The dating world has seen new terms added during the Coronavirus pandemic, from Turbo Relationship to Lockdown Engagement. In 2020 the dating website Plenty of Fish coined the term “faucied” named after Dr. Anthony Fauci who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and as Chief Medical Advisor to the President. Dr. Fauci has become something of a household name due to his expertise on coronavirus and for his regular appearances on TV.
Dr. Fauci has been a strong advocate for wearing masks during the pandemic and it is because of this that the term “faucied” came into being. Bruce Lee, a writer for Forbes magazine explains why:
When you “Fauci” someone, you don’t date that person because he or she is not taking Covid-19 and COvid-19 precautions seriously enough. For example, you may be Fauci-ing him because he claimed that the Covid-19 coronavirus is a hoax or is nothing more than the common cold. Or perhaps you have Fauci’d her because she’s posting selfies while in a maskless mosh pit.
Forbes
The term even made its way to the Urban Dictionary:
Declining to date someone because you don’t feel they’re taking COVID-19 seriously enough.
If I had a nickel for every time I found myself fauci-ing someone this year, I could pay off my student loans.”
Urban Dictionary
Check out this tweet where Axios managing editor, Margaret Talev, interviews Dr. Fauci over the new dating term coined using his name.
Dumping a date for their inconsiderate behavior during a global pandemic is perfectly justified but give them plenty of warnings first.
Social Media Trends as of October 2, 2022
TikTok #faucied: 66,600 views
Google Trends: faucied first appeared in Google’s search engine during the week of April 5, 2020. The popularity of the term waxed and waned until it peaked during the week of July 17, 2022.
Sources:
Axios. “Fauci learns how his name has been added to pandemic dating lexicon.” Twitter. February 14, 2021. URL: https://twitter.com/axios/status/1360971473288982531.
Lee, Bruce Y. “To ‘Fauci’ Someone Is Now A Covid-19 Coronavirus Dating Term, Here Are Others.” Forbes. February 22, 2021. URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2021/02/22/getting-faucid-and-other-covid-19-coronavirus-dating-terms/?sh=34f4481b71b6
“Fauci-ing.” Urban Dictionary. November 10, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Fauci-ing.