A Dreich Case Of Psychoterratic Solastalgia

The Word Collector — Part 38 — It’s that Autumn feeling again

This is the latest in a series about new words and phrases, specimens collected during expeditions into the deepest, darkest literary and media wilderness, and displayed for your entertainment, elucidation, and enlightenment. These are new to me, but of course, you may know some or all of them already, in which case you are welcome to marvel at my ignorance, an inexhaustible seam of material to be mined.

INFJ — this acronym turned up in an article by Medium author Bella Smith

INFJ, as defined by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), stands for Introversion, Intuition, Feeling, and Judging. INFJs are introspective, intuitive, empathetic, and organized, often known for their idealism, insightfulness, and strong desire to help others and contribute to the greater good. Decent human beings then. There is more about the personality type on the link below:

“Low Key”- this phrase appeared in a series by Yohan J, about words and phrases used by Gen Z. It apparently means less definitive and it can also mean “easy-going”. A link to Yohan’s article is below:

Ice — Also from Yohan’s series, this word is used by Gen Z to mean jewellery or shiny, expensive objects.

ZIRP — this was used in a Medium newsletter by Scott Lamb, and as far as I can make out it stands for Zero Interest Rate Policy, though breaking the rules on the use of acronyms, Scott didn’t tell us this!

Radiculitis — this word cropped up in conversation with my younger daughter, who is approaching the end of her training to be a physiotherapist. Pity those poor patients. I misheard her diagnosis as ridiculitis, which sounded rather unsympathetic for someone entering a caring profession. On a par with another friend who accused me of a case of chronic hypochondria.

To return to the new word, radiculitis is caused by a pinched nerve in your spine. More specifically, it happens when one of your nerve roots, where your nerves join your spinal column, is compressed or irritated. Radiculopathy will cause the area around your pinched nerve to feel painful, numb or tingly. So a pain in the neck, which brings some politicians to mind.

solastalgia — This is a word I came across in the November/December issue of “The Ecologist and Resurgence” magazine, which says of it-

“The environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht first created the term solastalgia in 2005, when he was looking for a way to precisely describe the emotional impacts of large-scale coal mining on the well-being of individuals in New South Wales, Australia, where he is based. A decade later the term had made its way into the British medical journal “The Lancet”, where it was described as being ‘a contributing concept to the impact of climate change on human health and well-being’. And more recently the term appeared in the United Nations 2022 report by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change.”

psychoterratic — Glenn Albrecht has been busy creating new words, as this is another attributed to him in the same article in “The Ecologist and Resurgence” magazine, about how climate change is already damaging our collective health. We know that disconnection from nature can be bad for our mental health, however there was no particular name for this malaise, until Glenn coined the term psychoterratic, creating the beginning of a new vocabulary to discuss the relationship between mental health and the environment. As a bonus that helped lift my own psychoterratic feelings, I have just realised that the last two words in this collection have thoroughly annoyed Grammarly, which I love doing!

blaccent — A “blaccent” is speaking in a way that mimics or mocks Black vernacular, by a person who is not Black. One commentator defines it this way:

“‘Blaccent’ is a term describing the fake accent racists and cultural appropriators use when they mimic Black people,” says Mikki Kendall, an author and diversity consultant. “Black people have accents, but we don’t all have the same one and yet somehow those two groups always use the same accent when they imitate Black people.”

I saw the word used in this article on the BBC News website:

prolix — an adjective meaning, of speech or writing, using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy. For example:

“….he found the narrative too prolix and discursive….”

I saw the word used in Luke Harding’s book “Mafia State”, when describing the character of a Russian oligarch. The book tells of Harding’s time as a Guardian reporter being harassed in Russia, before the recent invasion of Ukraine.

dreich — an adjective from Scottish dialect, meaning, especially of weather, dreary; bleak. For example, a speaker might describe a typical day in the UK:

“….a cold, dreich October day…”!

The word was seen by Mrs. Pearce, in a film review, while looking for something to take our minds off the dreich British weather.

I hope you enjoyed this collection, and do share any favourites of your own in the comments.

As always, thank you for reading.

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Previous articles from The Word Collector:

Part 37 — A Cockamamie Collection Of Highkey Zhuzh

Part 36 — Keggers, Kerning, Çay and Crickets

Part 35 — Murmuring judges and anhedonia

Part 34 — A-quomodocunquizing-borborygmus

Part 33 — Going Monk Mode In Taumata­whakatangihanga­koauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukaka­piki­maunga­horo­nuku­pokai­whenua­ki­tana­tahu

Part 32 — Turpitudinous Tourons

Part 31 — Hurkle durkle, medicanes and misophonia

Part 30 — Immortal earworms

Part 29 — Government on the RAAC

Part 28 –Saved by a deus ex machina

Part 27 — Pre-Lapsarian Yakers

Part 26 — Fegans, Jorts, Rababs And Scotch Bonnets

Part 25 — Fissiparous Hegemony

Part 24 — Lollygag And Booktok

Part 23 — Patronymics And Samovars

Part 22 — Medium Is No Chronofage If YRMIRY

Part 21 — Everything Is Eellogofusciouhipoppokunurious

Part 20 — Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia And The Matthew Effect

Part 19 — A Nappuccino And Some Typo-Squatting

Part 18 — Yeeting Detritovres

Part 17 — An Inverted Pyramid Of Piffle On The Bed Of Procrustes

Part 16 — Having The Jones And Partisan Acrimony

Part 15 — Spycops In The Boondocks

Part 14 — Harlots, Stochastic Parrots, And The Devil’s Cufflinks

Part 13 — The Things We Make Exceptional

Part 12 — “Semper Fidelis” And Semantic Symbiosis

Part 11 — Heliophobic Hikikomori

Part 10 — Lenticular Clouds And Peque Peques

Part 9 — Big Red Boots And Nepo Babies

Part 8 — A Patina Of Smilies

Part 7 — Atavistic frou frou

Part 6-Mouth Breathers And Pearl Clutchers

Part 5 — The Lexophile’s Latest List

Part 4 — Revenge of the word collector

Part 3- An Etymological Extravaganza

Part 2- Return Of The Word Collector

Part 1 — A Moment In The Sun