I wrote a line of dialogue today that had one character asking another to "cut me some slack". After I wrote it, I started to worry that it was a little too contemporary, so I went looking for the origins of the saying. Turns out it's a nautical reference from sailing ships and has something to do with rope and hoisting sails, so I was in the clear.
But in the process of looking for the origin of "cut me some slack", I came across all sorts of other interesting sites, and quite a few that listed new words in the English language.
So... here you are, a chance to improve your
WORDROBE, [that's a person's vocabulary, in case you're wondering. A blend of word and wardrobe. Seriously]
These little gems were collected by members of the class Linguistics/English 215, Words in English: Structure, History and Use, at Rice University 1996-99.
- ANDROPAUSE (OR VIROPAUSE), n. The end of virility. [blend of virility and menopause
- A.S.S. GRADUATE, n. A long-winded person (who's attended the "American Sidebartending School"). [Lingo used by journalists covering the O.J. Simpson Civil Trial. Found in Newsweek]
- AUTO "DENTIST", n. One who repairs dents, hail damage, and other types of minor damage on automobiles. ["dentist" to mean "one who repairs dents."]
- BFE , adj. Very far away: Beyond Fu**ing Egypt. also B.F.E., b.f.e. [Acronym. Egypt was chosen somewhat arbitrarily as a country on the opposite side of the world. Variant: Bomfoq Egypt]
- DEFLICTED,adj. Affected with a condition that misshapes or distorts. [Blend of "afflicted" and "deformed."]
- DISORIENT EXPRESS, n. A state of confusion. [novel formation].
- F.I.N.E, adj. acronym (F*cked up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional). Usually derogatory; indicated by tone of voice.
- FURTHER-FETCHED, adj. Beyond far-fetched [Compound further and fetched]
- GLOBOBOSS, n. A cosmopolitan executive that has the ability to perform well across the globe.
- ITO'D, v. To get hit on the head, especially with a TV crew's boom microphone. *
- LOSINGEST, adj. In last place, worst off, lagging behind the rest. ["losing"+ superlative]
- MCJOB, n. A job in a service related field with low pay, low prestige and little opportunity for advancement [analogous word formed from prefix Mc- and job ].
- MEANDERTHAL, n. An annoying individual moving slowly and aimlessly in front of another individual who is in a bit of a hurry [blend formed from meander and neanderthal ]
- POPAGANDA, n. Music that is popular with the general public, and has purpose or is trying promote particular ideas. [Blend of pop (clipping of popular) and propaganda]
- PSYCHODRAMATIC, adj. very crazy (psychotic) and overly dramatic. [blend of psychotic and dramatic]
- SARCASTROPHE, n. An embarrassing and catastrophic event occurring when an individual attempts and fails to use humorous sarcasm [blend of sarcasm and catastrophe ].
- SCHIZO, n. A cup of coffee made with equal parts of caffeinated and de-caffeinated coffee [clip of schizophrenia].
- SHOPGRIFTING, v. to 'rent' something for free by purchasing it and then returning it within 30 days for a full refund. [Compound of shop + grift "to swindle"]
And my favourite...
- INTERQUEL, n. A television production that dramatizes a story lying temporally between the story in the original production and that of its sequel. [Analogical formation from model word sequel, first extension prequel via re-cutting to form new morpheme quel; then prefixed with inter- 'between']
If you're interested, the full list is
here. In the meantime, I won't worry too much about these words. Can't use them anyway.
Although I am thinking of writing an interquel...
*They have a word for this now????
Interesting...
