English in Madrid

Image created by Chat GPT Losing your mind looking at memes ? The dictionary has a word for that Are you spending hours scroll ing mindlessly on Instagram reels and TikTok? If so, you might be suffering from brain rot , which Oxford University Press has named its phrase or word of the year. It is a term that captures concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media. The usage saw an increase of 230% in its frequency from 2023 to 2024. Psychologist and Oxford University Professor Andrew Przybylski says the popularity of the word is a "symptom of the time we're living in". Brain rot beat five other phrases or words on the dictionary publisher's shortlist , including demure, Romantasy and dynamic pricing. What is brain rot? Brain rot is defined as the supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material considered to ...

Muhammad overtakes Noah as most popular boy's name Muhammad was the top choice for parents naming their baby boys in England and Wales in 2023, with more than 4,600 children registered with the name. It has been among the top 10 names for baby boys since 2016, but has now overtaken the previous favourite, Noah, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). There is , however , a level of regional variation with Muhammad not appearing in the top 10 for three regions of England. Other spellings of the name Mohammed and Mohammad also made the top 100 list for England and Wales. The ONS considers each spelling as a separate name, with different variations of Muhammad proving popular in previous years. Olivia remains the most popular choice for baby girls, followed by Amelia and Isla. These top three have remained unchanged since 2022. Hyphenated names jumped in popularity for girls last year, standing at more than 19,140 names, up from around 12,330 the year before. ...

Image source:  Brandee Taylor en Unsplash The Andy Warhol painting that put him at odds with Donald Trump has a new owner   In 1981, the tycoon commissioned the artist to do a series of works inspired by Trump Tower, but he did not like the result and did not pay for it. Four decades later, ‘New York Skyscrapers ’ has been auctioned for almost $1 million  In 1981, six years before his death, Andy Warhol devoted the spring to a limited series of paintings commissioned by Donald Trump. The American tycoon, then 34 years old, asked the artist for paintings inspired by Trump Tower, which was still under construction, to adorn the atrium of his first architectural project, located at 725 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. “New York Skyscrapers stands as a testament to Warhol’s ability to encapsulate the spirit of an era characterised by excess, and it remains a powerful commentary on the pursuit of the American Dream as seen through the lens of one of the 20th century’s most ic...