Chameleon Magazine

 😲📻When Kate Garraway gasped “flabbergasted” on Celebrity Traitors, the nation blinked. Not because of the drama — but because someone on television had dared to use a word that wasn’t “amazing.” Tom Daley’s face nearly pulled a hamstring in surprise. You’d think she’d quoted Shakespeare at a Love Island recoupling.

But let’s be honest — “flabbergasted” deserves its comeback. In a media landscape where everything is either amazing or incredible, hearing a good, juicy, old-school adjective was downright revolutionary.

💬 Bring Back the Vocabulary Buffet

Modern telly talk is thinner than a reality star’s backstory. “Amazing,” “incredible,” “literally”— rinse and repeat. Every cake on Bake Off? Amazing. Every dress on Strictly? Incredible. Every mildly competent conversation on Love Island? Literally life-changing.

We used to have flair! We used to say “whoops-a-daisy” when we tripped, “golly” when surprised, and “heavens above” when scandal struck. Now? It’s “omg,” “lol,” and an emoji that looks vaguely constipated. 🤯

Tom Daley’s bafflement at “flabbergasted” is the linguistic equivalent of watching someone discover vinyl records and wondering where the sound comes from.

🎩 The Charm of the Quaint

There’s a quiet magic in the words that have slipped through the cracks — “okey dokey,” “easy peasy,” “yikes,” and the glorious “cor blimey.” They carry warmth, humour, and history. They make you sound like your nan and a time traveller.

They’re the verbal cardigans of the English language — comforting, slightly worn, but timelessly stylish.

Imagine if we revived them! Reality TV contestants could declare themselves “perplexed,” politicians could admit to being “befuddled,” and the rest of us could confess we’re “utterly bamboozled” by our council tax. Doesn’t that sound marvellous? (Yes, marvellous — another word collecting dust.)

🕰️ Linguistic Time Travel

There’s something wonderfully human about our fondness for words that once filled the airwaves. They evoke milkmen, ration books, and Sunday lunches before Deliveroo existed. Hearing “flabbergasted” is like tuning a modern TV to a forgotten frequency — a flicker of warmth and nostalgia amid the static of influencer slang.

Maybe what we need isn’t fewer words, but older ones — the kind that make you smile before you even finish saying them.

🔥 Challenges 🔥

Which vintage words do you still sneak into conversation? Do you “whoops-a-daisy” your way through life, or drop a “crikey!” when things go wrong?

💬 Comment below with your favourite lost expressions — the ones that make your kids roll their eyes and your heart feel full. Let’s bring them back, one “flabbergasted” at a time.

👇 Comment, like, and share if you reckon “okey dokey” deserves airtime again.

The best reader submissions will be featured in the next issue of Chameleon News. 🎙️🗞️