Sometimes we need to state the obvious. So just to make sure we’re conscious of one impact, here are ten words and phrases the pandemic’s added to our everyday vocabularies over the past year.
- Coronavirus. (Of course.) We even learned to spell it.
- Covid. (Ditto.) Upper- or lower-case.
- Zoom. The word existed, just not in the context we now think of first.
- Shelter in place. This one still strikes me as strange.
- Self-quarantine, self-isolation. I suppose it’s supposed to sound voluntary. Or else.
- Social distancing. Specifically, six feet or more.
- Vaxxed. Which leads us to:
- Moderna. Not as a chic word for contemporary.
- Pfeizer. As a synonym for a vaccine, rather than the pharmaceutical giant.
- Fauci. Dr. Anthony.
There are more. What would you add to the list?
Pivot. What businesses had to do. And MRNA, referring to the Pfeizer and Moderna vaccines.
Duly noted!