Ideas & Insights
Words we love: zinger (& the importance of finding PR zingers)
Rebecca Kesteven
Account Executive
Zinger. It’s a word I use pretty much daily in the office - and so you can imagine my horror when I discovered that it’s languishing somewhere in the lower 50% of words used in the Collins dictionary.
‘Zinger’ is defined as a ‘quick, witty, pointed remark or answer'. It’s a derivative of the verb and noun ‘zing’ - ‘(to make) a sharp whizzing noise’. Over time it’s evolved from a sound to a concept and has ultimately become a staple of modern language, particularly in the realms of humour, politics, and branding.
The zinger truly found its place in culture during the 1960s and 1970s, thanks to its adoption in political debate. Although like many political words, it actually originated in the sports world. In 1957 it was baseball slang, but by 1970 as political debate became more confrontational (and less about policy), it turned into an effective, quick-witted criticism of an opponent - the linguistic equivalent of a mic-drop.
(cue visual mic drop)
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But it’s not all politics and punchlines - zinger is also a word used to describe energy, enthusiasm, and sharpness in all sorts of things. Food, for instance, can have a zing (like KFC’s Zinger Burger), as can a riveting conversation. Even the Latin word for ginger is zingiber. The word has literal spice in its veins.
You could say a lot of my job at Red Setter is about finding zingers. In PR, it’s important to be punchy. Especially when you’re working alongside such creative people who are coming up with absolute zingers all the time. The word is a perfect combination of creative and strategic - with pitching, you want to catch attention. Coming up with zingers, so I’ve learnt, is a pretty good way of doing that.
From its early use in baseball slang to its place in political rhetoric, comedy, and pop culture, ‘zinger’ has evolved to become a versatile tool in language - capable of delivering humour, cutting remarks, and even shocking revelations in a single, sharp burst. It’s a word that injects a bit of fun and silliness into the everyday, and a word that proves that sometimes, less is more - especially when it cuts straight to the point with a sharp, satisfying zing.
