Today we start a new format for the daily emails and the RSS feeds that reflects a change in the Double-Tongued Dictionary web site.
From here on out, I am concentrating on collecting new catchwords, which are those words that to seem to warrant more attention from lexicographers, and less on doing full entries, in which I try to track a word a little way toward its origins.
The main reason for this is the happy news that our language-related radio show is gearing up for its new season and taking a lot more of my time. Making this change will save 10 to 15 hours a week.
So, the daily emails will focus on the most interesting new catchwords found over the last day or two. I hope you’ll find this just as valuable.
In addition, over the next few days I’ll change the RSS feeds so that they’ll include a brand-new “catchword summary,” which I will also post here. This will have the same content as the daily email. They’ll look something like this:
The most interesting recent catchwords in the Double-Tongued Dictionary were:
dipsy-do: another way of saying “an up and down (motion or change).”
wonder bank: an organization in Nigeria that falsely promises high returns on low investments, a trick similar to a pyramid scheme.
hooter hider: a cloth or short apron that gives a mother modesty when nursing a child.
red clown: a zany, antic, destructive clown, opposite of a white clown, who is orderly and calm.
snotting: the practice of deliberately spreading a disease (between horses).
