Television Slang, Jargon, and New Words from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Television, programming, broadcasting, etc. You can also see entries assigned to this category.

(9/9 pages) « First < 7 8 9

tent pole n. Megan McTavish, the show’s head writer, said she was most astonished that fans elevated Bianca into one of the serial’s “tent poles”—soap parlance for characters who hold enormous sway with viewers. [English Entertainment Television] [full cite] (Feb. 24, 2005)

throap n. Besides the thriller element, the serial also delves into the personal relationships of Ranvir with his ex-fiancee Kinnari and Meghana, a researcher who works with him. For want of a word to describe his serial, Singh has coined a new word “throap,” which is a mix of a soap and a thriller. [English Entertainment Television New or Nonce] [full cite] (Jul. 11, 2006)

thumb-sucker n. For every inane segment on “Dateline” or plodding thumb-sucker on PBS, there is a smart, innovative documentary elsewhere. [English Media Television] [full cite] (Jul. 26, 2006)

tivodultery n. One of my favorite neologisms is “tivodultery,” coined earlier today, at my request, by my friend James. It describes the act of watching a TV program on your own when you normally watch it with your spouse. [English Entertainment Television New or Nonce] [full cite] (May. 24, 2007)

top and tail v. The big surprise at the moment is the success of Seven’s The World Around Us on Sunday nights hosted by Lisa McCune. It’s really “topped and tailed” in TV parlance. She just reads some scripts in a studio in front of a flat that can take a digital graphic. An editor and producer “tops and tails” the segments and intros and the end. And off it goes to rate between 1.2 million and 1.6 million viewers on Sunday night. [Australia Entertainment Media Television] [full cite] (May. 26, 2004)

viewser n. Now, the technology is so advanced and changing, even the industry word for a person who watches TV has changed, Heizman says. It used to be “viewer.” The new word is “viewser.” Today’s viewser doesn’t necessarily watch TV. He might click to the station’s Web site, instead. [English Entertainment Media Technology Television Jargon] [full cite] (Jun. 26, 2006)

watershed n. Jargon watch: when people talk about “the watershed,” they mean the difference between 8 pm and earlier, when kids might be watching, and 9 pm, when if kids are still up, it’s their parents’ fault. Our show is probably a post-watershed show. Heidi and Sarah’s are perfect family viewing. [English Media Television Jargon] [full cite] (Jul. 23, 2007)

weblet n. The CW is a semi-new network formed by the merger of the now-defunct UPN and the WB—"weblets” in industry parlance. [English Media Television Jargon] [full cite] (Sep. 22, 2006)

wrap-around adj. I discovered another term for network airing of the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments Friday morning: wrap-around coverage. Rather than focus on a single game, ESPN will switch among several games while televising the NCAA women’s basketball tournament today. [English Media Television] [full cite] (Mar. 19, 2007)

(9/9 pages) « First < 7 8 9