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Lemma | Pronounciation | Lang. | Part of speech | Subject area | Definition (source lang.) | Word family I | Word family II | Word family III | Word family IV | Context | Definition (en) | Definition (fr) |
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al desko | en | to eat – especially lunch – at one’s desk | A new study has found that one in three office workers eat ‘al desko’ at lunchtimes. | |||||||||
alcopop | en | n. | fruit drink fortified with alcohol, designed and marketed to appeal to young people | A judge blamed alcopops after a boy of 14 set fire to his school. | ||||||||
ask | en | n. | demand, requirement, folk etymology by analogy with demand | That’s a big ask. | ||||||||
bacn | en | n. | Emails (news alerts, promotions, etc.) which the recipient has subscribed to but may not actually read (and may be annoyed by). The name (a contraction of ‘bacon’) is meant to convey the idea that such emails are ‘better than spam, but not as good as a personal email’ | Bacn is becoming what spam once was – the nuisance that fills up your inbox and makes it hard to pick out the important messages. | ||||||||
binge-watch | en | v. | to watch many episodes of a particular television programme in one sitting | I spent all yesterday binge-watching 'Doctor Who' on Netflix. | ||||||||
biomining | en | n. | a method of extracting minerals from ores in which micro-organisms are used to draw out the minerals. It is thought to be less harmful to the environment than other forms of mining | Biomining is looked upon by some as the ‘mining of the future’. | ||||||||
blended family | en | n. phrase | a supposedly friendlier-sounding (i.e. less Cinderella-ish) way of referring to a stepfamily, in which one parent has children that are not related to the other parent | If you look on the internet you will find sites offering wedding vows, wedding songs and wedding dances for blended families. | ||||||||
blogetariat, blogotariat | en | n. | Collective noun denoting habitual bloggers or their writings | The Prime Minister’s latest blunder came in for some lively mockery from the blogetariat. | ||||||||
blondie | en | n. | a white-chocolate brownie (a small square of rich chocolate cake) | I’ve just found a great recipe for making blondies; I’m going to bake some at the weekend. | ||||||||
Brexit | en | n. | portmanteau word (from ‘British’ and ‘exit’) denoting the possibility that the UK could leave the European Union (cf. Grexit) | Is a Brexit looming on the horizon? | ||||||||
bromance | en | n. | a very close non-sexual friendship between two or more men | bromantic adj. | Mike and Steve have been best friends for years, it’s a real bromance. | |||||||
brownout | en | n. | Intentional or unintentional drop in voltage in an electrical power supply system | The term brownout comes from the dimming experienced by lighting when the voltage sags. (Wikipedia) | ||||||||
bucket list | en | noun phrase | A list of things a person wants to do before they die | Your bucket list is the list of things you want to do before you kick the proverbial bucket. Swimming with dolphins, going to Las Vegas, and running a marathon are popular bucket list items. | ||||||||
build | en | n. | construction project | As a new build, the office replacement scheme was more cost-effective than renting. | ||||||||
business angel | en | n. | an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for a proportion of the company’s equity | As well as funding, business angels, or angel investors, can often offer young companies business expertise, advice and useful contacts. | ||||||||
chugging | en | n. | raising money for charity by approaching people in the street, especially using aggressive techniques (sarcasm, negative language, refusal to let a person go, etc.); a blend of ‘charity’ and ‘mugging’ | Some local authorities are seeking to ban chugging. | ||||||||
climate refugee | en | n. | Someone displaced from their residence of origin by climate change and obliged to seek resettlement elsewhere | Some have suggested that refugee law and protections should be extended to include people affected by climate change - however, many Pacific islanders explicitly reject the idea of ‘climate refugee’ status. | ||||||||
cocooning | en | n. | the act of insulating or hiding oneself from the normal social environment, retreat into the seclusion of one's own home during leisure time, as for privacy or escape | tele-cocooning n. | e-cocooning n. | We depressives are frequently drawn towards cocooning, the practice of hanging out in our homes for most of our free time. Given that it’s winter and many people who aren’t depressed are also cocooning due to the cold weather, why not make the most of it and actually celebrate cocooning? | ||||||
coffice | en | n. | I don’t go to the office much any more. I just take my laptop along to my local café and work there instead. You can make a cup of coffee last all morning at the coffice if you drink slowly enough. | |||||||||
Conflict-free goods | en | noun phrase | goods certified as not including any minerals imported from war zones (‘conflict minerals’) | Under a new ruling agreed by US regulators, American consumers could now have a choice over whether or not to buy ‘conflict-free’ smartphones. | ||||||||
cradle-to-cradle (C2C) | en | adjectival phrase | Describes a holistic economic, industrial and social framework that seeks to create systems that are both efficient and essentially waste-free | ‘Cradle-to-cradle’ is a play on the phrase ‘from cradle to grave’; it suggests the notion of being considerate to life and to future generations. | ||||||||
crowdsourcing | en | n. | the practice of obtaining services or ideas by asking for contributions from a large group of people, especially the online community | crowdsource v. | The Oxford English Dictionary, contributions to which were collected on slips of paper from the general public, may be one of the first examples of crowdsourcing. | |||||||
Cupertino effect | en | noun phrase | its dictionary. The term ‘Cupertino effect’ was coined when the spell checker repeatedly replaced ‘cooperation’ (without a hyphen) with ‘Cupertino’, the Californian town that is the home of Apple. Some say – although it may be an urban myth – that it was EU translators who first came up with the expression. | |||||||||
dark store | en | noun phrase | a supermarket that stocks goods used exclusively for home delivery | David Gray, retail analyst at Planet Retail, predicts more ‘dark stores’ - supermarkets where the public are banned as staff fill trolleys for thousands of online orders. | ||||||||
daycation | en | n. | a trip or short vacation which lasts only one day. (cf. staycation) | The trend is for multiple single-day holidays – inevitably dubbed ‘daycations’. | ||||||||
death trafficker | en | name | expression used in the context of a recent Lampedusa tragedy, which refers to the operators of inadequate vessels bringing migrants across the Mediterranean seeking to enter the EU, often ending in death | Having regard to the CRIM Special Committee final resolution with particular reference to the fight against human trafficking and death traffickers. (see EP document: FdR RC\1007512:) | trafficants meurtriers | |||||||
demising | en | n. | cutting jobs, firing employees | To the annals of business euphemisms for the painful process of cutting jobs, Bank X has added a new entry that critics say raises the stakes in obfuscation – ‘demising’.(Financial Times, 23 April 2013) | ||||||||
devolution max or devo max | en | noun phrase | a term coined as part of the current independence debate in Scotland to refer to a third option (between the status quo and independence) involving devolution of powers in all areas except for defence and foreign affairs | Devolution max could imply major changes in monetary policy and European Union matters. | ||||||||
devolution plus or devo plus | en | noun phrase | another possible option put forward in the Scottish independence debate, short of devolution max, but not clearly defined | The prospects of Scotland gaining hefty new tax-raising powers and control over North Sea oil as an alternative to independence have increased after a new ‘devo plus’ campaign was launched by senior Scottish political figures. | ||||||||
digital detox | en | noun phrase | the process whereby a product or service initially takes root in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then moves relentlessly up the market, eventually displacing established competitors | Just as the fax replaced the telegram, and email replaced the fax, disruptive innovations are constantly changing the business landscape. | ||||||||
early adopter | en | noun phrase | One of the first people to use a given product or technology | Kids are the ultimate early adopters. They took to online games in their thousands. | ||||||||
emoticon | en | n. | representation of a facial expression formed by a combination of keyboard characters such as 🙂 (smiley face) | My friend uses emoticons all the time in messages instead of just writing how she feels. | ||||||||
Eurogeddon, eurogeddon | en | n. | the threatened financial collapse in the eurozone. Portmanteau word formed from Europe and Armageddon (loosely, ‘the end of the world’) | Cameron urged to 'exploit eurogeddon'. | ||||||||
feminicide | en | n. | the systematic and targeted serial killing of women (generally with reference to Latin America, especially Mexico and Central American countries) | feminicidal adj. | In Guatemala, feminicide is a crime that exists because of the absence of state guarantees to protect the rights of women. | |||||||
fiscal cliff | en | noun phrase | the effect of a number of US laws which, if unchanged, would result in tax increases, spending cuts and a corresponding reduction in the budget deficit, significantly reducing economic growth from 2013. The first documented use of the phrase was in The New York Times in 1957; it was popularised in the present crisis by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. | The White House and Congress are trying to agree a package of measures that would divert the country from the fiscal cliff. | ||||||||
floordrobe | en | n. | area of floor used for storing clothes | The floordrobe: keeping life low maintenance. | ||||||||
food baby | en | noun phrase | a protruding stomach caused by eating large quantities of food, supposedly resembling that of a woman in the early stages of pregnancy | I ate so much at the party that everyone thought I was pregnant, but it was just a food baby. | ||||||||
footfall | en | n. | the number of people who go into a shop or business in a particular period of time | Footfall tends to decline immediately after major holidays. | ||||||||
freesheet, free sheet | en | n. | a local daily newspaper distributed free of charge, typically at locations such as railway stations, and making its money from advertising | Some freesheet publishers are now finally providing recycling bins, but has this come too late? | ||||||||
frenemy, frienemy | en | someone who pretends to be a friend but is actually an enemy | A frenemy may constantly encourage you to date men who are wrong for you. | |||||||||
friendzone, friend zone | en | n. v. | when one's romantic feelings towards a friend are not reciprocated; to gently reject a friend's romantic advances by making it clear that one considers them only as a good friend | I'm stuck in the friend zone. She said she thought of me like a brother - I've totally been friendzoned. | ||||||||
Games Makers | en | noun phrase | London 2012 Olympics volunteers; the people who helped make the games happen | The 2012 Games Makers came from a wide variety of communities, across the UK and beyond. | ||||||||
gastropub | en | n. | a pub which, in addition to beer and alcoholic drinks, offers high-quality cuisine | The search is on for the UK’s top ten gastropubs. | ||||||||
generation rent | en | noun phrase | young people in the UK and US who cannot now afford to buy their own homes and are consequently forced to rent | The current clutch of young adults have been nicknamed ‘generation rent’ after a series of studies suggested that Britain is changing from a nation of home owners into a continental-style society where renting is the norm. | ||||||||
GIF, gif | en | v. | acronym originally coined as a noun in 1987. To create a graphics interchange format (gif) file of an image or video sequence, especially relating to an event, and share it online | GIF or gif n. | Journalists successfully GIFfed critical sporting moments in the 2012 London Olympics. | |||||||
glamping | en | n. | Portmanteau word (blend of ‘glamorous’ and ‘camping'); Camping, but with accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those usually associated with camping | Glamping’s great – you get all the joys of camping without any of the hardship. | ||||||||
glocal | en | adj. | refers to an individual, group, organisation or community that thinks globally and acts locally; blended from ‘global’ and ‘local’ | glocalisation n. | Some global fast-food chains take a glocal approach when they adapt their menus to local tastes. | |||||||
going postal | en | n., gerund phrase | Becoming uncontrollably angry, to the point of violence, usually in the workplace. Originated in a series of incidents in which US postal workers shot and killed fellow workers | The term ‘going postal’ was coined despite the fact that homicide rates in the postal service are in fact considerably lower than the average. | ||||||||
greenwash, greenwashing | en | n. | deceptive marketing of a green public image when more substantial environmental policies are not being implemented | Greenwash v. | The man behind the deal that brought two pandas to a Scottish zoo has defended panda conservation against allegations of ‘greenwash’. | |||||||
Grexit | en | n. | portmanteau word (from ‘Greek’ and ‘(eurozone) exit’) denoting the possibility that Greece could leave the eurozone | It was feared that a Grexit could occur at any time. | ||||||||
hacktivist | en | n. | person who gains unauthorised access to computer files or networks in order to further social or political ends; portmanteau of ‘hacker’ and ‘activist’ | hacktivism n. | Hacktivists are evolving ever more subtle and malicious skills. | |||||||
hashtag | en | n. | a word or phrase preceded by a hash sign (#), used on social media sites such as Twitter to identify messages on a specific topic | During its Twitter Q&A, British Gas received hundreds of outraged tweets from unhappy customers using the hashtag #AskBG. | ||||||||
Higgs boson | en | n. | a particle whose existence was effectively confirmed in 2012 by research scientists at the CERN laboratory in Geneva, considered fundamental to the structure of matter and sometimes referred to as ‘the DNA of the universe’ (also known as the ‘Higgs particle’) | The Higgs boson is predicted to exist for theoretical reasons, and may have been detected by recent experiments. | ||||||||
horizontal segregation | en | noun phrase | uneven gender distribution of employees (more men than women or vice versa) across the different occupations within a given employment sector (cf. vertical segregation) | The way nurses and teachers are often portrayed as women while doctors and lawyers are frequently assumed to be men exemplifies how deeply ingrained horizontal segregation is in our society. | ||||||||
hospital pass | en | noun phrase | A task or project that will inevitably bring heavy criticism or failure to the person assigned it. (Originally (sport): a pass made to a team-mate who is sure to be tackled heavily as soon as the ball is received.) | Smith was thrown a real hospital pass when he was promoted to managing director; the company’s heading straight for bankruptcy. | ||||||||
hotspot | en | n. | a public area where wireless Internet connection (WiFi) is available | Luxembourg airport is a hotspot. | ||||||||
humblebrag | en | n. | the practice of saying something apparently modest which is really intended as a boast; particularly prevalent on Facebook and Twitter | One example of a classic humblebrag: ‘Argh! just seen someone sitting opposite me on train is reading my book. Quite embarrassed. Watching for signs of enjoyment. He’s frowning.’ Independent, 30.9.2011 | ||||||||
ice-bucket challenge | en | noun phrase | A stunt intended to raise money for charity, whereby somebody has a bucket of water and ice cubes emptied over their head, and then challenges another person to do the same | Both Barack Obama and David Cameron have refused ice-bucket challenges, preferring to make donations. | ||||||||
intrapreneur | en | n. | Person within a corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation | Even the dullest of corporate managers will claim that suggesting the odd idea to their boss turns them into an intrapreneur. | ||||||||
Islamophobia | en | n. | irrational hatred towards or fear of Islam or Muslims | Islamophobe n. | Islamophobic adj. | Islamophobia is a growing problem, particularly since 9/11. | ||||||
kettling | en | n. | A police tactic for controlling crowds during demonstrations. Police cordons are formed around the crowd, allowing them only one means of exit, or none at all | Kettling was used by the London Metropolitan Police during the 2001 May Day riots. | ||||||||
key | en | v. | to scratch the paintwork of someone else’s car with a key | Discovering that someone had keyed the side of my car during the night did nothing to improve my morning. | ||||||||
Kippers | en | n. | Kids in Parents' Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings', which refers to adult children who are not working or studying and still living at home with their parents (with a hint at doziness (cf 'to kip'). While not strictly a neologism (the term first emerged in 2003), this is a phenomenon which is becoming increasingly widespread in these times of economic difficulty | The Prudential has dubbed those who refuse to fly the nest "Kippers", for "kids in parents' pockets eroding retirement savings". | ||||||||
legacy airline | en | noun phrase | A long-established airline, often a national airline or ‘flag carrier’ | The gap between legacy airlines and low-cost carriers is becoming increasingly narrow. | ||||||||
low-hanging fruit | en | noun phrase | easily obtained gains; targets or goals that can be achieved without a great deal of effort | The low-hanging fruit has been harvested, and now we must move on to more challenging goals. | ||||||||
manstanding | en | n. | what husbands and partners do while their wives and partners are shopping | Manstanding outside the ladies’ fitting room is not my idea of the perfect way to spend Saturday afternoon. | ||||||||
medal | en | v. | to win a medal (at the Olympic Games) | Commonwealth silver medallist Peter Kirkbride finished 27th at last year's worlds and is not expected to medal. | ||||||||
meshing | en | n.m | blending of maiden names on marriage to form a new surname - e.g. Mr Pugh marries Ms Griffin and the newly-weds take the surname Puffin or Mr O'Dowd marries Ms Porter and they become Mr and Mrs O'Porter | Many couples feel meshing is more romantic than double-barreling their surname, while we did have one very honest client who said they could not decide whose name should come first, so blending their names was the obvious solution. | ||||||||
minigarch | en | n. | child of an oligarch | Welcome to the opulent, excessive and privileged life of one of Russia’s most famous minigarchs. | ||||||||
minilateralism | en | n. | gathering the smallest number of countries necessary to make a major change to the way the world addresses a particular issue | Some see minilateralism as the only way to salvage the international climate talks. | ||||||||
minimoon | en | n. | Short wedding trip that takes the place of a traditional honeymoon, usually for financial reasons | A minimoon is the perfect way to start married life without breaking the bank. | ||||||||
mission creep | en | compound n. | the expansion of a mission or project beyond its original purpose, often following initial success; originally used only in a military context, but later in many different fields | In 1956 the politician Aneurin Bevan made a speech against Britain’s mission creep in the Suez War, saying, ‘It is really desirable that when a nation makes war upon another nation is should be quite clear why it does so. It should not keep changing the reasons as time goes by’. | ||||||||
Mobot | en | n. | champion runner Mo Farah’s victory celebration dance, which includes an ‘M’ gesture along the lines of the YMCA dance | Mo Farah recently performed his signature move, the ‘Mobot’, during a photo opportunity at a summit in Downing Street. | ||||||||
MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) | en | acronym | An online university course based on unlimited participation and open access | We have recently seen an explosion of MOOC ventures from top-ranked universities including MIT, Harvard, Princeton and Berkeley, offering free access to lectures and courses sourced from world leaders in their fields. | ||||||||
mouse potato | en | n. | someone who spends too much time on their PC, usually playing games and surfing the net (the online version of a couch potato) | Are you turning into a mouse potato? If you are not getting enough exercise because you are constantly on your computer, then you probably are. | ||||||||
mummy porn | en | n. | erotic literature such as "Fifty Shades of Grey" which (supposedly) appeals to older women | Mills & Boon launch 'mummy porn' rival to 50 Shades of Grey. | ||||||||
Mx | en | Form of address | gender-neutral form of address denoting a transgender person (pronounced: ‘mix’) | A proposal by Brighton and Hove city council in England to alleviate the discomfort that transgender people feel in having to fill in gender-specific forms is to be welcomed: they don't identify as male or female and prefer ‘Mx’ as title of choice. | ||||||||
newbuild, new build | en | n. | a building that is under construction or was built very recently | new-build adj. An estate agent specialising in new-build properties. | How on earth did they get planning permission for that newbuild in the middle of a lovely old town like this? | |||||||
NLEET | en | n. | NLEET stands for ‘neither in the labour force nor in education or training’ | A NLEET should not be confused with a NEET (a young person who is ‘not in education, employment or training’). NLEET excludes the unemployed, since they are still included in the labour force. | ||||||||
nomophobia | en | n. | anxiety arising from fear of losing or being unable to use one’s mobile phone (abbreviation of ‘no mobile phone phobia’) | nomophobe n. | nomophobic adj. | First identified in 2008, nomophobia - defined as ‘the fear of being out of mobile phone contact’ - is increasing, with far more people admitting to the problem than a few years ago. | ||||||
omnishambles | en | n. | a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterised by a string of blunders and miscalculations. Chosen as Word of the Year 2012 by Oxford Dictionaries UK | The Leader of the Opposition noted that even people within Downing Street were referring to the ‘omnishambles budget’. | ||||||||
overshare | en | v. | to be unacceptably forthcoming with information about one’s personal life | She overshared the information on her new boyfriend, which was embarrassing to us both. | ||||||||
passive parenting | en | n. | a style of parenting in which the parent shows unwillingness to impose rules and discipline | Psychologists warn of the perils of ‘passive parenting’ and ‘benign neglect’ caused by our reliance on gadgets. | ||||||||
patholography | en | n. | the retrospective study, often by a physician, of the possible influence and effects of disease on the life and work of a historical personage or group. | patholographic adj. | Numerous studies have been made of Mozart’s patholography. | |||||||
pendulum politics | en | noun phrase | A political system in which waning of support for one party automatically means a rise in support for the other main party | With the emergence of new parties, the era of pendulum politics in the United Kingdom may be coming to an end. | ||||||||
phishing | en | n. | attempting to acquire sensitive information for criminal gain by masquerading as a trustworthy entity | The bank e-mail requesting confirmation of my account details was a phishing message. | ||||||||
phoneblet | en | n. | A portmanteau word denoting a handheld device that combines the functions of a mobile phone and a tablet | We can’t say for sure if phoneblets will take off, but many industry watchers think there is a market for these hybrid devices. | ||||||||
photobomb | en | v. | to unexpectedly join someone else's photograph just before it is taken, usually in a humorous manner | Benedict Cumberbatch famously photobombed U2 at the Oscars. | ||||||||
pocket dialling | en | noun phrase | accidental making of a phone call while a person’s mobile phone is in their pocket or handbag | Pocket dialling can have a variety of consequences, such as false alarms for the emergency services and unwanted discovery of illicit love affairs by spouses. | ||||||||
pop-up shop | en | noun phrase | I hate these pop-up shops. You’ve no sooner got to like them than they disappear. | |||||||||
poster child | en | noun phrase | a person (or animal) that is the public embodiment or symbol of a particular cause, movement or idea; originally, the child used on posters to raise money or support for a disease or condition; also poster boy, poster girl | The giant panda has become the poster child for endangered species. | ||||||||
presenteeism | en | n. | employees voluntarily working unpaid outside normal working hours for fear of harassment or redundancy, or working when sick | The presenteeism rate in many offices has escalated as a result of staff cutbacks. cf. absenteeism | ||||||||
prosumer | en | n. | A portmanteau word meaning either: (1) a consumer who is also a producer; or (2): a consumer who is also a professional. Either way, it suggests a consumer who is less passive and more proactive than the traditional type | prosumerise v. | prosumption n. | I couldn’t afford professional-standard photographic gear, so I settled for prosumer quality. | ||||||
reverse mentoring | en | noun phrase | Induction into working practices or methods (especially technology-related) provided by a younger employee to an older colleague | Reverse mentoring, first popularised by General Electric, has been around a while but now seems to be gathering momentum with the increasingly fast pace of technology in business. | ||||||||
romneyshambles | en | n. | derisive term used by the British press after the US presidential candidate Mitt Romney expressed doubts about London's ability to host a successful Olympics (after omnishambles) | US and UK journalists take delight in RomneyShambles. | ||||||||
salmon/aisle salmon | en | n. | Person who insists on going against the flow (like salmon swimming upstream to spawn) in a crowd, a supermarket aisle or on an aeroplane | The supermarket was packed, and it wasn’t helped by the ubiquitous 'aisle salmon' who insist on going against the flow. | ||||||||
sandwich generation | en | noun phrase | a generation of people who care for their ageing parents while supporting their own children | The sandwich generation faces frightening costs when it comes to elder care. | ||||||||
second screening | en | noun phrase | simultaneous use while watching TV of other screens, such as laptops, smartphones and tablets, to discuss what is being shown on TV | The most active second screening takes place among 16- to 24- year-olds. | ||||||||
selfie | en | n. | a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone and uploaded to a social media website | A montage of Tony Blair grinning maniacally as he takes a ‘selfie’ framed by fiery explosions is one of 70 works of art going on display in a major new exhibition.(London Evening Standard, 9 October 2013) | ||||||||
selfie stick | en | n. | a pole to which a camera phone or camera is attached in order to take a photo of oneself at a greater distance than arm's length | There's no one around to take my photo and my arms are too short - I wish I had a selfie stick. | ||||||||
shoo-in | en | composite noun | A person or thing that is certain to succeed, especially someone who is sure to win a competition (informal) NB ‘shoo-in’ is the correct spelling, despite a tendency to misspell it as ‘shoe-in’ | ‘Shoo-in’ was originally an American expression, but you hear it more and more in Britain these days. | ||||||||
shovel ready | en | adj. | a term used to describe a large-scale infrastructure project which has reached the stage at which builders can start work. It is often used in the context of projects that will stimulate the economy | What irked him most was something most Beltway analysts barely talk about: the administration’s insistence on projects being ‘shovel-ready’, with paperwork already settled in order to qualify for the stimulus cash. | ||||||||
skeuomorphism | en | n. | archaisms in design, often used to make the new look reassuringly familiar; in computer design, it refers to digital elements resembling real-world objects | If you have ever used a computer or a tablet, you’re familiar with digital skeuomorphism: a note-taking app that resembles a yellow legal pad with lines and a margin; the email icons that look like open or closed envelopes; a sticky notes programme that resembles Post-it notes. | ||||||||
smart grid | en | n. | applying information and communications technologies to the electricity system to provide real-time information about the grid and to boost interaction between suppliers and consumers with a view to delivering energy more efficiently and reliably | Transforming the UK’s electricity network into a self-monitoring, internet-enabled smart grid has the potential to reduce energy usage and enable widespread use of small-scale and intermittent renewable generation. | ||||||||
SMIDSY, smidsy | en | adj. | describes an accident caused by the driver of a car failing to see a cyclist or pedestrian; from the phrase ‘Sorry, mate, I didn’t see you’ | SMIDSY moments are happening far too often, and very few people are prepared to take responsibility for their part in them. It’s always someone else’s fault. | ||||||||
social notworking | en | noun phrase | to while away hours of working time by accessing social networks | From Facebook to Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and more, the opportunities to spend time on personal excursions rather than doing work continue to expand. | ||||||||
sock puppeting | en | noun phrase | use of a pseudonym by an author to give himself favourable online reviews and other authors poor ones | No reputable author would admit to using sock puppeting to boost their ratings on line. | ||||||||
sofarisation | en | n. | tweeting (and responding to others’ tweets) about a popular TV programme in real time while sitting on one’s sofa watching said programme | Have you heard the term ‘sofarisation’? What it means, basically, is that you can now shop, talk, tweet and talk – lead your life, in fact – without ever having to leave your sofa. | ||||||||
soft power | en | noun phrase | the ways in which a nation can exert influence in international affairs through culture, diplomacy, sport, education etc. rather than by financial or military means | Soft power is one way to success in world politics. | ||||||||
spooning | en | n. | A special kind of cuddling or hugging, usually when two friends/lovers lay down together so that they are facing the same direction, one person curling around the other. They fit together like little spoons in a drawer | When asking female students why they enjoy spooning, general responses included words like 'connection', 'comfort' and 'security'. | ||||||||
staycation | en | n. | originally, a holiday taken in one’s own home rather than one involving travel. A blend of ‘stay’ and ‘vacation’. In the UK, the term has been broadened to cover holidays spent in the home country rather than abroad. Cf. daycation | We had a wonderful staycation – no stressful arrangements to make, no need to pack, no queues at the airport! | ||||||||
steaming | en | n. | slang term used in the UK for robbery committed by a large group of people, often involving violence | A gang of youths has been jailed for ‘steaming’ mobile phone shops. They would rush into a shop, crowding into customers and pushing them out of the way, and wrench the phones violently from displays. | ||||||||
stood | en | adj. | standing. UK regional variant, now in widespread colloquial use | I was stood at the bus stop when the police arrived. cf. sat, sitting | ||||||||
swishing | en | n. | holding a clothes-swapping party; swishing etiquette dictates that guests may take away the same number of items as they bring, and that the latter should be items they are ‘proud to pass on’; as well as saving money, swishing is looked upon as ethical and eco-friendly | ‘Swishing’ is a new name coined to glam up clothes-swapping parties, ‘swish’ being the noise supposedly made as, between sips of champagne, guests rustle delightedly yet delicately through racks of their friends’ old togs. | ||||||||
textonym | en | n. | word produced erroneously by a combination of key presses when texting, arising from the fact that each of the number keys on a mobile phone corresponds to three possible letters | One of my favourite textonyms is the one where my phone puts 'nun' every time I try to type 'mum'. | ||||||||
transphobia | en | n. | prejudice or discrimination against transsexuals | transphobic adj. | Transphobia has been defined by the UK Crown Prosecution Service as ‘the fear of or a dislike directed towards trans people [i.e. transsexuals], or a fear of or dislike directed towards their perceived lifestyle, culture or characteristics’. | |||||||
turn round | en | phrasal verb | to retort, rejoin (colloquial) | When she asked her father to do the shopping he turned round and said, ‘Do it yourself’. | ||||||||
twerk | en | v. | dance in a low, squatting stance, shaking the hips | Miley Cyrus caused a stir by twerking during her performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. | ||||||||
twitterati | en | plural n. | People who frequently use the social networking site Twitter. cf. literati, glitterati | The Prime Minister has joined the ranks of the twitterati, sending out tweets on No 10’s Twitter feed. | ||||||||
two-fer | en | composite noun | an item or offer that comprises two items but is sold for the price of one (two-fer the price of one) (North American; informal) | In America they call it a ‘two-fer’; in Britain we say ‘buy one, get one free’, or BOGOF. | ||||||||
unfriend | en | v. | to remove someone from one’s list of contacts (friends) on Facebook or another social network, and thus turn that person into an ‘unfriend’ | unfriend n. | Unfriending is often done when a particular friend’s updates and self-promotions become so annoying that you can no longer stand hearing about them. | |||||||
uptalk | en | n. | The speech habit of making statements sound like questions | Many people are irritated by ‘uptalk’, also known as the ‘upward inflection’ or ‘high-rising terminal’. Some people think it originated in Australia and spread to Britain via the Australian soap ‘Neighbours’. | ||||||||
vape | en | v. | inhale vapour from electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) | vaping n. | The question ‘Mind if I vape?’ may become more common as e-cigarettes gain in popularity. | |||||||
vertical segregation | en | noun phrase | domination by men of the higher positions of responsibility within a given occupation (cf. horizontal segregation) | Vertical segregation can be symbolised in the image of the ‘glass escalator´, with women standing by watching men leave them behind on their way to the top. | ||||||||
vishing | en | n. | A form of telephone-based internet fraud in which the fraudster gets hold of the victim's bank account details, credit card data etc. Not to be confused with phishing (similar fraud perpetrated by email) | Don't give out your financial information over the phone, or you may find you've become yet another victim of vishing. | ||||||||
wearable technology | en | adj + noun; used in sing and in pl | lothing and accessories (e.g. watch, glasses, bracelets) incorporating computer and advanced electronic technologies | The truth is that no one can ignore the fact that wearable technology is here to stay, and it is only getting bigger with each passing day. |
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