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(colloquial noun) shorthand for the cost of living crisis
The cost of living crisis is responsible for putting a sizeable dent in our personal finances — and this abomination in the dictionary.
Goodness knows we could all do with a laugh as bills, rent, mortgages, groceries and the tax burden shoot up. But while referring to our collective woe as “cozzie livs” may soften the blow of financial strife, I fear the cringe factor only compounds the misery.
It may sound like an Australianism and was voted word of the year by the Macquarie dictionary, but its use originated in the UK. With the over-mortgaged middle classes turning to reselling second-hand clothes on apps such as Vinted and Depop to make a few quid, the Instagram account @DMDrama has turned price haggling into an art form. After one buyer asked for a discount, the seller’s response went viral: “I can’t go that low, sorry babe . . . especially with the cozzie livs and all that jazz.”
With inflation falling globally, there is hope that the squeeze on living standards could ease in 2024, which would lessen the term’s chances of linguistic survival. But economists warn that inflation risk remains very much on the upside.
But humorous attempts to blunt the serious nature of this is not something I find funny. And more importantly, does anyone at the sharp end of the cost of living crisis actually use this term?
In my corner of east London, people whose finances have reached breaking point have adopted a different piece of shorthand: fuck the Tories — popularised by last year’s Christmas no 1 attempt. In a wonderful example of circularity, you can now buy a range of merchandise bearing this slogan on Depop, starting at a purse-friendly £4.99 for a sew-on patch. My advice for the government? Beware the Genny Lex in 2024.
Claer Barrett is the FT’s consumer editor and author of the FT’s Sort Your Financial Life Out newsletter series; claer.barrett@ft.com; Instagram @ClaerB
