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.
Recent Entries:
- 01 Jun 2025: Overton window
- 24 May 2025: 86
- 22 May 2025: habeas corpus
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stochastic parrot
Stochastic parrot is a term coined by Emily M. Bender, Timnit Gebru, et al. in a 2021 paper on the ethical risks of large language models called "On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big? 🦜."
It refers to how large language models generate text by probabilistically predicting the next word based on patterns learned from massive datasets, rather than understanding or reasoning like a human. The metaphor highlights how such systems mimic language without genuine comprehension.
In December 2022, shortly after ChatGPT was released, Sam Altman of OpenAI tweeted, "i am a stochastic parrot, and so r u."
Stochastic parrot was a 2023 American Dialect Society "Word of the Year."
(link to this entry)
References:
- Wikipedia: Stochastic parrot
- WSJ: ‘Stochastic Parrot’: A Name for AI That Sounds a Bit Less Intelligent
- American Dialect Society: 2023 Words of the Year
- Tweet: @sama 04 Dec 2022
- On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big? 🦜 - 2021, Emily M. Bender, Timnit Gebru, et al.
Date Added: 28 Jan 2025
tilt at windmills
To tilt at windmills means to fight or pursue some imaginary adversary.
I've always found idioms to be an interesting part of language and this is one of my favorites. In Jr. High, my class read/translated Don Quixote de la Mancha, which is where this expression comes from.
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References:
Date Added: 30 May 2024
infinocchiare
Infinocchiare is an Italian word which means to cheat or swindle someone.
The term has interesting origins. The root of the word comes from the term finocchio which means fennel in English. In the Middle Ages, fennel was used as a masking spice. Wine merchants would serve customers fennel before offering them wine, in order to hide defects. In the same way, butchers began to put it in their salami as an alternative to pepper in order to cover up the taste of not very good meat.
Though not for the same reasons, this tradition persists today. When we were in Tuscany, Italy, we discovered finocchiona salami and I became intrigued with this word.
In Italian, the phrase Non farti infinocchiare means Don't be fooled but it translates precisely in English to Don't get fenneled.
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References:
- Definition: infinocchiare
- Wild Sicilian Fennel - An article from a US-based grocer on Italian fennel that has a brief blurb on the etymology of 'infinocchiare.'
Date Added: 22 Oct 2024
no tener pelos en la lengua
This Spanish idiom literally translates to "to not have hairs on the tongue." The idiom is used to refer to someone who is outspoken, i.e. does not mince words.
For example:
No me gustó su pintura y le dije; yo no tenia pelos en la lengua.: I didn't like his painting and I told him so; I didn't mince words.
Interestingly, this idiom also exists in other languages. It means roughly the same thing in Italian, Welsh, and Croatian
The concept also exists in Greek and Turkish where it means "I'm tired of repeating myself."
While walking down the street, I heard two people talking about this idiom and it compelled me to research it. Idioms are great, aren't they?
(link to this entry)
References:
- Podcast: A Way With Words - The Idiom to Have Hair on Your Tongue
- Greek idiom "my tongue has grown hair"
- Definition: no tener pelos en la lengua
Date Added: 06 Jan 2025