"The English language is a marvelous thing. In just the past few years, we've been treated to the invention of words or terms that have captured new technologies or given voice to how it feels to be alive in 2026: rage bait, rizz, slop, hard pants, nepo baby, brain rot. But occasionally, new phrases arise that describe something much older-perhaps even ancient-to which no one has given a name."
"Ryan's tweet, featuring a sad clip of Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw looking forlorn and set to 'Headphones On' by Addison Rae, blew up almost instantly and has since been seen by about 12 million people. Many were taken by his use of 'eye-contactship,' expressing some version of ' I hope language never stops evolving' or ' Twitter is full of poets.'"
A newly coined term, eye-contactship, names a silent, mutual flirtation formed by locked gazes and knowing smiles. The term emerged from a gym scenario in which two people routinely exchanged brief eye contact and smiles until one arrived with a partner, abruptly ending the unconsummated connection. The coinage went viral, reaching roughly 12 million views, and prompted widespread online delight. The situation resonated because many recognize similar unspoken, tension-filled interactions. The phenomenon joins recent neologisms such as rage bait, rizz, slop, hard pants, nepo baby, and brain rot as evidence of English evolving to capture contemporary experiences.
Read at Slate Magazine
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