Arts & Literature Slang, Jargon, and New Words from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Citations in the Category Arts & Literature

Art, painting, sculpture, literature, books, writing, criticism, etc. You can also see entries assigned to this category.

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death drop n. A friend pulled her into a swing-dance move called a death drop. It’s not as suicidal as it sounds—it’s also commonly called a windowshade, “sort of a cross between a dip and a flip.” [English Arts & Literature] [full cite] (Aug. 8, 2006)

deliteracy n. The very purpose of this series is to combat what I call the ‘deliteracy’ of current and common culture, i.e.- the active dumbing down of art and discourse. Nowadays, many magazines that used to interview people of substance and ideas would rather speak with the latest pop babe of the month, or the current politician whose garbage is grabbing the most headlines. [English Arts & Literature Media New or Nonce] [full cite] (Aug. 10, 2007)

dieku n. Stickers near 6th ave. below waverly. small print: “nick beef………..A DieKu………..nyc.” [English Arts & Literature New or Nonce] [full cite] (Sep. 26, 2006)

distant reading n. But Moretti is now promoting what he calls “distant reading,” which seems to me to suggest that scholars of literature outsource reading of books to lower-level workers. Moretti has a cadre of workers charged with tracking numerically documented aspects of the history of the book, especially details like how many novels were published in Britain in the 18th century. What we need to understand is the system. The professor need not read books at all! [English Arts & Literature Education New or Nonce] [full cite] (Feb. 20, 2007)

downtown dance n. For years the label “downtown dance” has been used as a vague shorthand to describe certain choreographers, usually experimental ones working on a shoestring budget. But most of the downtown choreographers (who generally loathe that label) have long since fled Manhattan for affordable housing and rehearsal space in Brooklyn or one of New York City’s other boroughs. [New York City English Arts & Literature] [full cite] (Jan. 1, 2007)

empathic painting n. “Empathic painting,” as it is known, is an interactive painterly rendering whose appearance adapts in real time to reflect the perceived emotional state of the viewer. [English Arts & Literature Technology] [full cite] (Aug. 8, 2006)

emplotment n. The types of stories that can be told about the French Revolution are limited to the number of modes of emplotment which the myths of the Western literary tradition sanction as appropriate ways of endowing human processes with meanings. [English Arts & Literature Jargon] [full cite] (Jul. 12, 2007)

fanon n. I’ve also coined “fanon” to mean “fan canon"…it’s yours, if you want it. [English Arts & Literature] [full cite] (Feb. 22, 2006)

fanon n. I’ve heard it said that the “Blair-as-trouble-magnet” bit is fanon, not canon, as in it’s an unsupported fic convention. Eh, no, that’s not right. The boy gets into a *lot* of hot water, and it’s not even all cop-related. [English Arts & Literature] [full cite] (Feb. 22, 2006)

fanon n. Writers and readers maintain a strict distinction between “canon,” the original works as Rowling wrote them, and “fanon,” the embellished, alternative retelling by fans. (In canon, Draco Malfoy is evil; in fanon, Draco Malfoy can be any number of things, including a leather-pants-wearing hottie who’s after Hermione’s goods.) [English Arts & Literature] [full cite] (Feb. 22, 2006)

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