Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Contemporary (2000–) ·2020
Quarantini
quarantine martini
- Meaning
- A cocktail consumed during lockdown isolation.
- Source words
- quarantine + martini
- Coined by
- collective (US TV, pre-2020)
- Year
- 2020
Background
Used jokingly on the sitcom *30 Rock* in the 2000s; the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns made it a genuine social phenomenon. A useful marker of a specific 2020 moment and a reminder that portmanteau coinage often predates portmanteau relevance.
Contemporary (2000–)
Faster coinage, faster canonisation. Brexit and podcast both reached the OED within a decade of first use — historically rapid. Social media has made visibility, not invention, the rate-limiting step.
Two words, one coinage.
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