The A-Z Of Weird Dating Terms In 2018

B is for Breadcrumbing & Benching

Breadcrumbing: verb Sending flirtatious but noncommittal text messages to potential mates every now and then to keep them interested without exerting much effort. “He texts me all the time but never wants to meet up. I think he’s breadcrumbing me.”

Benching: verb Putting someone on the back burner; continuing to date them in a low-effort way, because you think they have potential, but that someone better could come along. “I want to keep my options open, so I’m benching him for now.”
 

C is for Cushioning, Caspering & Catch And Release

Cushioning: verb Flirting with several people despite being in a committed relationship, so that if things go wrong, you’ve got someone to cushion your fall. “Stop texting him! You know he has a girlfriend, he’s just cushioning you whenever they argue.”

Caspering: verb A politer version of ghosting (see G below), inspired by Casper the friendly ghost. Letting down someone gently before vanishing from their life completely. “He told me he wasn’t sure the spark was there and never called again, I totally got Caspered.”

Catch and release: noun A cycle which sees someone enjoy the thrill of the chase, lose interest as soon as they’ve ‘caught’ their target and immediately embark upon a new search. “We finally slept together, but I don’t think I’ll see him again. I’m all about the catch and release.”
 

D is for Dicksand, Draking & Doing Bits

Dicksand: noun Much like quicksand, dicksand is what you get caught in when you find a man incredibly attractive. Thrust into the limelight thanks to Olivia on last year’s Love Island. “He’s so hot I feel like I’m getting swallowed up in dicksand.”

Draking: verb Wallowing in sadness due to your love life, most typically because you miss your ex, much like the rapper Drake in his songs. “I can’t believe I called her last night. I was Draking so hard.”

Doing bits: verb Making sexual contact with someone, thus granting you membership into the Do Bits Society. Another concept we have Love Island to thank for. “I didn’t sleep with him… We did bits, though.”
 

F is for Firedooring, Freckling & Fauxbaeing

Firedooring: verb Granting potential mates access to yourself solely on your terms and at your convenience. Just like a fire door, which only opens one way, not two. “He calls and asks to meet when he’s free, but otherwise he ignores me. It’s so one-sided, I’m being firedoored.”

Freckling: verb Flirting or hooking up with someone, usually who you already know, over the summer months then vanishing once it’s over. Thus, appearing prominently in the sunshine and fading away in winter, just like freckles. “It wasn’t a summer fling, she was a freckler. I’m sure she’ll get in touch next year.”

Fauxbaeing: verb Faking a relationship or date on social media in order to seem more in-demand or make someone jealous. “I posted a photo of two glasses of wine and wrote ‘date night’ as the caption even though I was alone just so my ex would see it. Fauxbaeing really works – he called me today.”
 

G is for Ghosting & Gatsbying

Ghosting: verb Pulling a disappearing act and seemingly dropping off the face of the planet never to be heard from again, instead of telling the person you're dating or sleeping with you're no longer interested. “We had such a great evening but he never called after, then I text him and he ignored it – he's definitely ghosting me.”

Gatsbying: verb Posting a photo or video on social media purely so that your love interest will see it. Named after The Great Gatsby, a book in which billionaire Jay Gatsby holds extravagant parties in the hope of attracting the woman he loves as a guest. “Can you take a photo of me holding your dog for Instagram? The guy I fancy loves dogs and I want him to know I do too. I'm completely Gatsbying him, but whatever." 
 

H is for Haunting & Half-Night Stand

Haunting: verb Ghosting someone, yet still liking their social media posts and watching their Snapchats or Instagram Stories frequently. Also known as orbiting. "I don't understand why she keeps liking all my photos when she ghosted me weeks ago. Now she’s haunting me!”

Half-night stand: noun A single sexual encounter, where one person heads back home immediately after sex, typically to avoid inconvenience or awkward small talk in the morning. Unlike a one-night stand, in which they would typically stay the night. “I had a half-night stand last night – I really wanted to wake up in my own bed, so I called an Uber as soon as we were done.”
 

K is for Kittenfishing

Kittenfishing: verb Appearing more attractive in pictures than in real life, usually through the use of angles, filters and editing apps, thus deceiving potential matches on dating apps. Essentially a light version of catfishing, which sees people pretend to be someone else altogether. “I was shocked when she showed up to our date, she looked like a different person in her photos – not catfish different, but she’s definitely a kittenfish.”
 

M is for Micro-Cheating, Marleying & Monkeying

Micro-cheating: verb Engaging in behaviours that flirt with the line between infidelity and faithfulness, such as sending suggestive messages to other people on social media, staying in regular contact with an ex-partner or swiping on Tinder ‘for fun’. “I found out he’s been speaking to his ex-girlfriend and lying to me about it – it’s not technically cheating, but it’s micro-cheating.”

Marleying: verb Ghosting an ex-partner and then suddenly reappearing in their life at Christmas. Named after Ebenezer Scrooge’s business partner, Jacob Marley, who appears to him as a ghost in A Christmas Carol. “I know I’ll get a text from him when we’re both home for Christmas, he Marleys me every year.”

Monkeying: verb Bouncing from relationship to relationship without giving yourself some time to recuperate in-between. “She’s been in three relationships in the last four months, I swear I’ve never seen her single – she’s really monkeying it up.”
 

P is for Phubbing

Phubbing: verb Snubbing someone you’re spending time with by paying more attention your phone than them. Also known as sidebarring. “The date was awful, she spent the whole time phubbing me; just scrolling through Instagram.”
 

R is for R-Bombing

R-Bombing: verb Reading someone's message and not responding to it, despite the fact the sender knows you’ve seen it thanks to read receipts on social media and the blue WhatsApp ticks. Also known as leaving someone on read or cricketing. “She’s R-bombing me right now. She read my message as soon as I sent it – that was three hours ago, and she’s been online loads since.”
 

S is for Stashing, Submarining & Shaveducking

Stashing: verb Hiding a romantic interest from your friends and family, and avoiding posting about them on social media, typically because you know they're only temporary or there’s someone else in the picture. “We've been dating for months, and he still hasn't introduced me to his family. I think he might be stashing me.”

Submarining: verb Resurfacing in someone's life after ghosting them without explaining the cause for your disappearance, casually expecting to pick things up where you left off. “She text me asking what I was doing this weekend after not speaking to me for six months. Not even an apology or reason why – she’s submarined me!”

Shaveducking: verb Feeling a sense of lingering unease that you only find the man you're dating attractive because of his facial hair. It can also lead to repulsion when the bearded man in question goes clean shaven. "I saw a photo of him from years ago before he'd grown a beard and now I can't look at him in the same way. I'm shaveducking right now."
 

T is for Thirst Trap & Textlationship

Thirst trap: noun A sexy photograph or video posted on social media in attempt to get attention, either in the form of public comments or private messages, which boosts the poster’s ego. Different to Gatsbying, as the net of a thirst trap is typically set far wider than just one individual. “I posted such a good thirst trap earlier – five guys have already messaged me saying how hot I look.”

Textlationship: noun A relationship that is built and exists solely through text messages. “We’ve been texting every day for a month but we’ve only been on one date. At this point, we're pretty much in a textlationship.”
 

U is for Uncuffing Season

Uncuffing season: noun The time of year when people end their relationships to play the field, typically in the spring and summer months. The opposite of cuffing season, in which single people prefer to be tied down during the colder, duller winter months. “It's uncuffing season right now, so there’s bound to be a lot of single guys at the bar tonight.”
 

Z is for Zombieing

Zombieing: verb Ghosting someone and then resurfacing, as if from the dead, to attempt to rekindle things again. Unlike submariners, zombies will usually provide an vague and most likely false explanation for their sudden disappearance. "Just when I thought I’d got over him ghosting me, he’s trying to see me again – apparently he’s been ‘really busy’ at work, but I think he's just zombieing me.”