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'Lockblock' and 'Coronazoned': Dating slang COVID has given us
For singletons looking for love, 2020 was a year of socially distanced park dates, Zoom catch ups and guidelines that were sometimes hard to keep up with.
Along with that, a range of dating slang has been coined around the bizarre habits of last year and while we’ve all heard of ‘ghosting’ and ‘breadcrumbing’, these are some new terms you might want to know about.
Dating during COVID has looked very different indeed. Photo: Getty Images
Experts at the language learning app Babbel compiled the list, which they claim highlights ‘the new challenges and experiences that couples and singletons everywhere are facing’.
The first one on the list is ‘Lockblock’, a dating term coined by the dating site OKCupid.
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While you may have heard of ‘c**kblocking, being ‘lockblocked’ actually refers to singletons having to reschedule or cancel dates due to stricter regulations being introduced.
Another new term is ‘Coronazoned’, which refers to when a physical relationship with someone is put off because one or both parties don’t want to catch or spread the virus.
The term ‘Quarantine bae ‘ is pretty self-explanatory, pointing to a romantic relationship formed during lockdown or quarantine. However, usually it means it’s likely to end when the restrictions are relaxed.
‘Quarantine bae’ is a situationship perfect for those who don’t want to spend the long, quarantine nights alone,” according to Babbel.
Dating slang relating to COVID is popping up all over the place. Photo: Getty Images
In October, EliteSingles conducted a study of 1,090 singletons to find out about their dating habits amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
They found ‘Playlisting’ to be one of the biggest trends of dating during the pandemic.
Playlisting refers to a person who schedules multiple video dates for the same night.
The study found that 11% of those singletons were actually aware of being playlisted while 31% said they have or would playlist a date.
Lindsey Metselaar, dating expert and host of the We Met at Acme podcast, previously spoke with Yahoo Lifestyle about how to best navigate the dating game during social distancing and self-isolation.
Breaking down the difference between online dating and virtual dating, Metselaar offered creative ideas on how to stay connected to one another.
“You can do a New York Times crossword together, you can cook together, watch the same show, you can learn a TikTok at the same time, learning a new language together, playing virtual games together,” she said. “There are so many fun activities you can do.”
She also reassured singles that it’s not a red flag if somebody doesn’t want to connect face-to-face over a video chat.
“We’re sitting around all day. We’re not at our best right now. It could just be an insecurity thing, and not necessarily having to do with you,” she explained.
With extra reporting by Jenny Miller
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