Many of us have been living in lockdown, in some way or another, over the past year—from lockdown remote working to lockdown co-living to lockdown dating to lockdown parenting. But what does “lockdown” even mean? Copy editor @jonahbrunet finds out: thewalrus.ca/what-does-lock… 1/5
In the well-worn copy of the second-edition Canadian Oxford Dictionary that is used at @thewalrus, “lockdown” is defined as “the confining of prisoners to their cells, esp. to gain control during a riot etc.” thewalrus.ca/what-does-lock… 2/5
Online, the Oxford English Dictionary is more expansive, defining it as: “a state of isolation, containment, or restricted access” or “the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces.” thewalrus.ca/what-does-lock… 3/5
There’s nothing wrong, or even unusual, about a word's meaning evolving over time. But stretch a term too far, to mean too many new things,, and you jeopardize its power to unambiguously mean anything. More here: thewalrus.ca/what-does-lock… 4/5
At a time when words like “lockdown,” “essential,” and “closure” are stretched and distorted, writes @jonahbrunet, the best definition for our new sense of “lockdown” may be a failure of imagination. Read the full story here: thewalrus.ca/what-does-lock… 5/5
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