Shaveducking is the dating trend that should worry bearded men

Is it wrong to only fancy someone because of their beard?

Actor Tom Hardy is rarely seen without facial hair. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

It's a familiar scene. You're in full heartless-and-shallow mode on Tinder, swiping left on every potential match for the smallest issue. Old trainers, nope. Gelled hair, nah. Fedora: Christ, no. And suddenly your eyes see something you like very much indeed: a coiffed beard, and it's a match.

But on your date the next day, something feels off. Without the aid of filters, they don't quite look the same. And then you wonder, if this guy didn't have a beard making his face all trendy would I fancy him at all? This is a classic case of "shaveducking".

The term was coined by the Metro to describe "the lingering unease that emerges when you realise that you're not quite sure if you're attracted to a man, or just his facial hair."

"Shaveducking, because you'd do anything to dodge that guy getting a shave and trimming off your affections in the process." The writer admits that while this attitude might be horribly shallow, it's probably something more of us that would like to admit have experienced.

We propose that the definition could be stretched to encompass anything about a person's appearance that you can't quite put your finger on. Like if they remove their glasses and just look a bit weird, and you pray they won't wear contact lenses forever. Or the way they sort of look like an egg if they take off their favourite hat.

Shaveducking is the latest in a string of new terminology used to describe the different scenarios people encounter when dating. Naming situations, it seems, makes it all a bit more relatable and easier to cope with.

Google searches for ghosting, for instance, skyrocketed in 2015 after it started to be used to describe a date who, instead of letting you down gently, simply vanishes to the point where you wonder if they're dead.

Cuffing, meanwhile, is a more recent term, which emerged in 2016 and is defined as the act of trying to find a partner during the cold winter months, who can be ditched once your social calendar fills up again in the spring.