New Terms and Trends: Do You Know Them?

Just like clothing and fashion trends, new phrases and terms have a way of inserting themselves in every day language. For some, these phrases are overused and annoying. For others, these terms do an acceptable job of explaining a situation. Here are a few terms that are making an entrance. See if you recognize them, or perhaps you just want to stay on trend. Enjoy!

• Situationships. Instead of being in a relationship with someone, the new term and life event cropping up is a situationship. In short, a situationship is a romantic relationship that lacks long-term commitment. It exists specifically because of a situation that brings two people together. What is unique is that there is a lack of a long-term goal in its intention. Oftentimes the relationship is born out of convenience or lack of options. Examples include dating because of a short-term work assignment or a casual relationship that becomes semi-exclusive without any expectations.
• Quiet Quitting. This refers to the idea of an employee making a conscious decision to do the absolute minimum to keep their current job. The employee doesn’t actually quit their job, but rather they switch into maintenance mode. The cause can be due to toxic cultures or a perceived lack of incentive, whether in advancement or impact, to fully buy in to the company’s vision. But it appears to be somewhat generational in nature.
• OK Boomer. The boomer part of this phrase comes from the term baby boomer. It’s a term used by younger generations, often in a frustrated or negative connotation when referring to a specific idea or custom of an older generation. It’s essentially a verbal eye-roll.
• Table Stakes. The business world borrowed this term from the poker table. In a poker context, when you start playing you may only bet what is available on the table at the start of the hand. Businesses have converted this phrase to refer to the minimum amount of functionality, skills or capital required to offer a competitive product or service. Without your table stakes, there’s no point in going to market because you do not have the minimum required resources to be successful.
• Throwing Shade. This is an insult or jab at someone performed in a specific way. It’s not just being mean…it also has to be clever and subtle. If done correctly, only the person it’s being directed at will actually understand its true meaning. This implies there must be an existing relationship or shared experience with the two people involved in the conversation.
• Ghosting. Ghosting is unexpected ignoring by one person of another person that can happen in many different settings, though it’s usually referred to when talking about relationships or career recruiting. Examples include not returning someone’s calls or texts after a first date, or not showing up for the first day of work without any warning. The person doing the ghosting disappears from all forms of communication.

Understanding modern terms and trends can be very helpful. Even if you’re not partial to some of these terms, don’t fret! They’ll probably be replaced soon enough with the next up-and-coming phrase or trend.