Buzzwords 2015

You're never lost for words these days. Especially when there's one for everything you're trying to explain that doesn't run into several sentences. The heretofore unconnected worlds of technology, business, pop culture, food, health and fitness are all coming together through the new words that you will hear all through the year. We've compiled a list. So read on and take note...

TECHNOLOGY
4K: Four times the resolution of HD at 3840 x 2160. Get a TV that supports the resolution - it's already available in Indian markets. Get future-proof.

IoT - Internet of Things: Anything that can be connected to the internet and to one another without requiring constant human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. Interconnectivity of devices could go all the way.

IFTTT - If This Then That: A service that allows you to create connections based on the statement 'If This Then That'. Remember flowcharts and algorithms. Now imagine a practical application: what if a recipe can be altered automatically to adapt to changes in your routine.

Cardboard: It may be early days for wearable VR (virtual reality devices) but Google and other startups are already at work on inexpensive devices that offer a VR experience using a simple viewer anyone can build or buy. Once you have it, you can explore a variety of apps.

YouTube 360: A new format that will allow you to film, upload and share video shot with a 360-degree camera. Works well with Cardboard.

POP CULTURE
Beyoncé: Use it now a verb! She dropped her self-titled visual album early last year sans promotion, a move that saw it at number 1 across charts all over the world. To Beyoncé means to do something huge without telling anyone about it.

lumbersexual (or metrojack): When someone spends substantially to look outdoorsy, yet sufficiently sophisticated and pays attention to relevant hygiene. style and clothing while doing so. Next is what?

cloud-chase: To produce large clouds of vapour with e-cigarettes, sometimes artfullly or competitively.

rekt: Ever been that drunk or high where you can't do anything? Well, this intentional misspelling of 'wrecked' has found acceptability.

RELATIONSHIPS
Cupcaking: Your buddy texting or messaging his girlfriend (or potential girlfriend all the time. You know, when he's in the early stages of a relationship.

Bae: If you haven't heard enough songs with the word already, maybe you're better off in whatever bunker you're hiding in . It's an abbreviated form for 'baby' - as if the word wasn't short enough - or when referring to one's sweetheart. If he calls you that, just run. Trust me on this.

HEALTH
IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros): Also known as flexible dieting. Takes a broad view of what you eat every day — mainly focusing on total calories and the levels of the macronutrients (protein, fat, and carbohydrates).

Empowered health: You know your body best. So what if the doctor has more bookish knowledge about it. Read up, speak up, seek alternative options in healthcare - be part of the final decisions you take in what works for you.

BUSINESS
-jack: According to The Writer, the world's largest language consultancy firm, "'-jack' is the '-hack'of 2015 and has now become a respectable business metaphor," says The Writer's Neil Taylor, who's the managing partner there, adding, "We think the suffix '-jack' will make the same leap into the mainstream in 2015." He said has already noticed the suffix, used like the word "hijack", creep into business lingo (newsjacking, clickjacking).

Conversation marketing: Having a dialogue with your customers and seeing the customer as a person rather than a target. Feels Taylor, "Ditching the jargon and business-speak in favor of normal, conversational language is going to be crucial to building relationships in the future."

Cross-Screen: The present has us jumping from screen to screen through the span of a day, expecting the same content to be delivered to each device. Think it helps you as a consumer, it helps marketers and digital media buyers more. They consider cross-screen critical for advertisers to target the right users across the various platforms Still in nascent stages, though.

LITERATURE
Autofiction: The term itself isn't new (it first was coined in 1977 by Serge Doubrovsky), but it has come to prominence in literary criticism only recently with more writers choosing to write fictionalised autobiographies.

Blackout poetry: "A form of creative writing in which most of the words on a published page, such as from a newspaper or book, are obscured, leaving behind isolated words that can be read as coherent sentences or phrases to express ideas," goes one definition. Sounds adventurous.

FOOD
Repurposed Greens: Leafy vegetables were all the rage last year internationally. This year, it is the stuff you'd otherwise throw out - stems, roots etc- that will make it to your dishes. Want an example? BroccoLeaf from Foxy Organics. It looks like kale, tastes like a pea, and comes straight from the broccoli plant. And is delicious in smoothies, sautés, and salads.

Hemp: The seed of 2015, people are calling it. It's in every supplement or dish you can concoct.

Spoonable Veggies: Struggling to get your kids to eat veggies? Here's how you can...

Matcha: Japanese green tea is the new green tea. Considered a substitute for coffee, it is believed to contain a quarter of the caffeine content of a cup. WIth its high levels of antioxidants, it's better than most superfoods like goji and acai berries.

MEDIA
hot take: An opinion piece quickly reported, written, and published in response to a news event.