy version.
+8
Level 82
Apr 10, 2020
My cat is an adept parkour enthusiast.
+2
Level 49
Apr 10, 2020
Isn't sheeple older?
+6
Level 38
Apr 10, 2020
Not my proudest 100%...
+9
Level 63
Apr 11, 2020
I was amazed at the 'turducken' being a real thing that people make. Talk about decadence and the fall of Rome. Truly we are living through the end times, people. Break out those beanburgers while you still can.
+4
Level 79
Oct 17, 2023
Of all the words on that list I wouldn't have guessed turducken would be one to sour someone's mood.
+1
Level 43
Jan 15, 2024
Add "overconsumption of poultry" to the Fall of Rome list.
+5
Level 51
Apr 11, 2020
Easy, got them all. I don't think anyone really uses "metrosexual" anymore, though.
+1
Level 82
Jan 16, 2024
Agreed. Manscaping would be a similar alternative that I think is still being used.
+1
Level 60
Jan 20, 2024
And thank God they don't. It started out as describing straight guys who were really into fashion, but expanded to include ones who were into self-care routines like with moisturizer etc, then expanded and expanded to eventually include any guy who took care of himself in any way and just wasn't a slovenly pig. It's one of the few examples of a new term totally self-destructing via broadening and overuse. One of my other favorites of these is "hipster."
+2
Level 47
Oct 7, 2021
Umami that's a ridiculous word. I hereby reject any claims of validity as to the purported meaning of this "word". Any credence I might have given to the concept of there being another taste, is now utterly eradicated.
+13
Level ∞
Oct 17, 2023
You're like the Amish - but for words!
+7
Level 78
Oct 17, 2023
It's no more ridiculous than your use of commas.
+2
Level 43
Jan 15, 2024
Its not another taste, its a more specific descriptor of existing tastes.
+1
Level 62
Jan 16, 2024
What? You don't like having to describe a taste as "Ooh, Mommy"?
+3
Level 59
Mar 3, 2023
I thought Turducken was an older word?
+1
Level 74
Oct 17, 2023
Maybe you're just that young 😬
+4
Level 59
Oct 18, 2023
oh it totally is. Since the 70s. But Madden made it popular probably in the late 90s. Still older than 20 years ago, but not by much.
+2
Level 72
Oct 17, 2023
Wow. I had no clue, but John was my first guess and then Chad.
+3
Level 60
Oct 17, 2023
The hypermasculine name made me chuckle, though I've never heard of the bride answer before.
+2
Level 75
Oct 17, 2023
Cougar isn't strictly speaking a neologism, it's just a new meaning to an already existing word. And deepfake can also refer to videos, not only images.
+8
Level 79
Oct 17, 2023
So are troll, catfish, woke, and probably spam too. All of those existed before these meanings were given to them
+1
Level 58
Jan 15, 2024
Aren't videos images?
+10
Level 90
Oct 17, 2023
I'm sure it's delicious. But the "turd" in turducken just stops me cold every time.
+5
Level 70
Oct 17, 2023
Since I got 100%, does that mean I'm terminally online?
+10
Level 79
Oct 17, 2023
How long until Karen makes the cut?
+8
Level 55
Oct 18, 2023
Funny how a couple of these are getting kind of old now - I haven't heard anyone say bling in at least 10 years!
+3
Level 78
Oct 18, 2023
"Chad" was new to me - at 60, having spent my entire life from teenagerhood to now calling a very masculine man "Butch", I kept wondering why the answer would not work. May I suggest it as an alternate?
+4
Level 72
Oct 18, 2023
Chad was new to me to. It’s a very uncommon name here in Britain so it may be an Americanism that we don’t have or don’t use.
+1
Level 83
Jan 15, 2024
Never used in the US, either. Maybe an Australian thing?
+5
Level 65
Jan 15, 2024
"Chad" is absolutely an American thing but if you're not a chronically online young person, a follower of alpha bro podcasts, or an member of incel/MGTOW/"men's rights"/red pill communities, it might not be something you've encountered. You're unlikely to hear it used in traditional media, and I have never heard it used in real life.
+2
Level 48
Oct 18, 2023
Alternate to what? 'Butch' is a completely different answer to 'Chad'.
+2
Level 68
Oct 18, 2023
I have never heard "Chad" used in that way before either. I tried "Joe Sixpack" LOL
+3
Level 82
Jan 16, 2024
I feel like butch is mostly used for masculine queer folks these days, whereas chad is specifically describing "traditional" masculinity.
+16
Level 64
Oct 20, 2023
As a lexicographer, I really can't let this pass! These are not all *words* that have come into the lexicon in the past couple of decades, but words *and meanings* eg, spam has been around since at least the second world war.

Could I also point out that this use of 'woke' is first attested, contrary to common misconception, in the late 1960s in the American civil rights movement. Please check online Oxford English Dictionary (on which I worked, so I do know what I'm talking about! Some of my best friends are etymologists 😳🙂)

+1
Level 55
Jan 15, 2024
Um I didn't get selfie
+7
Level 71
Jan 15, 2024
I think deepfake only applies to faces in particular. Could you maybe change the wording? I was thinking about AI-generated images in general.
+7
Level 72
Jan 15, 2024
I couldn't think of deepfake so out of sheer desperation I tried fauxtograph. Pity, that it didn't work.
+1
Level 38
Jan 17, 2024
I think the description should say "Can you guess these words that have entered the lexicon **or had new definitions added** in the last 20 years or so" (or something like that).

After all, some of these words have other meanings that have been around for far more than 20 years, such as "cougar" (mountain lion), "troll" (like ones that hide under bridges), and "woke" (as in 'woke up from a nap')

+1
Level 57
Jan 19, 2024
The definition of 'woke' needs changing to 'intolerant racist, sexist and general bigot' but apart from that, great quiz!
+1
Level 28
Feb 4, 2024
A deepfake is not just any convincing AI image, it's typically a video or image used to superimpose a different person's face onto someone else specifically.