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.
al n. Al The Korean word for “egg.” Eggs are units of virtual credit used to send text messages via mobile phone; they can be transferred to another user. Example: Can I have some of your al? I ran out of mine for this month. (Jan. 17, 2005) [full citation…]
con-con n. Proponents of the proposed constitutional convention on property taxes refer to it in shorthand speak as a con-con. (Jan. 17, 2005) [full citation…]
jubilado n. Spanish word for retirement, Maryanne Vandervelde says, suggests the casually optimistic view that most older folks hold about getting into post- career mode: jubilado. (Jan. 17, 2005) [full citation…]
break-cation n. Expedia.com calls these types of getaways “break-cations,” a term it coined to describe what it says is a nationwide trend toward last-minute, short-spurt travel. (Jan. 17, 2005) [full citation…]
wota n. My informant explained that wota—which is pronounced “oh-tah”—are an offshoot branch of Japan’s hobby-obsessed tribe of introverts known as otaku. While regular otaku seek out anime figurines and high-tech gizmos, the infatuation of the nation’s estimated tens of thousands of wota is for girl idols—particularly the pop group Morning Musume.…To distinguish themselves from run-of-the-mill otaku—computer geeks, anime freaks and the like—wota chopped off the “-ku” at the end of the word and, with a touch of playfulness, slapped on a “w” up front. (Typing “wo” on a Japanese computer keyboard renders a kana syllable pronounced “oh.”) (Jan. 17, 2005) [full citation…]
popola n. El Gobierno de ese país le prohibe el ingreso a la artista debido al veto que pesa sobre “La popola”, como se le llama en Puerto Rico a la fruta sandía y que en la jerga dominicana se refiere al órgano sexual femenino, indicó el periódico local El Vocero. (Jan. 17, 2005) [full citation…]
fascia n. NASCAR inspectors ordered the rear-end bodywork cut completely off the No. 3, claiming the rear fascia was an experimental, unapproved part. On a production car, the rear fascia would be loosely defined as the back end of the car, the place where you’d find the rear bumper, taillights, and trunk opening. On a Winston Cup car, these individual components are replaced with the one-piece fascia, which is made of composite plastics. (Jan. 17, 2005) [full citation…]
caló n. Tosti was born in El Paso, and he became famous for translating his hometown’s pachuco slang, known as caló, into a pop music urban dialect on songs such as “Pachuco Boogie” and “El Tírili.” (Jan. 17, 2005) [full citation…]
dooce v. With dozens of blogs springing up in Britain every day, many work related, doocing is a risk for online diarists. The word was coined after a Los Angeles web designer, Heather Armstrong, lost her job in 2002 after telling stories about workmates on her readable Dooce blog. (Jan. 17, 2005) [full citation…]
gunpoint v. One that I’ve heard several times, but never seen in print is the verb gunpoint, as in: “He came up to my car window, gunpointed me, and told me to get out and surrender my keys.” It’s economical, instantly comprehensible, and graphic—better than: “pointed a gun at me…” (Jan. 17, 2005) [full citation…]