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Hello, Elle!
Only my six month check up at the dentist...no drills!
It is "virtue signalling", not "virtual signalling", Elle.
I think folk are copying others, hence the forums are full of these words.
Well, when I first came across "lol" a few years I thought it meant Loyal Orange Lodge.
It does, but "laugh out loud" is the accepted meaning in text messages etc!
"Street cred" is now part of the language, too.
I think English is a great language and always new words etc coming into it!

Hello, Malone!
I bought a new DAB wireless in Currys last year but the salesman insisted on calling it a "radio"!
I think I'd be tuned in to your Mother on this one!
I agree about new words joining the language.
It has to be that way.

Simples, Rusty!

Hi, Rusty!
Ah, I read it wrongly! not that I am any wiser about "virtue" signalling, either!
If anything, it makes even less sense?
"Street cred" seems to have been around for a long time, though......
I remember my girls going out without fasting their coats......no hats, gloves or scarves... no boots..... lips blue with cold...red knees...….
All because "It's street cred, mum!"
I am not as keen as you about new words - I accept that language evolves,...but prefer it not to do so to the extent of words having a reversal of meaning - like "wicked" for example.
Or making a grammatical nonsense of something that hitherto made sense.
If it weren't for Anne B and her dictionary, I should be quite lost on occasions!




Thank you , Malone, for the explanation of "snowflake".
I hadn't heard that.
I obviously lead a very sheltered life!

Yes, language evolves, but please can we decry words that originally had different meanings becoming interchangeable? That, at least, doesn't enrich the language! I find it so aggravating :)

Hello, Elle!
I do not know if this is fairly localised or throughout the country, but I get irked by young ones saying "was like" for the word "said".
"I was like" meaning "I said".
Do you have this down your way?
I have the latest version of Chambers Dictionary in an app on my 'phone, but it does not know "virtue signalling"!
"Wicked" in the sense you indicate is not a word that I use.
I would use "street cred" though, so maybe I'm not such an old throwback!
I agree regarding Anne Bradford.
Her dictionary is very unique and very helpful!

Hello, Chris!
Yes, I mentioned that in my previous post…
I agree with you wholeheartedly about that!

Hi, Rusty!
Now......I have been doing some investigating !
This is what the online Collins dictionary says:
Virtue signalling is
"an attempt to show other people that you are a good person, for example by expressing opinions that will be acceptable to them, especially on social media:
Virtue signalling is the popular modern habit of indicating that one has virtue merely by expressing disgust or favour for certain political ideas or cultural happenings."

There is also a lot of blurb on Wikipedia, but I balked at reading through it!

No, I haven't come across "I was like".........used for "I said "?
I'm not clear how one would use it in a sentence?
My son uses "That's wicked " as in "That is great!"
No, I wouldn't use it as such, either!
This is an aspect of the evolvement of language that I absolutely abhor!
In fact, the very prospect calls for a strong coffee.....!

You're rather fortunate/privileged/isolated (?) not to have come across "I was like - you've got to be joking" or similar, elle!

Hello, Elle!
Collins seems to be on the ball.
I have only came across "virtue signalling" in the last few days.
The words "was like" are simply substituted for the word "said".
I wondered if it came from America or Australia.
A sample, ** I asked Tom if we would take the car and he was like "yes, I think that's a good idea", and I was like "OK, but we will have to buy petrol."**
Maybe it is just a local thing.
It annoys me, though.