Lexical Compendium

Wait... what is this? Sometimes I come across a word, phrase, idiom, quote, reference, bit of slang, person of interest, etc that either I don't know or I find amusing, interesting, etc. This is a collection of those items so that I can refer back to them in emails, texts, etc.

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argy-bargy

Argy-bargy is British slang for the kind of back-and-forth that accompanies a vigorous argument.

When my brother and I discuss politics, there's always a bit of argy-bargy.

Argy-bargy and the similar argle-bargle appear to have originated in Scottish slang. One can clearly see that the first part of the rhyming pair is formed from the word argue and the second is nonsense... or mumbo-jumbo. This type of word is what's known as a rhyming reduplication (other examples are mumbo-jumbo or okey-dokey).

I first encountered this term while listening to the Aussie host of the podcast Risky Business (#758).


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References:

  1. The Atlantic: The Brouhaha Behind 'Argle Bargle': A Linguistic Explanation
  2. Definition: argy-bargy
  3. Risky Business #758

Tags: slang , vocabulary , podcast

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borked

I've used this word many times, but I never stopped to think about its origins and I was surprised to learn that it was eponymous. The term "borked" traces back to Robert Bork, a U.S. Supreme Court nominee whose 1987 confirmation was famously derailed by aggressive political opposition. His name became a verb -- "to bork" -- meaning to systematically obstruct or defame a nominee or candidate, especially through public criticism.

Though the word originally had political connotations, it also gained popularity in tech circles and online culture. This second usage may share the same etymology, but it’s equally plausible that it arose as a playful corruption of broke -- much like how pwn evolved from a misspelling of own.

I first heard about the political use of the word while listening to the 99% Invisible podcast.


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References:

  1. Definition: bork
  2. Quartz: The Oxford English Dictionary is adding new words based on your workplace jargon
  3. 99% Invisible -- Episode 634: Food Deserts
  4. Wikipedia: Robert Bork

Tags: eponymous , politics , slang , podcast

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broligarchy

Broligarchy is a portmanteau of "bro" (slang for brother or close male friend) and "oligarchy" (a system where power rests with a small number of people).

After the inauguration of President Donald Trump in 2025, this term has been in the media a lot. The three richest men in the world, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos have seemingly moved into Trump's inner-circle (with Musk heading the "Department of Government Efficiency").

Interestingly, broligarchy doesn't seem to have been coined recently. The Urban Dictionary entry dates back to 2011.

Broligarchy was a 2024 American Dialect Society "Political Word of the Year."


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References:

  1. Urban Dictionary: Broligarchy
  2. The Atlantic: The Broligarchs Are Trying to Have Their Way
  3. The Guardian: Tech broligarchs are lining up to court Trump
  4. Vox: The broligarchs have a vision for the new Trump term. It’s darker than you think.
  5. The Cut: The Broligarchy Is Here
  6. American Dialect Society: 2024 Words of the Year

Tags: politics

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defenestration

Defenestration is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window.[1]

The word comes from the Latin de ("down from") + fenestra ("window"). It originated in the early 1600s when people were writing about the Defenestrations of Prague.[2]

Today the word tends to not be used in the literal sense but more metaphorically, i.e. "a defenestrated prince."[3]


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References:

  1. Definition: defenestration
  2. Wikipedia: Defenestrations of Prague
  3. The Guardian: Not in this together: King Charles cuts Andrew loose to save royal family’s repute

Tags: politics , vocabulary

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edgelord

Edgelord is a term that combines edge (as in "edgy") with "-lord." It is 'net-speak for someone who deliberately makes provocative and nihilistic statements in order to appear rebellious or shocking.

It seems to have originated in the early 2000s on online forums like Reddit.

In September 2025, there was a shooting at an ICE facility in Houston, TX. As motives for the shooter were investigated, he was described as an edgelord.


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References:

  1. CNN: Dallas ICE facility shooting leaves 1 detainee dead and 2 more injured, officials say
  2. The Guardian: I’ve learned a new word – and now I’m seeing the people it describes everywhere
  3. Ken Klippenstein: Exclusive: The ICE Shooter’s Politics
  4. Definition: edgelord

Tags: politics , games

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fractomorpheme

A fractomorpheme is a productive morpheme, that is, one that is readily used to make new words.

An example is the suffix -gate, coming to denote something scandalous. It is derived from Watergate, the name of the hotel at the center of the early 1970s scandal that ultimately led to the resignation of President Nixon.

In early March 2025, members of the Trump administration were using Signal to coordinate a military operation in Yemen. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic, was erroneously added to this group chat. The scandal that ensued was dubbed Signalgate.

Update May 2025: it turns out that it wasn't exactly Signal that the Trump administration was using, but rather TeleMessage Signal, or TM SGNL. TeleMessage has been hacked at least twice and the stolen data is available on DDoSSecrets.


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References:

  1. Definition: fractomorpheme
  2. Wikipedia: United States government group chat leak
  3. The Atlantic: The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
  4. The Atlantic: Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal
  5. Drop Site News: Israeli App on Mike Waltz’s Phone Exposed User’s Passwords
  6. Wired: How the Signal Knockoff App TeleMessage Got Hacked in 20 Minutes
  7. DDoSSecrets: TeleMessage - A large amount of data stolen from TeleMessage after they were hacked, including plain text messages.
  8. SignalGate Meets WordPress: Outgoing National Security Adviser’s Phone Dumps Messages via Israeli App
  9. DarkReading: CISA Warns of TeleMessage Vuln Despite Low CVSS Score

Tags: politics , vocabulary

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groyper

A groyper is a member of a loosely organized far-right, predominately male, online subculture centered around nationalist, reactionary, and often overtly extremist ideology (antisemitism, neo-Nazism, etc). [3]

In the fall of 2025, this term has been in the news because of an interview that Tucker Carlson gave to Nick Fuentes.[6] Nick Fuentes is considered to be the front man of the groyper group.[7]

The word groyper comes from the name of this group's symbol or mascot -- a cartoon frog. In 2005 Matt Furie created the character Pepe the Frog for his "Boy's Club" comic, which he originally published on his MySpace page.[8] This character became memeified and many variants arose -- one of which was Groyper. The groyper movement is internet-native and this frog is used to signal membership and to mark online posts as “in-group” communications.

How prevalent is this community? In November 2025, conservative writer Rod Dreher made the claim that 30-40% of conservative Gen Z staffers on Capitol Hill and in the Trump administration are Groypers on his Substack and then later in a published piece for The Free Press.[2]

I was inspired to write this entry after listening to Ezra Klein interview John Gan in a piece he called The ‘Groyperfication’ of the G.O.P..[1]


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References:

  1. NYT: The 'Groyperfication' of the G.O.P.
  2. Substack: Rod Dreher - What I Saw And Heard In Washington
  3. NYT: Who Are the 'Groypers'?
  4. The Atlantic: The Nick Fuentes Spiral
  5. Richard Hanania's Newsletter: Groypers Are Just More Honest MAGAs - right-wing personality and contributor to "Project 2025"
  6. YouTube: The Tucker Carlson Show - The Nick Fuentes Interview
  7. Wikipedia: Nick Fuentes
  8. Wikipedia: Pepe the Frog

Tags: politics , slang , internet

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grumbletonian

This archaic word was used to describe someone who was discontent, i.e. someone who grumbles a lot. The origins of the word are in 17th century English politics.

I heard the word in an episode of the podcast The Allusionist.


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References:

  1. Podcast: The Allusionist - Episode 193: Word Play 3: Lemon Demon
  2. Definition: grumbletonian

Tags: vocabulary , slang , podcast

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jawbone

"Jawboning" is a political technique in which statements are made by persons of authority in order how to influence public perception or behavior without making formal policy changes.


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References:

  1. Definition: jawbone
  2. U.S. jobs report: These numbers have economists jawboning - news article using the word "jawboning"

Tags: politics , vocabulary

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kayfabe

Kayfabe is the convention of presenting staged performances as genuine or authentic. The word is used primarily in the world of wrestling, but it is also used more generally to just mean a fake presentation. I heard the word being used in the context of politics to describe President Trump and lying.

The exact etymology of the word is uncertain, but there are theories that it is slang (perhaps somewhat Pig Latin-ized) for "be fake." [2]


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References:

  1. Wikipedia: Kayfabe
  2. Merriam Webster word origin: Kayfabe

Tags: politics , vocabulary

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