Urban Dictionary submission

My searching had led to the decision that ‘smogation’ was an as-yet unused term and so now had to assign meaning and push it into the public eye… How could I just throw a new word into the world wide web? Urban Dictionary seemed a good place to start.

According to Wikipedia ‘Urban Dictionary is a crowdsourced online dictionary of slang words and phrases that was founded in 1999 as a parody of Dictionary.com and Vocabulary.com’ and anyone can make a submission.

On the 18^th of December I submitted the following:

Word: smogation
Definition: NOUN Countable (smog + vacation): when the place of work or study is closed due to poor air quality and workers or students are required to take an unexpected holiday.
Example: Jimmy's school is closed for 3 days due to the air pollution red alert so he's on smogation.

And the next day I received a rejection email:

Thanks for your definition of smogation!
A few volunteer editors read your definition and decided to not publish it. Don't take it personally!
Try rewriting your definition so that it's easier for others to understand, then try again.
Thanks,
Urban Dictionary

I had a quick look at some Urban Dictionary entries and observed that a lot of them seem to refer to bodily parts/functions, sex, drugs and insulting VIPS. So I dumbed my definition down and stuck in a reference to Trump (how much more topical could I have got in late 2017???). Here’s the secnd attempt:

Word: smogation
Definition: Day when the air quality in China is so bad that the government orders businesses and schools to shut giving people an extra holiday. The word smogation comes from smog and vacation.
Example: Trump reckons climate change is something made up by the Chinese workers when they're on smogation.

And I got the same rejection email… ‘Don't take it personally!’ they say??!!

smog+vacation

Having uttered this word smog-cation in a bar, I investigated further using the unscientific method of a Google search. The first point to be considered was whether my word was smocation or smogation...

'Smocation' seemed to already exist. The search brought back:

·       various references to and even videos of  'Silicon Valley, season 2, episode 8'; 

·       a twitter hastag  #smocation from 2011;

·       an entry in https://portmanteaulist.wordpress.com/category/smocation/ from 2015; 'smoker + location from Silicon Valley, season 2, episode 8';

·       and an app that aimed to let smokers find each other!

The returns for 'Smogation', on the other hand, had no connection with the blended word concept I was interested in. According to May's Mostly Warfare Blog in a brief synopsis of the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, the Smogations were a pagan tribe that fought against the Teutonic Knights in the 'Smogation uprising'.

The other Google suggestion was the Smogarians, who various internet answer sites claim are 'a politically correct fictitious race of people who are intellectually challenged.'  Apparently, they feature in the Super-Duper Good Clean Jokes for Kids by Bob Phillips, published on the first of April, 2000.

The first smogation?

Back in mid December 2016, China, and Beijing in particular, was experiencing some incredibly high air pollution levels: see for example:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/17/beijing-smog-pollution-red-alert-declared-in-china-capital-and-21-other-cities
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/21/smog-refugees-flee-chinese-cities-as-airpocalypse-blights-half-a-billion

One cold, smoggy evening I had taken refuge in the Plan B Bar, located in the Shuangjing district of the city and was discussing the smog problem with some bar regulars. We often gathered there so the owner, Trevor, could show us the 'real' AQI  (Air Quality Index) levels as obtained from the US embassy.

One of the assembled party taught in an international school, located nearby, and he explained that the school was closed on government orders so that the pupils would reduce exposure to such dangerous levels of pollution. This enforced closure had been reported in the news, and some of my university students had protested that it was unfair that they had to keep coming to classes.

I asked this acquaintance why he didn't get out of the city, as many people were doing; he explained that could be called back to work with very short notice so travelling wasn't an option. A somewhat limited staycation then, we laughed... or even a smog-cation....

smogation

The purpose of this post is to mention that lovely blend word 'smogation'.

It's formed by combining smog (itself a blend of smoke and fog; first reference 1905 OED) with vacation.

The meaning is the enforced holidays caused when schools or workplaces are closed due to the high pollution levels.

Will this become a real word?

Fri 9th

Following hurricane Bawbag, I took to the meadows in shorts again. 1 full, which was quite tiring, then 1 low. About 5.5 kms in 35 mins. No music as mp3 was under the bed. And today it snowed!

Tues 6th Dec

Seems that cold run last Tues was a bit much...had very stiff thighs til Fri and slight sore throat / cough. Went on an hour walk up Salisbury Crags on Sun after the 1st snow fall, which melted damn quickly.

So, today was 2 full circuits at a careful pace as there was ice about. Enjoyed the Ramones and wore a lot: track suit bottoms, t-shirt & hoodie. Jogged 7km in about 40mins or so. Think it'll have to be more clothed runs in future to avoid flu/cough! 

Tues 29/11

after a Sunday off, although I cycled out to Slateford, I was back up for 4 low (10k) in cold but good conditions with Lydia shrieking & Roland twanging! 45 mins or so. legs back on good form!