Of its database of over 4.5 bn words, Collins dictionary has named the term “single-use” as the “word of the year” – no doubt helped by consumers’ hysteria over plastic straws in 2018. Collins defines the adjective single-use as “made to be used once only.” Next year, the dictionary publisher will have been making educational books for 200 years, a veritable authority on which words are en vogue. The term has apparently seen a four-fold increase in the last five years.

Other words that made the short list include “plogging” (noun; a recreational activity, originating in Sweden, that combines jogging with picking up litter) and “vegan” (noun; a person who refrains from using any animal product whatever for food, clothing, or any other purpose). Vegans may be banishing products of animal origin, but many depend on non-disposable plastics for their imitation leather shoes and faux wool sweaters.