S4 С1-С2 FRIENDSHIP RECESSION & THE DEATH OF THIRD PLACES

to yearn for a crew

to long for a close group of friends

to exist in silos

to live or work separately from others

amateur therapy

emotional advice given by non-professionals

exhilarating

making sb feel extremely excited and alive

robust

strong and effective, not easily weakened

ubiquitous

appearing or found everywhere

to bemoan the lack of sth

to complain sadly that sth is missing

a slew of companies

a large number of companies

to attract hordes of people

to draw in very large crowds of people

to pin down the source of sth

to identify what is causing sth

to collapse the distinction between sth and sth

to blur or remove the difference between two things

notable contributor to sth

an important factor that adds to sth

to long for a social network

to strongly wish to have a circle of friends

hinterland

remote, rural area of a country lying behind a coast, a river, or a major city

risk averse

not liking risk and trying to avoid it

conspicuously

in a very noticeable and visible way

to abate loneliness

to make loneliness weaker or less intense

to mourn sth

to feel sad about the loss of sth

pang of loneliness

a sudden sharp feeling of loneliness

calcified, recurring feeling

a fixed feeling that keeps returning

transient discomfort

a brief, short-lived feeling of unease

aching sense of exclusion

a painful feeling of being left out

to alleviate loneliness

to reduce loneliness or make it easier to bear

to withstand splintering

to stay strong when a group starts to break apart

to gel with sb

to connect easily and naturally with others

to engineer sth

to carefully plan and create a situation

transactional

mainly focused on exchanging benefits, like a deal

frugal

very careful with money and spending

to quibble over sth

to argue over minor or trivial details

petty debt

a small, unimportant sum of money owed

to fruitlessly battle against a raging cost of living crisis

to try to fight rising prices without success

hit by soaring living costs

seriously affected by sharply rising prices

to tighten one’s pursestrings

to cut back and control spending strictly

palpably different

clearly and strongly different

entitled

believing you deserve special treatment without earning it

prone to sth

likely to do or experience sth negative

predisposed to sth

naturally inclined or likely to do sth

first port of call

the first place you stop, visit, or go to for help, advice, or to start a process

to put an acute strain on one’s social life

to place strong pressure on social connections

ingrained in our psyche

deeply fixed in how we think and feel

to diminish sth

to reduce the strength, size, or importance of sth

reciprocity

mutual exchange of feelings, help or favors

to cultivate friendships

to act actively build and maintain friendships

to be on the incline

to be increasing or rising

to fork out money on expensive meals

to reluctantly spend a lot on costly meals

to be transparent

to be open and clear, not hiding anything important

to let friendships flourish

to allow friendships to grow

in times of economic hardship

during serious financial difficulties

commodity

sth treated mainly as a product to buy or sell

enamored with sth

feeling a strong love for or attraction to sth

to spend leisure time

to use your free time for rest or enjoyment

to lament the lack of third places

to sadly complain that there are not enough public social spaces

nebulous concept

an idea that is unclear or not well defined

fervor over the loss of third places

strong emotion and worry about losing public social spaces

to have an offhand conversation with sb

to have a quick, casual talk with sb

to strike up a conversation with sb

to start talking with sb you did not know well before

to latch onto an idea

to quickly accept and strongly hold an idea

to linger somewhere

to stay in a place for longer than necessary

to visit a place at a regular cadence

to go to a place again and again on a regular basis

to facilitate socialization

to make it easier for people to meet and talk

rampantly capitalist society

a society where the drive to make profit is very strong and uncontrolled

to nurse one $8 drink

to drink one $8 drink very slowly to stay longer

to mingle

to move around and talk with different people

to fraternize

to mix socially and build friendly relations

to bank on sth

to expect sth or depend on sth happening

brick-and-mortar bar

a physical bar in a real building with face-to-face interaction between employees and customers

severely impacted by the pandemic

strongly affected the pandemic

hermit

sb who lives alone and avoids other people

to atrophy social skills

to let social skills weaken from not using them

to whip out one’s phone

to take out your phone quickly

communal activity

an activity done together with other people

nonchalant

calm and not seeming to care much

to maintain solid friendships

to keep a strong friendships going

like pulling teeth

extremely hard or unpleasant to do

to aid in one’s personal development

to help sb grow

conducive to sth

providing the right conditions for sth good to happen

quirk

a strange or unique habit or trait

to relinquish one’s right to get mad

to give up your right to be angry about sth

to harbor resentment

to keep feelings of anger or bitterness inside

to sabotage one’s relationship

to damage a relationship, either consciously or subconsciously

to do sth maliciously

to do sth with the intention to hurt or harm

to demote sb to a less close friend

to decide sb is now a more distant friend

knee-jerk reaction to sth

an automatic, emotional response without much thought

to align with sth

to match or agree with sth

unconditional love

love that continues no matter what happens

to owe sb grace

to feel you should be patient and forgiving toward sb

ride or die

a friend who is loyal and supportive no matter what

impromptu call

a call made without prior arrangements or notice

to hit the zeitgeist

to rapidly enter and start dominating mainstream culture, everyday language, and collective mindset

to invalidate sth

to make sth seem untrue, unimportant, or not real

to create friction

to cause tension or conflict

to absolve sb from accountability

to free sb from responsibility (especially in religion or law)

to hinder social skills

to make it harder for social skills to imporve

to circumvent sth

to avoid or evade sth, especially a rule or problem