News from December 6–December 12, 2025
Each week, we scan the latest headlines to spot words in action. From major news stories to pop culture buzz, this feature highlights language as it’s unfolding. Stories about festive pets, missing snails, and a beachful of bananas all contributed to the vocabulary from this week’s news.
ancestral
adjective: relating to or inherited from earlier generations within a family line
From the headlines: The Pacific Forest Trust returned 900 acres to the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation, 175 years after the tribe was displaced from the land. The ancestral territory borders Yosemite National Park. Generations of the Southern Sierra Miwuk people stewarded the land before they were forced out in the 19th century, and the tribe plans to care for it now using traditional land management practices.
convoluted
adjective: highly complex or intricate
From the headlines: The sale of Warner Bros. Discovery got a lot more convoluted just days after Netflix announced plans to purchase the studio, when Paramount-Skydance made a hostile bid for the company. The Netflix merger, opposed by several senators in both parties who say it would create a monopoly, is worth $83 million, while Paramount would pay $18 million more. An added complication is the fact that either deal will need to be approved by the Trump administration and its antitrust regulators.
cooperative
noun: a jointly owned commercial enterprise
From the headlines: A Puerto Rican fishing cooperative is bringing the community together, making seafood more accessible to locals, and redefining conservation. The Asociación de Pescadores de Culebra is owned and managed by the fishermen who belong to the group. The association brings together small-scale fishing operations that work collaboratively toward their common goals.
escargot
noun: edible snails
From the headlines: Thieves made off with more than $100,000 worth of escargot from a farm in the French village of Bouzy. Snails are a staple of many Christmas and New Year’s feasts in France, making the timing especially damaging for producers as they enter their busiest season. L’Escargot des Grands Crus, which typically produces about 350,000 snails annually, lost its entire holiday stock of 990 pounds of escargot.
glucose
noun: a naturally occurring monosaccharide sugar
From the headlines: Defective blood glucose monitors are being linked to seven deaths and hundreds of injuries. The devices, made by Abbott Diabetes Care, were found to have faulty sensors that incorrectly showed low readings of blood sugar. People with diabetes depend on the monitors to know how much insulin they might need to take and how many carbohydrates they can safely eat.
hostility
noun: violent action that is usually unprovoked
From the headlines: Hostilities resumed between Cambodia and Thailand, dealing a blow to a recent ceasefire deal. Fighting broke out on December 7 near the disputed border between the countries, leaving at least ten people dead and displacing thousands more. The conflict broke out less than two months after a U.S.-backed peace agreement was signed.
hydrate
verb: to supply liquid in order to maintain a healthy balance
From the headlines: A revised FIFA rule will introduce mandatory three-minute water breaks in both halves of every match at next year’s World Cup, not only in games played under high heat. No matter the weather, referees will stop play at the 22-minute mark so athletes can hydrate, allowing all players equal access to rest and water no matter where a match is played.
kimono
noun: a loose robe originating in Japan
From the headlines: With Japan’s birthrate continuing to decline, some adults without children are modifying a traditional festival by honoring their dogs instead. Shichi-Go-San — the “7-5-3” celebration marking important childhood milestones — is traditionally reserved for young kids. But many pet owners now dress their dogs in kimonos and bring them to shrines to receive a priest’s blessing. At some shrines, dogs in traditional garb outnumber the children.
sodden
adjective: soaked with liquid or moisture
From the headlines: A day after sixteen containers of produce toppled from a ship off England’s southern coast, beaches in Selsey were strewn with sodden bananas while avocados drifted offshore. The cargo had plunged into the Solent, the strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland. Powerful tides quickly carried thousands of waterlogged bananas onto the sand. The fruit had absorbed so much salt water that it blackened and was no longer edible.
upscale
adjective: luxurious, costly, or elegant
From the headlines: Economists report that high-income consumers are continuing to spend freely at upscale retailers, helping lift overall retail numbers. Bloomingdale’s, which stocks more luxury labels than its parent company, Macy’s, saw a 9 percent sales increase last quarter. While many lower-income shoppers are trimming nonessential purchases, affluent consumers show little sign of pulling back. As a result, some retailers are expanding their selection of upscale merchandise in an effort to draw in wealthier buyers.
