Words we love: bubble - who doesn't love a bubble?

Words we love: bubble

By Carrie Ellis, Account Manager

There was always something magical about seeing a glistening sphere of liquid catching the light and floating off into the unknown, only to burst moments later as if it never existed at all. The simple yet majestic bubble.

Bubbles are fragile. Delicate. Easily destroyed. In an odd way, it’s part of their charm. But over the past year, the magical association has been dulled by a more serious one. The word ‘bubble’ suddenly means so much more.

The invention of support bubbles gives such weight to this previously transient word. Bubbles are now powerful and protective. Giving strength where before there was sadness or loneliness.

But before the serious bubble, there was the fun bubble. Bubble baths. Speech bubbles. Bubble writing. Bubble gum. And everyone’s favourite – bubble wrap.

Popping those tiny plastic domes brings joy to all ages – from kids getting bored during a house move to procrastinating adults trying to avoid constructing the IKEA flatpack. Although perhaps not the most eco-friendly pastime…

Childhood competitions over who can blow the biggest bubble from their sticky pink goo can’t be beaten, and most of us spent hours perfecting our bubble-writing in school – or is that only the millennials?

And it’s not just the semantics that make it a great word. Bubble is pleasing to say and pleasing to read. It’s a triple threat.

There’s something so satisfying about onomatopoeic words. Bubble just feels right, and it’s no wonder that this translates so brilliantly into sign language, with ‘bubbles’ signed by making small circle shapes in the air with your index finger and thumb.

But my favourite use of bubble has to be its place in Cockney rhyming slang, with bubble bath meaning a laugh. With everything that’s happened this year, I think we could all do with having a bubble.