coronacoaster
noun

- the severe mood swings experienced during the coronavirus

Collins Dictionary

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ORIGINS

Coronacoaster plays on the word rollercoaster (Achterbahn), and quarantine can be traced back to the 14th century, when sea trade between Europe - in particular Italy - and countries in the Far East was increasing.

In 1348, at the height of the Black Death, Port of Venice authorities imposed a minimum of forty days isolation on the crews of arriving ships. In Venetian dialect this isolation period was known as 'quarantena' from quaranta, ‘forty’.

The current pandemic has added many new words to the Covid lexicon including:

- Covidiot (a person who ignores the rules of social distancing)

- WFH (Working From Home)

- Quarantini (a creative cocktail mixed from back-of-cupboard ingredients)

- Covid-15 (the extra 15 pounds of weight caused by nervous eating

- Bored-eau (the wine that’s drunk when there’s nothing better to do)

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Practice OWAD in an English conversation, say something like:

“Companies like Google, IBM, and SAP have created the new position ‘Chief Mindfulness Officer' to address CORONACOASTER problems.

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A shoutout to Kerstin for triggering today’s word and for suggesting “Mindfulness on the Go: Simple Meditation Practices You Can Do Anywhere” by Jan Chozen Bays, a good antidote to coronacoaster.

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VIELEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

Paul Smith