2020 — a year that’s given us the shakes. All those intellectuals of the future will be talking about it for aeons. ‘The year that heralded a paradigm shift,’ they’d say, scratching their heads wisely, or use high-sounding words like ‘unprecedented’ to describe it.
But for you and me, the lesser mortals who’ve gone through the actual grind and have had ample time for reflection, how would we label it? What are the best and worst words to describe this year?
According to Merriam-Webster, ‘pandemic’ has been the word most looked up, and chosen as Word of the Year. Even toddlers can mouth it, although they may not know its meaning. Worst word? Let’s look at some of the other contenders.
‘The ides of March have come.’
‘Aye, Caesar, but not gone.’
These famous lines from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar seem to sum up the rest of the year, with its lockdowns and strict curfews that began in March. Even as I write this, different parts of the world have declared another lockdown as there appears to be a ‘second wave’ of the pandemic.
In my opinion, this is surely the most unpopular word of 2020, and is not far in meaning from its sister-word, ‘lock-up.’ A lockdown is very much like a lock-up, as we have all been practically imprisoned within our homes. And ‘quarantine’ follows hard on its heels as being equally unpopular. Is ‘lockdown’ the worst word, followed by its twin, ‘quarantine’?
Disciplining children
Then there’s ‘home schooling’ and ‘home-office’, and neither term is a pleasant or harmonious mix. It’s bad news all round, with teachers burdened with a new way of imparting knowledge, of kids spending inordinate amounts of time before the screen, and of moms tearing their hair out trying to discipline kids.
The boss is no longer feared, but the pressure cooker going off in the midst of a meeting. Ask any kid, and they’d prefer the rough-and-tumble of the school playground. And adults now consider the office a sanctuary. These two words may not qualify as the ‘worst’, but they are no longer sought after or lauded like in pre-Covid times.
We’ve all now become experts in videoconferencing and Zoom has become the de facto means of communication. Can this be the best word?
After all, even the most technologically-challenged among us know how to schedule a meeting, or mute someone. (Many wish this tool could be carried over into real life; but I digress.) Zoom (or any of the other apps we use) is how we’ve kept in touch with our loved ones in far-off lands, and perhaps deserves the title of ‘best word.’
Sanitiser is cold and scientific
Two other words that have crept into our vocabulary are sanitiser and social distancing. Next to lockdown, these are my least favourite words. Sanitiser is so cold and scientific, a word that smacks of hospital wards. As for social distancing, well this is my least-loved oxymoron.’ Social’ implies togetherness, but distancing is quite the opposite.
‘Hobbies’ is another word that is bandied around, as during this pandemic, with more time on our hands, we are urged to cultivate hobbies. Best word? Not quite. Some people have indeed put their free time to good use, but for the vast majority, it’s bingeing on Netflix.
No prizes for guessing the best song. It’s hands down ‘Happy Birthday to You,’ as we all hum it twice over while scrubbing our hands.
Last but not least, as the year ends, the word that is on people’s lips is ‘vaccine.’ This is the most recent buzzword world-over. Pfizer, Sinopharm, Sputnik, Oxford, Moderna, Covaxin — we are truly blessed to have a cocktail of vaccines to choose from. Is ‘vaccine’ then your best word?
And so, on this positive note, I end my cuff. What is YOUR best and worst word of 2020?
Padmini Sankar is a Dubai-based writer and author
