February is here and with much of the country now back at work or school, with any luck you were able to return after a healthful and restful break. In that spirit, here are five new words themed around health and fitness.
Have you been eating a lot of mango this summer? Perhaps you’ve heard of mango burn, a painful rash that’s caused by contact with mango sap. It’s something mango harvesters have to take precautions against, but thankfully it’s not a risk to shoppers in the fruit aisle.
Another ailment you’ve hopefully avoided over the holidays is leisure sickness. It’s not a specific disease, but rather any illness that coincides with a break from work. The term might be new to you, but the experience is probably frustratingly familiar!
Speaking of which … now that COVID-19 has turned two, you’re very lucky if you haven’t yet suffered from pandemic brain. That’s the perceived loss of mental capacity thought to be due to living through the pandemic.
Sticking with the mind, the next new word comes from the field of psychology. Thought stopping is a therapeutic technique for eliminating unwanted recurring thoughts: as soon as the bad thought arrives, you try to squash it.
Finally, we have an adjective from the bodybuilding community. If you’re natty, then you’ve developed your physique naturally – without the use of anabolic steroids or similar drugs.
What do you think of these new words? Should they be in the Macquarie Dictionary?
