Pandexicon

Did you keep a list of the words coined by Covid? Wayne Grady did! Theyre deftly woven into a journal/timeline, taking us through two years of surrealism and limbo.Margaret AtwoodThis exploration of the many new terms of the Covid-19 pandemic provides insight into the ways an ever-evolving vocabulary helped us cope with our anxiety and adapt to a new reality.When the pandemic struck in early 2020, Wayne Grady started collecting the words and phrases that arose from our shared global experience. Some, such as "e;uptick"e; and "e;pivot,"e; had existed before but now took on new meaning, and others, such as "e;covidivorce,"e; "e;quarantini,"e; "e;covexit,"e; and "e;shecession,"e; appeared for the first time, their meaning instantly clear. Through this new vocabulary, we became more able to adapt to change, to domesticate it in a sense, and to reduce our fears.Moving from the very beginning of the pandemic (the "e;Before Times"e;) and our early response to it through the peaks and troughs of the various waves in countries throughout the world, and ending with a contemplation of what the "e;After Times"e; might look like, this book takes us on a journey through the pandemic and illuminates both how this new language has unfolded and how it has changed the way we think about ourselves and each other.