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2020 Dictionary: The definitive guide to the year the world turned to sh*t
From the bestselling author of Strayapedia comes the definitive dictionary of the year the world went to sh*t.
2020 sucked. It's been a year of bushfires, floods, a recession, a global pandemic and Kanye West's presidential campaign. But it was also the year we all watched Hamilton, baked sourdough, had dinner parties on Zoom and drank constantly - okay, so maybe that wasn't such a great thing either.
Amid the non-stop trauma, however, it's been a year of togetherness and community spirit - though mostly trauma. But as we limp towards 2021, it's time to look back at it all, and laugh. Because at least we all suffered through this year together. Not literally together - that was generally illegal. But we were side by side in our bubbles, all going through the same thing.
The 2020 Dictionary is an invaluable record of all we learned in the year the world turned to sh*t, helpfully collected in alphabetical order, with jokes where appropriate, as well as in some places where they probably aren't.
2020 sucked. It's been a year of bushfires, floods, a recession, a global pandemic and Kanye West's presidential campaign. But it was also the year we all watched Hamilton, baked sourdough, had dinner parties on Zoom and drank constantly - okay, so maybe that wasn't such a great thing either.
Amid the non-stop trauma, however, it's been a year of togetherness and community spirit - though mostly trauma. But as we limp towards 2021, it's time to look back at it all, and laugh. Because at least we all suffered through this year together. Not literally together - that was generally illegal. But we were side by side in our bubbles, all going through the same thing.
The 2020 Dictionary is an invaluable record of all we learned in the year the world turned to sh*t, helpfully collected in alphabetical order, with jokes where appropriate, as well as in some places where they probably aren't.
- GenresNonfiction
234 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 17, 2020
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Dominic Knight
19 books12 followersDominic Knight was one of the founders of The Chaser satirical newspaper in 1999, and also one of its destroyers in 2004 after the group finally acknowledged that it would never turn a profit. Since then he’s worked on the team’s various projects in print, stage, radio, television and online. Most recently he wrote for ABC-TV’sThe Hamster Wheel, Yes We Canberra! and The Chaser’s War On Everything.
In recent years, Dominic has begun writing fiction in an attempt to spend less time with his Chaser compatriots. His first novel Disco Boy (2009) portrayed the career travails of a disaffected law graduate suspiciously like himself, and its successor Comrades (2010) delved into the grubby world of student politics. He’s working on a third novel, which may appear in 2013 in the unlikely event that he gets his act together. Dominic regularly appears at various writers’ festivals whether he’s invited to speak or not, and is currently on the board of the National Young Writers’ Festival.
In 2012, Dominic began hosting Evenings on ABC Local Radio in NSW and the ACT. He can be heard from 7-10pm Monday to Friday on 702 ABC Sydney, 666 ABC Canberra, 1233 ABC Newcastle and ABC stations across NSW.
Dominic has lived in Sydney nearly all of his life and plays the bass reasonably well and tennis appallingly. He is overly fond of karaoke.
In recent years, Dominic has begun writing fiction in an attempt to spend less time with his Chaser compatriots. His first novel Disco Boy (2009) portrayed the career travails of a disaffected law graduate suspiciously like himself, and its successor Comrades (2010) delved into the grubby world of student politics. He’s working on a third novel, which may appear in 2013 in the unlikely event that he gets his act together. Dominic regularly appears at various writers’ festivals whether he’s invited to speak or not, and is currently on the board of the National Young Writers’ Festival.
In 2012, Dominic began hosting Evenings on ABC Local Radio in NSW and the ACT. He can be heard from 7-10pm Monday to Friday on 702 ABC Sydney, 666 ABC Canberra, 1233 ABC Newcastle and ABC stations across NSW.
Dominic has lived in Sydney nearly all of his life and plays the bass reasonably well and tennis appallingly. He is overly fond of karaoke.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 27, 2020
“Aaargh Executive summary of this book”
2020 has been an unprecedented* year.
It started (in Australia) with Black Summer* , thanks in part to the effects of Climate Change* which our Prime Minister Morrison, Scott* vehemently denied from his penthouse suite in Hawaii*.
And then came Covid-19*.
After a brief flirtation with the idea of Herd Immunity*, Australia embraced the policy of Flattening the Curve*, except for those Covidiots* like Jones, Alan*, Evans, Pete*, Karen* and Anti-Maskers* who alternately denied the pandemic was happening at all, and/or spruiked any number of Conspiracy Theories* about its origin, spread and threat level.
First urged to observe Handwashing* and Social Distancing*, and use an Elbow Bump* to greet one another to reduce the spread, any hope of limiting the virus’s impact went out the window when some idiot (-Border Force*) let the Ruby Princess* dock in NSW. With talk of Lockdown*, the Panic-Buying* began, resulting in an incomprehensible drought of Toilet Paper*. While the pollies declared we were All in this together*, they decided it was too dangerous for themselves to continue working, but insisted Essential Workers*, including doctors, nurses, teachers, bottle shop owners and Hairdressers*, did.
Shelter(ing) In Place*, Australians started a Podcast* or Baking* (until we ran out of flour), drank Delgona Coffee*, or indulged in a glass or five of Quarantini*, (but no Corona*), ate Lasagne* or Cake* that didn’t look like cake, watched Exotic, Joe* or TikTok* , all while Doomscrolling* on Twitter. Some of us were condemned to the torture that is Homeschooling* while simultaneously being stuck in the hell that is WFH* (Working From Home) via Zoom*. Victoria, and Andrews, Daniel* aka Dictator Dan* bore the brunt of Australia’s second wave after the virus escaped from Hotel Quarantine*, and unsurprisingly the Contact Tracing App* was no use at all.
Meanwhile Arden, Jacinda* led the world in the pandemic response, Sweden* got it very wrong, and under the (absence of) leadership from Donald Trump*, the United States* became a Clusterf*ck*, beset by Murder Hornets*, and riots associated with the Black Lives Matter* movement.
The Eurovision Song Contest*, the 2020 Olympics* in Tokyo, and Rowling, J.K.*, were cancelled. We lost Boseman, Chadwick*, Bryant, Kobe* and Bader, Ruth Ginsburg*. Bezos, Jeff* got richer, so too (temporarily) did those on Jobseeker*. Parasite* won a swag of awards. Biden, Joe* is America’s new President-elect, which means Kushner, Jared* will be looking for another job soon.
In short, 2020 has largely been a Dumpster Fire*. Dominic Knight’s 2020 Dictionary will ensure you won’t forget a single detail, and will be a handy reference for the grandkids history school project a few decades from now.
Here’s hoping 2021* will be better!
All the words marked with * , and more, along with their definition can be found in the 2020 Dictionary
2020 has been an unprecedented* year.
It started (in Australia) with Black Summer* , thanks in part to the effects of Climate Change* which our Prime Minister Morrison, Scott* vehemently denied from his penthouse suite in Hawaii*.
And then came Covid-19*.
After a brief flirtation with the idea of Herd Immunity*, Australia embraced the policy of Flattening the Curve*, except for those Covidiots* like Jones, Alan*, Evans, Pete*, Karen* and Anti-Maskers* who alternately denied the pandemic was happening at all, and/or spruiked any number of Conspiracy Theories* about its origin, spread and threat level.
First urged to observe Handwashing* and Social Distancing*, and use an Elbow Bump* to greet one another to reduce the spread, any hope of limiting the virus’s impact went out the window when some idiot (-Border Force*) let the Ruby Princess* dock in NSW. With talk of Lockdown*, the Panic-Buying* began, resulting in an incomprehensible drought of Toilet Paper*. While the pollies declared we were All in this together*, they decided it was too dangerous for themselves to continue working, but insisted Essential Workers*, including doctors, nurses, teachers, bottle shop owners and Hairdressers*, did.
Shelter(ing) In Place*, Australians started a Podcast* or Baking* (until we ran out of flour), drank Delgona Coffee*, or indulged in a glass or five of Quarantini*, (but no Corona*), ate Lasagne* or Cake* that didn’t look like cake, watched Exotic, Joe* or TikTok* , all while Doomscrolling* on Twitter. Some of us were condemned to the torture that is Homeschooling* while simultaneously being stuck in the hell that is WFH* (Working From Home) via Zoom*. Victoria, and Andrews, Daniel* aka Dictator Dan* bore the brunt of Australia’s second wave after the virus escaped from Hotel Quarantine*, and unsurprisingly the Contact Tracing App* was no use at all.
Meanwhile Arden, Jacinda* led the world in the pandemic response, Sweden* got it very wrong, and under the (absence of) leadership from Donald Trump*, the United States* became a Clusterf*ck*, beset by Murder Hornets*, and riots associated with the Black Lives Matter* movement.
The Eurovision Song Contest*, the 2020 Olympics* in Tokyo, and Rowling, J.K.*, were cancelled. We lost Boseman, Chadwick*, Bryant, Kobe* and Bader, Ruth Ginsburg*. Bezos, Jeff* got richer, so too (temporarily) did those on Jobseeker*. Parasite* won a swag of awards. Biden, Joe* is America’s new President-elect, which means Kushner, Jared* will be looking for another job soon.
In short, 2020 has largely been a Dumpster Fire*. Dominic Knight’s 2020 Dictionary will ensure you won’t forget a single detail, and will be a handy reference for the grandkids history school project a few decades from now.
Here’s hoping 2021* will be better!
All the words marked with * , and more, along with their definition can be found in the 2020 Dictionary
January 26, 2021
The 2020 Dictionary totally sums up the year that was. I can imagine that looking back in years to come there will be parts of last year that we will forget and this book will definitely bring it all back.
Of course there will be the things that we will never forget... the bushfires, working from home, BLM, the toilet paper debacle, face masks... you get the idea. But in a year that we would mostly like to forget, Dominic Knight makes us laugh with this definitions of the year. New words that came to be part of our everyday language and the people we would come to know so well through the press conferences.
A must have for all Aussie homes.
Thanks to Allen and Unwin for sending this one to me and making me giggle and remember.
Of course there will be the things that we will never forget... the bushfires, working from home, BLM, the toilet paper debacle, face masks... you get the idea. But in a year that we would mostly like to forget, Dominic Knight makes us laugh with this definitions of the year. New words that came to be part of our everyday language and the people we would come to know so well through the press conferences.
A must have for all Aussie homes.
Thanks to Allen and Unwin for sending this one to me and making me giggle and remember.
December 30, 2020
This was just the book I needed to close out the year that was 2020. Absolutely freaking hilarious. It covers the dictionary and A to Z of 2020. The good, the bad and the ugly.
From alcoholism, to bushfires and Kayne West political campaign. Zoom calls, quarantine and home schooling. There’s something in there for everyone. We suffered though the year together and for one thing, I’ve great to have my bubble of humans and to live in a beautiful country.
@daminicknig you are one funny Human. I giggled and gasped at the hilarious content. You didn’t miss a beat.
From alcoholism, to bushfires and Kayne West political campaign. Zoom calls, quarantine and home schooling. There’s something in there for everyone. We suffered though the year together and for one thing, I’ve great to have my bubble of humans and to live in a beautiful country.
@daminicknig you are one funny Human. I giggled and gasped at the hilarious content. You didn’t miss a beat.
January 6, 2021
A light read over the Summer holidays that had me snorting out loud with laughter many times.
December 9, 2020
😷 The 2020 dictionary 🧻
The perfect book to get me through my reading slump! This was such a hilarious read. The 2020 dictionary was written so well, following the format of a normal dictionary with the small definitions after each term made it so much more interesting (reading slumps tend to make me lose interest easily) because each term kept my interest. I also can’t believe how much happened in 2020 that wasn’t even on my radar or how much happened that I had just forgotten about because there is no way that we are STILL in 2020 right now!
I don’t think I can really give this a rating as it’s a dictionary and you’ll either take it for what it is (a funny/educational way at looking at an awful year) or you won’t like it. I 100% recommend for a laugh.
If you have seen my stories in the last couple of days you’ll see that I had a Covid test yesterday as I had symptoms, thank fully I was negative and it turned out to be a sinus infection which carried a lot of the same symptoms. I got the text message telling me I was negative at 4:36am, less than 24 hours after the test, it just made me think about how hard the lab assistants, scientists, health care workers etc are working through this pandemic so I wanted to take the chance to say THANK YOU!
Stay safe everyone!
The perfect book to get me through my reading slump! This was such a hilarious read. The 2020 dictionary was written so well, following the format of a normal dictionary with the small definitions after each term made it so much more interesting (reading slumps tend to make me lose interest easily) because each term kept my interest. I also can’t believe how much happened in 2020 that wasn’t even on my radar or how much happened that I had just forgotten about because there is no way that we are STILL in 2020 right now!
I don’t think I can really give this a rating as it’s a dictionary and you’ll either take it for what it is (a funny/educational way at looking at an awful year) or you won’t like it. I 100% recommend for a laugh.
If you have seen my stories in the last couple of days you’ll see that I had a Covid test yesterday as I had symptoms, thank fully I was negative and it turned out to be a sinus infection which carried a lot of the same symptoms. I got the text message telling me I was negative at 4:36am, less than 24 hours after the test, it just made me think about how hard the lab assistants, scientists, health care workers etc are working through this pandemic so I wanted to take the chance to say THANK YOU!
Stay safe everyone!
December 31, 2020
If ever there was a book that summed up what 2020 meant for so many of us here in Australia this is certainly is the one.
2020 was a year of bushfires, floods, a recession, a global pandemic and Kanye West's presidential campaign. But it was also the year we all watched Hamilton, baked sourdough, had dinner parties on Zoom and drank constantly - okay, so maybe that wasn't such a great thing either.
The 2020 Dictionary is an invaluable record of all we learned in the year the world turned to sh*t, helpfully collected in alphabetical order, with jokes where appropriate, as well as in some places where they probably aren't.
This is one of those books every should have on their shelves, I know I will pick it back up again and flick through it’s pages.
2020 was a year of bushfires, floods, a recession, a global pandemic and Kanye West's presidential campaign. But it was also the year we all watched Hamilton, baked sourdough, had dinner parties on Zoom and drank constantly - okay, so maybe that wasn't such a great thing either.
The 2020 Dictionary is an invaluable record of all we learned in the year the world turned to sh*t, helpfully collected in alphabetical order, with jokes where appropriate, as well as in some places where they probably aren't.
This is one of those books every should have on their shelves, I know I will pick it back up again and flick through it’s pages.
February 15, 2021
A typical humor by Dominic Knight. I loved his Strayapedia and what he delivers in the "2020 Dictionary" is roughly the same kind of thing. Somehow, though, I couldn't really connect with it. Maybe it's simply too soon, and I can't laugh yet at all the toilet paper jokes that have been done to death in all the memes that flooded the internet last year? The fact that the book was very obviously finished in October last year does not help - there are major events missing. I might revisit this in a few years time and look at it differently, but for the moment, it's a bit of a "meh".
January 13, 2021
2020 actually does suck I totally agree but it didn’t stop us from having the best time of our lives
From what’s been happening throughout 2020 here in Australia & other countries Dom Knight’s writing is an excellent laugh & it’ll help new kids learn a lot about 2020 from A to Z especially when it comes to Donnie Trumpet
The 2020 Dictionary is a must read 😊
SO BRING ON 2021 😆
9/10
From what’s been happening throughout 2020 here in Australia & other countries Dom Knight’s writing is an excellent laugh & it’ll help new kids learn a lot about 2020 from A to Z especially when it comes to Donnie Trumpet
The 2020 Dictionary is a must read 😊
SO BRING ON 2021 😆
9/10
June 11, 2023
Knew what I was in for when wanting to read the book. A little reminder of the joys of C0vid 19
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews