Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 19

The English language is notoriously fast in adapting to the changing world.

New words enter English from every area of life where they represent and
describe the changes and developments that take place from day to day.
Here are some words and expressions that have been coined in recent years.
Some can be found in official dictionaries; others may never make their way there,
but new words will continue to appear as the English language adapts to
innovations and trends.

Word

Meaning

Affluenza

A blend of 'affluence' and 'influenza'.


A social disease resulting from extreme
materialism and excessive consumerism:
earning more money and consuming more,
which can lead to overwork, debt, stress,
anxiety, etc.

Agritourism

A form of tourism in which tourists stay on


farms or in agricultural villages, and often
participate in farm activities.

Alcopop

Fruit drinks fortified with alcohol, designed


and marketed to appeal to young people.

Amazeballs

Used to say that you find something


extremely good, very enjoyable, impressive,
etc.

Anklington

Blend of the words 'ankle' and 'wellington'.


A short wellington boot.

Anonymouse
Anonymice

People who wish to remain anonymous when


they give information, essentially because
they are afraid of scandal or retribution.

App

Abbreviation of 'application', software that


performs a specific task.

Applepick

Steal someone's iPhone.

Audiophile

Person who loves and collects high-quality


audio equipment.

Avatar

A graphical image representing a person for


example on the Internet.

Baggravation

Blend of the words 'bag' and 'aggravation'. A


feeling of annoyance and frustration at the
airport when your baggage has not arrived
but the other passengers' bags have.

Bashtag

A bashtag is a hashtag (#) that is used to


make critical or abusive comments on social
networking services such as Twitter.

Bitcoin

Digital currency which allows payments to be


sent from one party to another without going
through a financial institution.

Black Swan

An extremely rare and unexpected event of


large magnitude and consequence.

Bloatware/fatware

Pre-installed software that occupies a lot of


space, leaving little memory for storing
personal data.

Blook

A blend of 'book' and 'blog' : a book written


by a blogger.

Brain waste

The problem of skilled immigrants who are


forced to accept positions far below their
educational level in their new country is
known as "brain waste".

Breadcrumbing

A navigation technique which helps users by


displaying a list of links to the pages they
have visited when exploring a website,
for example: home
>>vocabulary>>transport.

Bromance

Blend of 'brother' and 'romance'.


A close non-sexual relationship between two
men.

Bureaucratese

A derogatory term for language used in


businesses and bureaucracies which
contains long sentences and complex words
that are obscure or difficult to understand.

Blend of 'burqa' and 'bikini' A swimsuit worn


Burkini or Burquini by Muslim women which covers the whole
body i.e. the arms to the wrist, the legs to the

ankle, with a hood to cover the hair and neck.


Buzz

Excited interest or attention surrounding, for


example, a new invention, a recent event or
something that has become fashionable.

Buzzkill

Something or someone spoiling an event that


people are enjoying.

Buzzword

A new word or expression that is commonly


used in specialized work environments or
age-groups, and has become fashionable.
Terms used in advertising can often convert
into buzzwords and become widely used

Buzzworthy

Describes what is likely to arouse the interest


and attention of the public.

Cage sandals

A type of sandal with a lot of thin straps.

Captcha

Completely Automated Public Turing Test To


Tell Computers and Humans Apart. A
distorted image of letters and numbers used
to ensure that a response is not generated by
a computer, in order
to prevent spamming.

Carjacking

Blend of 'car' and 'hijacking'.


When a car driver is forced to give up his
vehicle or drive to a destination designated
by the attacker.

Charticle

Blend of chart and article.


A news article that is composed primarily of a
chart, image or graphics with just a brief text
for additional information.

Chatroom

Areas on the internet where people can


communicate by exchanging typed
messages

Chick lit

Books, usually featuring female characters,


written by women on contemporary themes
and issues that appeal more to women than
to men.

Chillaxing

Blend of 'chilling' and relaxing'.


Taking a break from stressful activities to rest
or relax.

Citizen journalism

News collected and reported by ordinary


people, especially through the use of blog
software.

Click and collect

A shopping facility which enables customers


to order and pay for goods online, then
collect them from a local branch of the store.

Click bait

Put something on a website that will


encourage visitors to click on a link.

Clickjack
Clickjacking

Tricking Internet users into clicking on hidden


links.

Cloud computing

A computing service which enables access to


a shared pool of resources (servers, data
storage, applications, etc.) over the Internet.
Users can access and use tools or
applications through
a web browser without having to install them
on their computers.

Coatigan

Blend of 'coat' and 'cardigan'.


A long cardigan or knitted jacket which from a
distance looks more like a coat. Designed as
transitional wear for autumn weather before a
heavier coat is necessary.

Content farm

A website that publishes large amounts of


low-quality content, or content copied from
elsewhere, in order to attract visitors and
improve its search-engine rankings.

Word

Meaning

Copyleft

Opposite of copyright. Whereas copyright


imposes restrictions on the distribution of a
work or publication, copyleft eliminates
restrictions and allows freedom of use for all.

Cosmeceutical

A pharmaceutical product with beneficial effects

on the skin
e.g. anti-ageing creams containing a product
that changes the
cell biology.
Cot potato
Couch
commerce

Very young child who spends a lot of time


watching television.
(cot = a baby's bed)
Buying goods online from one's home.

Couch potato

A person who spends a lot of time sitting in


front of the television.

Cronut

A ring-shaped pastry that is a cross between a


croissant and a doughnut.

Crowdfunding

Raising money for a project by getting a large


number of people to make a small financial
contribution, particularly by using a website.

Cyberbully

A person who uses the Internet, electronic


communication or social networks to harm,
harass or intimidate another person.

Cyber cafe

A place which provides internet access to the


public.

Cyberchondriac

A person who imagines that he/she is suffering


from an illness after reading about the
symptoms on the Internet!

Cyberloaf

Spend time on the Internet at work doing


personal things.

Cyberslacking

Using one's employer's Internet and email


facilities for personal purposes during working
hours.

Daycation

A trip or short vacation which lasts only one day


- daycationers
do not stay away overnight.

Decruitment

Euphemism for laying-off staff or downsizing a


company.

Demitarian

A person who reduces by half their


consumption of meat and animal products in
order to reduce the environmental impact of
their diet.

Docusoap

Blend of 'documentary' and 'soap'. (soap opera:


sentimental TV serial) A 'docusoap' is a reality
television programme in the style
of a documentary.

Dramedy

Combination of 'drama' and 'comedy'. A film,


play or TV programme that mixes drama and
comedy.

Droolworthy

Something so attractive or exciting that it


makes you want to have it e.g. a droolworthy
dress, a droolworthy cake, etc.

Drug driving

Driving a vehicle while under the influence of


drugs.

Dwell time

The length of time spent on a website.

Earworm

A tune that keeps repeating itself over and over


again in our heads.

E-cruitment

Online recruitment of employees, including


online submission
of resumes and cover letters

Elancer

A professional person who works from home


and provides services on the internet.

Emoji

Icon used in electronic messages and


webpages.

Emoticon

A blend of 'emotion' and 'icon'. A symbol, used


in email messages, which is made out of
punctuation marks and resembles a human
face.

E-piracy

Electronic piracy Illegal downloading of material


found on the internet (films, music, etc.)

E-quaintance

A person you know only through online


networks.

E-stalk

To stalk (follow) someone using Internet


searches and email.

EV

Electric vehicle, a vehicle which runs entirely on


electricity stored
in rechargeable batteries.

E-waste

Electronic material and devices that have been


thrown away.

Face Time

Application which enables people to make


video phone calls.
They can speak and see each other at the
same time.

Fashionista

Person who dresses according to the latest


fashion trends.

Favicon

Favourite icon: a tiny little graphic that appears


when you bookmark a site.

Finlit / fin lit

Financial literacy
Knowledge and understanding of financial
language and issues related to finance.

Flame war

A period during which angry or rude email


messages are exchanged.

Flash mob

A crowd that gathers in a pre-determined place,


performs an action then disperses very quickly.
The mob is not told exactly what to do until just
before the event.

Flexitarian

A vegetarian who sometimes eats meat or fish.

Freemale

A woman who is happy to stay single and


independent so that she can do what she wants
when she wants.

Flightmare

Blend of 'flight' and 'nightmare'. Unpleasant air


travel experience (lost luggage, missed
connections, etc.)

Flog

A fake blog. A blog (online journal) which


appears to have been written by an
independent person but has in fact been
created by

a company or business in order to advertise a


product or service.
Floordrobe

Blend of 'floor' and 'wardrobe'.


A pile of clothes dropped on the floor.

Foodoir

A blend of 'food' and 'memoir'. An account of


someone's life or personal experiences, with a
strong emphasis on food, often including
recipes and cookery advice.

Frape

Blend of Facebook and rape.


Making changes to someones Facebook pages
without their knowledge or permission.

Frenemy

An enemy who pretends to be your friend.

Frostjack
Frostjacking

A blend of the words 'frost' and 'hijack'.


Stealing a car on a cold day when the owner
leaves the engine running to defrost the
windows.

Funemployed
Funemployment

A blend of 'fun' and 'unemployed'. Someone


who enjoys not having a job because they have
more time for leisure and fun activities.

Funkinetics
Word

A form of energetic step aerobics that mixes


exercise and soul music.
Meaning

Gastropub

A pub which, in addition to beer and


alcoholic drinks, offers gastronomic cuisine.

Gastrosexuals

A new generation of men who see cooking


more as a hobby than
a household chore, and use their cooking
skills to impress friends and potential
partners.

Gastrosexuals

A new generation of men who see cooking


more as a hobby than
a household chore, and use their cooking
skills to impress friends and potential
partners.

Geek

A person obsessively concentrated on a

particular interest, especially new


technological devices.
Glad rags

Your best clothes or dressy clothes you


wear on special occasions.

Glamping

Blend of 'glamour' and 'camping'. Luxury


camping : sleeping in the open but with
every comfort including cooking equipment.

Glass cliff

Refers to a situation where women are


selected for positions when there is a strong
likelihood of failure.

Gran-lit

Blend of 'granny' and 'literature'.


Books that appeal more to older people.

Greycation

Going on holiday or vacation with


grandparents in order to reduce the cost.

Guesstimate

Blend of 'guess' and 'estimate'. A rough


estimate without any claim of accuracy.

Hacktivist

A person who manipulates information on


the internet in order to transmit a message,
usually political.

Hashtag

The # symbol (hashtag) is used on social


networking services such as Twitter to
identify a keyword or topic of interest and
search for messages (tweets) related to the
subject.

Hater

A social networking app which allows


people to share their dislikes.

Haycation

A holiday or vacation spent on a farm.

HENRY

Abbreviation of high earner not rich yet;


refers to a person with an income between
$100,000 and $250,000.

Hoody or hoodie

A person, especially a youth, wearing a


hooded top.

Hotspot

Location in which wireless Internet access is


available for example airports, hotels, train

stations, etc.

ICE number

In Case of Emergency
The telephone number of a friend or relative
who should be contacted in an emergency
situation. The ICE number is stored in your
mobile phone and identified in your address
book by the prefixICE.
ex: ICE1 or ICE Mum.

Impactful

Having a great impact or effect, or making a


strong impression.

Infomania

Constantly checking and responding to


email and text messages.

Infotainment

Blend of 'information' and 'entertainment'.


Online services connected to information
and leisure activities.

It bag

High-priced designer handbag that is the


bag "of the moment", or
a "must-have" item.

It girl

A girl who has become a celebrity more


through intense media coverage than
through any personal achievements (e.g.
Paris Hilton).

Jigsaw family

A family which includes the children from


each partner's previous relationship(s), in
addition to any children they may have
together.

Jumbrella

Blend of 'jumbo' and 'umbrella'. Very large


umbrella set above tables outdoors at a
coffee shop, pub or restaurant.

Landline

A telephone connected to wires in a fixed


location as opposed to
a mobile or cell phone.

To simplify technical information so that it


Laymanise/laymaniz
can be understood by ordinary people or
e
non-specialists.

Legsie

A photograph taken by yourself of your


suntanned legs to show that you are
enjoying your holiday.
(The sand and sea are usually visible in the
picture.)

Locavore

A person who only eats food produced


locally.

Mailbomb

To deliberately try to disrupt another


computer system by sending massive
amounts of email to it.

Me time

A period of time spent exclusively on


yourself doing something that you enjoy and
allows you to relax.

Meh

Interjection used to express indifference or


to show that one simply does not care.
Equivalent to shrugging ones shoulders.
Used as an adjective it means 'mediocre'.

Meritocracy

The idea that merit and individual effort


determine one's success rather than wealth
or birth.

Mocktail

Non-alcoholic drink that looks like a cocktail.

Nail tat

A temporary tattoo applied to the nails.

Nano break

A one-night holiday, or going away from


home for one night.

Netbook

Small laptop computer which weighs less


than 3 pounds and has
a 7 to 10 inch screen.

Netiquette

Blend of 'network' and 'etiquette'. Set of


rules governing appropriate behaviour and
courtesy on the internet.

Netizen

Blend of 'internet' and 'citizen'. A person


who spends an excessive amount of time on
the internet.

Netpicker

A person who surfs the internet looking for


information in order to impress others with

their knowledge of current events.


Nevertiree

A person who continues to work after they


have reached the age of retirement.

Newbie

A new member of any group, community, or


activity.

Word

Meaning

Nonliner

Someone who rarely or never uses the Internet,


usually because they cannot access it.

Noogler

New Google employee

Notspot

An area where there is slow Internet access or


no connection at all.

Noughties

The years between 2000 and 2009 which


contain a 'nought' (zero), in the same way as
other decades are called the 'thirties', 'sixties',
etc .

Offshorable

Something that can be done or produced in


another country, especially at reduced costs.

OH

Abbreviation of 'other half', a person's wife,


husband or partner.

Omnishambles

A totally mismanaged situation characterized by


numerous blunders and miscalculations.

Onesie

A one-piece garment for adults, rather like a


babys sleeping suit, usually made of soft
material and worn for relaxing or sleeping.

Optics

The way a situation appears to the general


public, or the impression it gives.

Outernet

Traditional media (newspapers, magazines,


radio, television) as opposed to the internet.

Overparenting

Being excessively protective of one's children in


order to guarantee their safety and ensure their
success in life.

Oversharing

Providing too much information on the Internet


(credit card details, personal information, etc.)
especially through social network sites.

Overworking
class

A segment of today's working population where


there is a desire or need to work long hours.

Password
fatigue

Being tired of having to remember a large


number of passwords for different electronic
devises.

Password wallet

An online service where a persons passwords


can be stored and managed.

Paywall

A system which restricts access to a website, or


certain webpage content, to users who have
paid a subscription.

Photobomb

Intrude into the background of a photograph just


before it is taken.

Pixie cut

A short hairstyle for women in which the hair is


cut around the ears and cropped in layers so as
to create a tousled effect.

Podcast

Derived from 'pod' (from Ipod) and 'broadcast'.


A digital file (radio, audio etc.) available on the
Internet for downloading to a computer or
mobile device.

Quintastic

A blend of the adjective 'fantastic' and the prefix


'quin'. An informal way of referring to a person
who is aged fifty or over but remains sexy,
smart, energetic and successful, especially
someone famous. In August 2011 President
Barack Obama became a quintastic.

Recessionista

Popular new term for a person who succeeds in


dressing stylishly on a tight budget.

Ringtone

The sound made by a mobile or cell phone to


indicate an incoming call.

Road rage

Aggressive habits often resulting in violence


against other drivers.

Robocall

Commercial telemarketing call which plays a


recorded message.

Sandwich
generation

A generation of people who care for the needs


of their children as well as those of their own

elderly parents.
Screenager

A young person or teenager who spends a lot of


time in front of the computer screen.

Selfie

A photograph that one has taken of oneself (for


example a photograph taken with a
smartphone).

Shabby-chic

Cottage-style decor achieved by using worn or


distressed furniture and neutral-coloured
fabrics, or new items suitably treated to appear
old and look comfortable. The result is an
elegant overall effect.

Sitcom

Blend of 'situation' and 'comedy'. A drama, on


television, based on humorous everyday
situations.

Site scraper

Software that collects content from other sites


(without permission).

Slumdog

Very poor, underprivileged person who lives in


an overcrowded squalid area of a city called a
slum

Smirt

Blend of 'smoke' and 'flirt' Smoking prohibition


laws have led to a new sort of social pastime :
'smirting', smokers getting to know each other
when outside on the pavement.

Snail mail

The standard system of delivering mail which is


very slow in contrast to electronic mail.

Stay home and use the internet, phone or other


electronic device to communicate with people
Sofalise/sofalize
(social networking, chatting, tweeting, etc.),
rather than go out and meet them face to face.
Solopreneur

A person who is the owner of their business and


runs it alone.

Word

Meaning

Speed dating

A method of meeting a potential romantic partner


by talking to a group of individuals at an
organised event. Participants are rotated to meet

each other for no more than eight minutes. They


then move on to the next person. At the end they
indicate whether they are interested in any of the
people they have met.
Spinnish

The language used by spin doctors, spokespersons, campaign managers, etc. when trying to
present information in a favourable light.

Staycation

A vacation in which you stay at home and relax or


visit places close to where you live.

Street food

Food prepared and sold by vendors in a street or


a public
location for immediate consumption.

The adjective subprime describes a risky loan, or


Subprime/sublending money at a higher rate of interest to
prime
borrowers who have a poor credit history.
Sudoku

A number placement puzzle consisting of a grid


of nine 3-by-3 squares. Each row, column and
square must contain only one instance of the
numbers 1 to 9.

Textonym

A word produced by predictive text software when


you press a combination of numbers on the
keypad of a mobile phone.

Textspeak

Language used in text messages consisting of


abbreviations, acronyms, initials, emoticons, etc.

Textual
harassment

Sending text messages to mobile phones which


insult or abuse people.

Tombstoning

Jumping or diving into water from a dangerously


high place such as a hotel balcony, a cliff, bridge,
wall, roof, etc.

Trashion

Blend of 'trash' and 'fashion'. Fashionable items


created from old, used and recycled elements.

Trekkie

A fan of the TV science fiction series Star Trek.

Tribal
marketing

Marketing strategy which consists in using the


social behaviour of certain groups ('tribes') of
consumers (e.g. surfers, rappers) to promote a

product or service. Very often used by clothing


and accessory brands.
Tweeps

Blend of 'Twitter' and 'peeps' (people).


Users who follow you on Twitter.

Tweet

People who 'tweet' send short messages via the


microblogging service Twitter.

Tweetheart

A user of the Twitter service who is very popular


or admired, or with whom other users
communicate a lot.

Tweet seats

Seats in a theatre or concert hall given to people


who wish to
tweet during the performance.

Twintern

Blend of 'Twitter' and 'intern'.


A person, usually a student or recent graduate,
employed by a company to promote its products
or services on Twitter or other social media.

Twitterati

People who frequently use the social networking


site Twitter.

Twittion

Blend of 'Twitter' and 'petition', a Twitter petition.

Trolling

Being provocatively rude or insulting on the


Internet in order to cause anger or conflict in an
online community such as a blog, chat room or
discussion forum.

Unfollow

Stop receiving another's person's messages on


Twitter.

Unfriend

Remove someone from your list of friends on


social networks such as Facebook.

Upskill

Teach an employee new or additional skills.

UX

Short for 'user experience'.

Videophile

Person who is very interested in watching videos


and making recordings, and values high-quality
results.

Viral marketing

Marketing strategy that consists in encouraging


people to pass along information to friends, family

and colleagues through e-mail messages, blogs,


video-sharing, etc., so that the marketing
message spreads like a virus.
Vook

A combination of video, text, images and social


streams in an electronic book.

Web rage

Anger or frustration as a result of difficulties or


problems encountered when using the Internet.

Webinar

Presentation or seminar conducted over the web.

Weblish

A form of English that is used on the web (use of


abbreviations, acronyms, small letters, absence
of punctuation and hyphens etc.) Also known as :
webspeak, netspeak, internetese.

Widget

Blend of 'window' and 'gadget'. A small


application or tool that can be installed and
executed within a web page.

Wiki

A web page which allows multiple users to


contribute to its content. The most well-known is
the website Wikipedia.

Winterval

Blend of 'winter' and 'festival'. A festival that takes


place in winter.

Wordle

The words of a piece of text arranged into a sort


of graphic. The more frequent a particular word
appears in the text, the bigger its size in the
wordle. (Also called 'word cloud' or 'text cloud'.)

Zumba

A fitness activity which combines lively


international music with dance exercises.

What are proverbs?


Proverbs and sayings are short statements of wisdom or advice
that are transmitted from generation to generation
and have passed into general use.
Alphabetical lists of English Proverbs
Below you will find lists of commonly-used proverbs in English.
The table shows the first and last proverb in each list.
Proverbs A
Proverbs B
Proverbs C
Proverbs D
Proverbs E
Proverbs F
Proverbs G
Proverbs H
Proverbs I
Proverbs JK
Proverbs L
Proverbs M
Proverbs N

A bad excuse is better than none Ask me no


questions...
Bad news travels fast A burnt child dreads the
fire.
A cat has nine lives Constant occupation
prevents temptation.
Dead men tell no lies A dry March, a wet April
and a cool May ...
Early to bed and early to rise ... Experience is
the father of wisdom.
Facts speak louder than words. Friendship is
love with understanding
Gardens are not made by ... A guilty conscience
needs no accuser.
Half a loaf is better than none. Hunger is a good
sauce.
An idle brain is the devil's workshop. It takes all
sorts to make a world
Justice delayed is justice denied. Knowledge is
power.
Laughter is the best medicine. A loveless life is a
living death.
Make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. A monkey in
silk is ...
Necessity is the mother of invention. Nothing
ventured nothing gained.

Proverbs O Once bitten, twice shy. Out of sight, out of mind.


Proverbs
Penny wise, pound foolish. Put all your eggs in
P-Q
one basket.
Revenge is sweet. A rotten apple spoils the
Proverbs R
barrel.
Save me from my friends. Stolen fruit is the
Proverbs S
sweetest.
Tall oaks grow from little acorns. Two wrongs
Proverbs T
don't make a right.
Proverbs
Union is strength. Virtue is its own reward.
U-V
Proverbs
Walls have ears. Worry often gives a small
W
thing a big shadow.
Proverbs
You are what you eat. Young idler, old beggar.
X-Y-Z

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi