Linguist, lexicographer, radio host, public speaker

Minigarch, bitza

Recent interesting catchwords from Double-Tongued Dictionary are:

minigarch n. a powerful person who is rich but not extravagantly so. From mini ‘small’ plus -garch from a misdivision of oligarch, which comes from the Greek oligoi ‘few’ and arkhein ‘to rule.’

bitza n. a thing that has a mixed heritage or is made of an other assortment of different things. Also spelled “bitsa.” Both are shortened forms of “bitzer” or “bitser,” which in turn are contractions of “bits of.” All variants are far more common in English outside North America and can often be found referring to mixed-breed dogs. A 1990’s British television show, “Bitsa,” involved two men making complex projects out of craft supplies, small common objects, and discarded items.

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Grant Barrett