Sometimes, a film or TV show can launch a neologism into the popular culture that sticks.
Like the term “friend zone,” meaning a dynamic that’s been sidelined into platonic territory. The phrase is thought to have come from a 1994 episode of, fittingly, Friends. Or “shipping,” a modification of the word “relationship,” which refers to fans’ wishful thinking around two subjects getting together. “Shipping” emerged from The X-Files in the 1990s, when viewers hoped Scully and Mulder would become amorous (it happened, but not until the seventh season). Late 2025 and into ’26 might have brought another into the lexicon: “the cottage.” It’s the most repeated sound bite from the breakout book and streaming series Heated Rivalry, a fictional story about professional male hockey players falling in love with one another. Essentially, “the cottage” connotes a safe (though removed) space where said men can enjoy each other’s company without fear of teammates, fans, cameras and rumors—which is exactly what Heated Rivalry’s main characters, Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), do in a moment of summertime catharsis at the former’s lakeside pad.
