Language is fluid, in a constant state of evolution. The Oxford English Dictionary added 650 new words in its latest update alone: trequartista, influencer, side hustle.
But if you really want to hear words being bent to new construction, get yourself to a fintech festival. Singapore just had a mighty one.
Euromoney will admit to a need to stay focused at events such as these, so initially we sharpened the mind by trying to count the number of times we heard the new and regrettably ubiquitous expression “trust anchor” (lost count at 11).
Then we got our head turned by the phrase “radical candour”, and the industry’s need for it. (Looking this up, we find it is “the sweet spot between managers who are obnoxiously aggressive on the one side and ruinously empathetic on the other,” and there’s a book about it).
But all bets were off after a single presentation involved these two sentences:
“I cannot sit on a chair with just one pillar,”
And…
“Let us learn to create a supply chain of gratitude.”
At one stage, we began to suspect that somebody had put fintech and The Carpenters’ back catalogue into the same AI engine and pressed “start”.
But then we decided there was some sport to be had in working out which bands from history might have recorded albums with these titles. Euromoney’s views:
Trust Anchor: Adele
Radical Candour: mid-career Led Zeppelin
A Supply Chain of Gratitude: Cat Stevens
A Chair with Just One Pillar: Coldplay
Over to you, dear readers. We will print your best suggestions.