Words and phrases recently introduced into the English language.

[westv]

Prior to 2000, nobody I know said train station. No book about British trains said it.

Well prior to leaving school I never heard anybody say lunch time rather than dinner time.

 

[Busaholic]

Prior to 2000, nobody I know said train station. No book about British trains said it.

Prior to the 1930s no Americans used the term train station, and it wasn't until the 1980s that it became more used than railway station.

 

[102 fan]

Prior to the 1930s no Americans used the term train station, and it wasn't until the 1980s that it became more used than railway station.

More used in US or UK?

 

[WAO]

When someone tells you,
"I am good, thanks",
your response should be,
"I very much hope you are but are you well?"

A few other corrections:

envision = imagine
impact = affect
insightful = perceptive
conflicted = equivocal or ambivalent
etc

WAO

 

[AndrewE]

I heard another noun used as a verb on R4 this morning: "Someone "medalled" at the Commonwealth games!" Ugh! Or does it not really matter, quite logical, easily understood and quicker to say than "gained a medal?"

 

[Gloster]

Double down. Not only is this a new and (probably) unnecessary phrase, but there seems to be a lack of clarity about what it means. I have seen it used in the sense of somebody reinforcing and underlining something they have already said (or done): ‘Truss doubles down on tax cuts’ means that she has already said she wants them, but has just reinforced it by saying she is determined to cut taxes. But it is also used in the sense that she is now hedging about how she will tax cuts: not quite a U-turn, but a retreat from her previous statements. (The second is a hypothetical and highly unlikely example.)

 

[Busaholic]

More used in US or UK?

The US.

 

[SargeNpton]

Double down. Not only is this a new and (probably) unnecessary phrase, but there seems to be a lack of clarity about what it means. I have seen it used in the sense of somebody reinforcing and underlining something they have already said (or done): ‘Truss doubles down on tax cuts’ means that she has already said she wants them, but has just reinforced it by saying she is determined to cut taxes. But it is also used in the sense that she is now hedging about how she will tax cuts: not quite a U-turn, but a retreat from her previous statements. (The second is a hypothetical and highly unlikely example.)

Double-Down is an expression from the game of Blackjack, where a player is so confident of the cards they hold that they double their bid.

In general use, depending on the context, it can either mean that someone is more committed then ever to a course of action - or that they are prepared to take more of a risk. Of course that then depends on the recipient of the message knowing which context the sender means!

 

[DelW]

I heard another noun used as a verb on R4 this morning: "Someone "medalled" at the Commonwealth games!" Ugh! Or does it not really matter, quite logical, easily understood and quicker to say than "gained a medal?"

I don't like that one either, but it's been around for at least a couple of Olympics. I think I probably first heard it during the London games in 2012.

 

[Busaholic]

I don't like that one either, but it's been around for at least a couple of Olympics. I think I probably first heard it during the London games in 2012.

They meddle at their peril.

 

[krus_aragon]

I heard another noun used as a verb on R4 this morning: "Someone "medalled" at the Commonwealth games!" Ugh! Or does it not really matter, quite logical, easily understood and quicker to say than "gained a medal?"

They'd have gotten away with it too, if not for those medalling kids!

 

[DelW]

Victorious cyclists would be medalling for their pedalling ...

 

[Welshman]

Sorry if this has been mentioned before. but I don't fancy going back through 7 pages!

A phrase which invariably grates is when a young thing next to me in the queue at a coffee bar [and invariably a young thing],says
"Can I get me a flat white?"..... latte or whatever.
If I worked behind the counter I'd be tempted to reply, "Yes, you seem quite capable. I think you could"
Its just as well that Starbucks, Cafe Nero etc don't employ a grumpy old git like me.

 

[Gloster]

Reach out, in the sense of ‘tried to contact’: “We reached out to him to discuss his complaint.” What is wrong with, “We tried to contact/contacted him...”

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Reach out, in the sense of ‘tried to contact’: “We reached out to him to discuss his complaint.” What is wrong with, “We tried to contact/contacted him...”

I think that one has probably crossed over from the US. I first encountered it in when working with US IT colleagues - and from experience, I'd say people of all ages use it all the time in professional workplaces over there. I think it's quite a useful phrase because it's a nice compact way of carrying the sense of, taking the initiative to contact someone rather than waiting for them to contact you.

And - just occurred to me: Four Tops... Reach out, I'll Be There - from the 1960s. So definitely not a new phrase in the US!

 

[xotGD]

In events where no medals are awarded, by finishing in the top three you might not have medalled but you have still podiumed.

 

[Brush 4]

The internet is responsible for various backward trends. The loss of capital letters, lack of punctuation, the confusing of 12 hr and 24 hr systems, increased Americanisms. 09.00am -17.30pm is meaningless, but, can be seen on many shop or cafe doors and on websites, since about 2000.

Other examples of replacing a perfectly good word or phrase for no valid reason:-
Impacted - affected.
Factored in - included.
My bad - my mistake.
Improvement became enhancement, then upgrade. Now it is apparently an intervention. Why?

Uplift - increase. Often, tracing the origin of a change is lost in the mists of time but, I remember this one, Sept/Oct 2021. When the £20 increase in Universal Credit was announced in 2020, it was called just that, an increase. When it was withdrawn in 2021, it was described in the press as an uplift. Now, it is becoming endemic, just like impacted. It seems to be a case of to use another modernism, FOMO fear of missing out. The media thinks, oh they said that, we had better say that as well.


Overuse of facility/facilities.
Up. A car isn't parked up, it's parked.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I agree with some of what you write, but to be picky...

09.00am -17.30pm is meaningless, but, can be seen on many shop or cafe doors and on websites, since about 2000.

09.00am -17.30pm is not 'meaningless' - its meaning is perfectly clear! It's certainly mixing usages and contains redundant text though.

My bad - my mistake.

I think there's a small but subtle difference between these. 'My mistake' refers to specifically to something that you did that was either not intended or whose consequences were not intended. 'My bad' could refer to something that was not a mistake (in the sense that at the time, you completely intended whatever it is you did), but which you now regret. Having said that, it's true that people say 'my bad' where 'my mistake' would also work.

 

[Dr Day]

In Bristol at least, to voi, meaning to make a trip using one of the electric scooters operated by a company called Voi. Eg ‘Nah, I won’t get a taxi from Temple Meads, I’ll voi home.’