Bhubaneswar: You walk down the sidewalk donning ‘Mask-ara’ and ‘Coronadodge’ some ‘Covidiots’ standing too close together before you complete your ‘Corona-Waltz’ home for virtual ‘Locktail Hour’ when you can enjoy a glass of ‘Quarantini’ and ‘LOLUMM’ with some friends in your dedicated ‘Zoom-room’.
The new words in that sentence are just some of the inventive phrases, which have emerged courtesy COVID-19 pandemic. ‘Coronaspeak’ is being used by people to describe events which have never happened to them before. Indeed, the pandemic has even changed the way we speak.
Here’s a list of such hilarious lockdown lingo:
LOLUMM: Laugh Out Loud Under My Mask
Zumping: For break-ups in the time of social distancing, Zumping is a slang for dumping someone over Zoom, or any video calling service.
Zoom-Bombing: It is when an uninvited guest gate-crashes a virtual meeting and takes control of it, perhaps even sharing inappropriate content.
Covidiot: A blend of COVID-19 and idiot, Covidiot is a slang insult for a person who disregards safety measures or goes against public health advice amid the pandemic.
Quarantini: A quarantini is nothing but a cocktail that people drink at home while under quarantine. A mix of quarantine and martini, Quarantini is a general term for any beverage consumed at home during the lockdown.
Coronials: Move over millennials, the future generation of babies conceived or born during quarantine will be the Coronials.
Mask-ara: If people can only see your eyes, you better make them pop before venturing out in public wearing a surgical mask.
Rona: Often in the phrase, the Rona is an informal shortening of coronavirus. Coronavirus is popularly shortened to corona, which was apparently further clipped to Rona. It is often used in a playful or ironic way to refer to COVID-19, especially when commenting on more relatable, humorous challenges of social distancing during the pandemic. Some people have personified the virus as Miss Rona or Aunt Rona.
Corona-Waltz: Manoeuvring around other people in public, like a dance, to avoid getting too close to them.
Coronasplaining : Similar to ‘Mansplaining’, when someone who doesn’t know very much about a topic lectures others.
Coronadodge: Physically avoiding others out in public so as not to contract the virus.
Coronacation: Cessation of study or work due to the pandemic, viewed as a holiday.
Zoom-room: The one corner of the home that is kept clean for video conferences.
Locktail Hour: Cocktail hour in lockdown.
