word

The new word on the block: Smize

What can Tyra Banks teach you about post-pandemic life?

Now that all smiles are under masks, we may have to get creative about communicating ourselves. Supermodel Tyra Banks who has predicted many fashion trends in the past may also have seen this curious crisis coming when she coined the word ‘smize’ in 2009. Tyra who is best known as the host of the long-running reality show America’s Next Top Model used the word during one of the runway episodes. “You will battle it out to see who has the best smize,” she told the models.

Smize is a portmanteau and brings together the words ‘smile’ and ‘eyes’. ‘To smize’ is to smile with one’s eyes. This could be quite crucial in modelling considering how emoting is a major factor for close-ups but in day-to-day lives too, smizing can come in handy. Instead of taking off your mask just for a smile, try smizing next time. Tyra herself could be a terrific teacher since the model and producer has been smizing since the early aughts.