Double-Tongued Dictionary Recent Citations

Citation Queue These are recently added citations for catchwords that have not yet been researched or incorporated into a full dictionary entry. There is also a date-sorted archive which includes all citations, whether used in a full entry or not, as well as the full entries themselves.

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sociophysics n. I’m not the only person to think of using spin waves to model crowd behavior; there is an entire field generally referred to as “Sociophysics” which uses them. I originally read about it years ago in a book called Synergetics by Hermann Haken (a book which has been formative in my way of looking at the world). (Jun. 22, 2006) [full citation…]

Jerry Springer Day n. Go sit through a morning of adult abuse drama in the Division 4 courtroom presided over by Family Court Judge Joe Briscoe.…These hearings are held for orders of protection. Some at the courthouse refer to it as “Jerry Springer Day.” (Jun. 22, 2006) [full citation…]

Generation Broke n. The survey of some 1,500 21- to 35-year old college grads—sometimes referred to as Generation Broke—found this cohort owes an average of $30,000 in student loans; the 3 million students graduating from United States colleges and universities this year carry more than $40 billion in student loans. (Jun. 22, 2006) [full citation…]

move over law n. Florida has what’s called a Move Over law. Here’s how the driver’s handbook explains it: “When driving on interstate highways or other highways with two or more lanes traveling in the direction of the emergency vehicle,…drivers approaching a law enforcement or other authorized emergency vehicle parked on the roadway with their emergency lights activated will be required to leave the lane closest to the emergency vehicle, as soon as it is safe to do so.” (Jun. 22, 2006) [full citation…]

butcher’s apron n. The drafting of the treaty sparks a split in the column, which rather predictably plays out as a schism between the brothers, with Teddy accepting its terms while Damien refuses to be a slave to the Union Jack, or “the butcher’s apron,” as he calls it. (Jun. 21, 2006) [full citation…]

club theory n. The theoretical basis of the idea that the EU faces problems of “absorption capacity” is borrowed from what is known as “club theory.” This focuses on the difficulties any large club has in making decisions and conducting common policies. As the club increases in size, so the argument runs, the more difficulties arise and the more the benefits of club membership become diluted. (Jun. 21, 2006) [full citation…]

combine n. The NBA is pretty straight compared to what goes on prior to the National Football League draft, where more than 300 players are annually invited to what is known as the “meat market.” Sports talk radio and the Internet offer numerous accounts of NFL wannabes who are required to walk into a room full of scouting and management types, strip down to their underwear and let everyone look at them while they are weighed and measured. The whole thing is videotaped—so coaches can “study” it later—and players are even required to turn around so everybody can get a look at the full package as the young stud works the runway. The men who run the NFL call it “the combine.” (Jun. 21, 2006) [full citation…]

meat market n. The NBA is pretty straight compared to what goes on prior to the National Football League draft, where more than 300 players are annually invited to what is known as the “meat market.” Sports talk radio and the Internet offer numerous accounts of NFL wannabes who are required to walk into a room full of scouting and management types, strip down to their underwear and let everyone look at them while they are weighed and measured. The whole thing is videotaped—so coaches can “study” it later—and players are even required to turn around so everybody can get a look at the full package as the young stud works the runway. The men who run the NFL call it “the combine.” (Jun. 21, 2006) [full citation…]

red hat n. Last year, for instance, fewer than 3,930 of the 10,726 people who went through basic mine safety training wound up as “red hats,” slang for new miners who have passed training exams, made it through a coal company’s screening process and been hired for their first mining job. During the first six months in a coal mine, a red hat is part of the uniform required to set novice miners apart from more experienced ones. (Jun. 21, 2006) [full citation…]

caming n. Some of the windows are made of hundreds of pieces of glass held together using brass strips, a technique called caming. (Jun. 21, 2006) [full citation…]

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