Month: October 2007
Doll husband, slumber room
Recent interesting catchwords from the Double-Tongued Dictionary are: doll husband n. a man with a social or emotional attachment to a life-sized, realistic female doll. slumber room n. the room in a funeral home in which a body lies prior to visitation.
Words of the year: there’s no problem here
I’m sorry to say that I’ve been made to look like a bit of a spoiler in this article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I do not think “all this effort to identify the key word of the year is worth very little.” I do think “it’s just folks having fun.” It’s important fun and it’s…
Everyone has a crush on Erin McKean
The fellow at Undress Me Robot isn’t the only one with a crush on my friend an colleague Erin McKean (who is married, has a cute little boy, and will probably respond to your belles lettres d’amour with a polite and pert “Thanks!”). There is this person. And this one. And this one, too. Portfolio…
Hey, you got your salsa in my ketchup!
My second column has appeared in the Malaysian Star: Spanglish and Nuyoricanspeak. This time, I write about Spanish and English and some of the ways that the blending and mixing of the two languages continues.
New words and how to get them in the dictionary
I just had another in a long series of conversations about how to get a word in the dictionary. Sigh. There was a misunderstanding, as always. This phone call went as they usually do: somebody has coined a word, they think it’s really spiffy, they want to get it in “The Dictionary,” and they call…
Dipstick, lock box
Recent interesting catchwords from the Double-Tongued Dictionary are: dipstick v. to take random samples or to randomly choose people to question. lock box n. a government account or fund which is protected from reappropriation to other government programs.
Coffee-housing, jackpot, coyote camp
Recent interesting catchwords from the Double-Tongued Dictionary are: coffee-housing n. in a competition or game, trying to distract or annoy another player. jackpot n. in firefighting slang, a flammable place. coyote camp n. an improvised place near the site of a forest fire where firefighters have chosen to sleep.
Grass station: Webster’s New World College Dictionary’s word of the year
The word-of-the-year flood commences: Grass Station is Webster’s New World’s 2007 ‘Word of the Year’. It’s October, people. You don’t have a “word of the year.” You have a “word of the 41rst p0st!!!!” Though at least “grass station” is better than “info-snacking,” their laughably stupid choice for 2005.
The boy returns: seventh months and a trip to Grammy’s and Pop’s house
Long-awaited pictures! Click on the smiling boy.
First laddie, thrownaway, wedcast
Recent interesting catchwords from the Double-Tongued Dictionary are: first laddie: n. Bill Clinton’s jocular suggestion for the title of a female president’s husband. thrownaway n. a child who has been forced to leave home by a guardian or parent. wedcast n. a wedding broadcast over the Internet.