BOSTON — It started last winter with the phrase ‘social distancing.’
Since then, the vocabulary of the pandemic has grown to include obscure epidemiological terms such as R-naught, common words recruited to the cause, as well as neologistic nuggets that often describe trying to cope with working from home.
Blursday, for example, describes any day during the pandemic -- because at home, every day feels the same. While a series of Blursdays when you’re not expected at work is known as a Coronacation.
Clever as these new words might be -- a new survey finds Americans are sick of them -- along with some of the more common terms heard continuously through the pandemic. Pioneer PR polled 3,700 adults and found many detested lockdown, self-quarantine, and contact tracing, as well as super-spreader, herd immunity, and unprecedented.
In Massachusetts, the most hated pandemic phrase was ‘Flattening the Curve,’ the company said.
At Faneuil Hall, passersby had their own ideas of pandemic words and phrases they’d just assume never speak or hear again.
“Mask. I’m really sick of hearing mask,” one woman said.
A woman visiting from Huntsville, Alabama agreed -- she especially hates the admonition to ‘mask up’ (though she was wearing a mask.)
“After this is all said and done, we’re all gonna have PTSD,” she added. “Someone’s gonna say Covid and we’re gonna be like AAHHHH!”
“Social distancing, curfews and lockdowns,” said Brian Kiley.
Anything with the word ‘quarantine’ attached to it, said a Northeastern University student. “My quarantine hobby... or my quarantine fits,” she said.
“I think ‘new normal,’ said another. “I want to go back to a regular normal. Not a new normal.”
In the regular normal, the word ‘dashboard’ will, presumably, only apply to motor vehicles and ‘surge’ will have nothing to do with hospitals. There will be no such skin condition as ‘maskne,’ the words ‘vaccine appointment’ won’t cause anxiety, and ‘closed’ signs in store windows will, of course, flip over to read ‘open’ come morning.
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