21 weird words and phrases that became totally normal in 2020

The coronavirus pandemic changed our lives completely this year. But it didn’t just upend what we can do and where we can go. A whole new set of words and phrases now pop up in our daily conversations.

1. Lockdown

2. Self-isolation

3. Social distancing

4. Furlough

5. Flatten the curve

6. Super-spreader

7. Contact tracing

8. Patient zero

The first person infected in a disease outbreak

9. Second wave

10. Herd immunity

11. Maskne

A combination of “mask” and “acne”, it describes skin breakouts after wearing a facial covering

12. WFH

13. Zoombombing

When internet trolls disrupt a video call

14. You’re on mute

15. Doomscrolling

Popularised by Karen K. Ho, also known as Doomscrolling Reminder Lady, the term means endlessly scrolling through bad news on social media feeds, particularly at night  

16. The new normal

17. Hazmat suit

18. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

19. Epidemiologist

20. What tier are you in?

21. Covidiot

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