What a wally: how best to talk n
Dating in 2020 has been like no other year and, with a host of new dating experiences and situations, comes a new list of dating terms.
To keep your finger on the pulse the experts at dating app, Plenty of Fish, have round up all the love-in-lockdown lingo to get your head around.
Language of love:
Apocalypsing (/ah-poca-lyps-ing): Treating every relationship like it’s your last.
This year felt like the end of the world at times, so much so that 41% of singles know someone who treated every relationship like it was their last.
Some 29% have also found themselves more eager to be in a relationship due to quarantine.
Twice Baked (/twy-sbayk-d): When someone’s chat is twice-baked and you have the same repetitive boring COVID convos (from sourdough to banana bread.
Barnard-castling (/ bahr-nahr-d-cahs-ling): Getting caught out by your partner for using outlandish excuses – as former government top adviser Dominic Cummings.
Sanitising (/sah-ni-tizing): Erasing every photo of an ex from social media after a break-up.
More than a third of people have taken a ‘Hands, Face, Space’ approach to their Instagram account after a split, to get rid of any trace of their ex.
Gen Z – aged between eight and 23 – are the biggest culprits, as over half (54%) admit to sanitising all traces of their old partner from social media.
Baby Zoomers (bay-bee zu-murs): a term to describe the new ‘generation’ of babies conceived during lockdown.
Baby Zoomers are even more prevalent amongst Millennials, aged 22 to 38 – with 30% knowing someone expecting a lockdown baby.
Move aside boomers, lockdown has created a whole new generation.
Almost a fifth know someone who has become pregnant during lockdown.
Folklore-ing (/fo-kloreing): Being so focused on a fairytale romance that expectations don’t match reality.
Inspired by Taylor Swift’s indie daydreams, 32% have been so focused on having a fairy tale romance.
Hey&Pray (/Hey and prey): When someone reaches out to you on dating apps and only uses the simple “hey” “hey watsup” “hey you” “hey...”
Over three quarters (78%) have been on the receiving end of a “Hey” or “Hi” and nothing more on dating apps, but just 29% admit to doing this themselves. You might say ‘Hey’ literally.
Wally-ing (/wawl-ly-ing): When someone only posts group photos on their dating profile, making it difficult for others to determine who they are and what they look like.
Two thirds – 62% – have been scrolling through a dating profile only to find that it is entirely made up of group photos, and they are unable to identify who the account belongs to. Where’s Waldo anyone?
Proofing (/pru-fing) Giving a relationship time to breathe and not rushing into it.
Almost half – 46% – of singles seem to have taken relationship advice from the Great British Bake Off, by giving a relationship time to breathe and choosing not to rush into it.
Tok-blocking (/tawkblok-ing): Watching TikTok so much that it interferes with your dating life.
Brits followed TikTok closely in 2020, from Blinding Lights to Savage Love.
However, over one in ten singles (14%) say they know someone who’s Tik Tok-ing is blocking their route to romance.