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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flocking n. Many Holga owners overcome this by taping up the gaps, or even spraypainting the camera’s shiny interior matt black to minimise internal reflection—a process called “flocking.” Others incorporate the light leaks into their work. [English Arts & Literature] [full cite] (Mar. 20, 2008)

floppy n. Floppies, pamphlets, monthlies are terms for the monthly comics that are by publishers. It is usually used to separate them from trade books/graphic novels. Sometimes the term is used as a snobby way to put down comics that some people think as unartistic. [English Arts & Literature Entertainment Slang] [full cite] (Jan. 15, 2008)

fonetography n. Nokia, which has coined the rather unlovely word “fonetography” to describe photos taken using a mobile, has invited artists and photographers—among others, Tracey Emin, Sir Peter Blake, Nan Goldin, David Bailey and Rankin—to test the phones. [English Arts & Literature Technology] [full cite] (Nov. 15, 2004)

fratire n. With titles like “Real Ultimate Power,” a satirical ode to the masculine prowess of ninjas; “The Modern Drunkard,” a paean to getting hammered; and “The Game,” a manual for manipulating and bedding women, they collectively represent the once-elusive male counterpart to so-called chick lit, and so perhaps deserve a cheesy epithet of their own. How about: fratire. [English Arts & Literature New or Nonce] [full cite] (Apr. 25, 2006)

gallerist n. A fashionable new word is bubbling up in the New York art scene: gallerist, as a substitute for art dealer. Not, of course, just any art dealer. A gallerist is directly involved with the care and feeding of artists, rather than with the quick turnover of art objects.…Some suggest it derives from the French galeriste, long used by top gallery personages in France to distinguish themselves from the mere marchand de tableaux, or picture merchant. Others say it came from Germany, where galerist or galeristin denotes, respectively, a male or female gallery owner. [ Language English Subject Arts & Literature] [full cite] (Dec. 24, 2005)

gimme idea n. A gimme idea is an idea that is so good, a comic would be pretty good just by the existence of the gimme idea. In this regard, I have almost come to look at gimme ideas as almost lazy writing, in the sense that, since the idea is a gimme, the writer doesn’t have to work that hard to make the story cool, because the idea itself is so strong. [English Arts & Literature Entertainment New or Nonce] [full cite] (Oct. 30, 2006)

go dumb v. phr. His hit single “Tell Me When to Go” (featuring Keak Da Sneak) resonates with the freestyle dance culture, in which dancers try to go “dumb.” Going “dumb” is a term used to describe off-the-wall freestyle dancing. It’s similar to speaking in tongues but instead of the person having any religious affiliations, they’re more likely to have a deep faith in pop culture. [English Arts & Literature] [full cite] (Mar. 30, 2006)

grawlix n. Mort Walker of “Beetle Bailey” fame invented a cartoon vocabulary called Symbolia that we cartoonists make use of from time to time. According to Mr. Walker, that little set of typographical symbols that stand for obscenities are called “grawlixes.” [English Arts & Literature New or Nonce] [full cite] (Feb. 2, 2006)

helicopter shot n. Take that shot with the camera held high above the head, so common on MySpace that some members refer to it as “the helicopter shot.” [English Arts & Literature Technology] [full cite] (Feb. 24, 2006)

high-low book n. Then there are the so-called teen high-low books for those with a lower vocabulary level. “They are carefully plotted, they’ve got good characters but they are written at a vocabulary level that is better designed for the reluctant reader.” [English Arts & Literature] [full cite] (May. 16, 2006)

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