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:
- 27 Sep 2025: inkhorn term
- 26 Sep 2025: alacrity
- 26 Sep 2025: edgelord
86
I think that, to most people, to 86 someone means to eject them or refuse them service. I've heard this term and seen it employed many a time at dive bars.
According to Merriam-Webster and also the OED, it's original origins were likely from Cockney rhyming slang where 86 rhymes with nix.
In the early 20th century, the term was used by cafes and bars to denote when they were out of something and was part of a whole system of numeric codes.
In recent years, the slang "86" has taken on political overtones. During Donald Trump’s presidency, the phrase "86 45" emerged as a form of protest—most notably when Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer appeared on Meet the Press wearing a pin that read "8645." The slogan persisted into Joe Biden’s presidency with "86 46," and now, in 2025, it has resurfaced again as "86 47."
In May 2025, former FBI chief James Comey was questioned by the Secret Service after sharing an image on social media that showed seashells arranged to spell out "86 47." Comey later deleted the post after people, including President Trump himself, alleged that it was some sort of call for violence.
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References:
- Definition: eighty-six
- Wikipedia: 86 (term)
- The Guardian: Comey says ‘8647’ post that caused Trump firestorm was totally innocent
- NYT: Secret Service Is Asking Comey About a Photo of Seashells Spelling ‘86 47’
- Detroit Free Press: What is '8645'? Whitmer's pin an anti-Trump message using restaurant industry slang
Date Added: 24 May 2025
abrogate
I won't abrogate my duties as a journalist...
I heard the above while listening to the news and had to look up the word abrogate. By context clues, it's obvious that one meaning of this word is to abandon one's responsibilities.
The more common use is in a legal context and here it means to abolish a law.
And there's also a medical use, where it is used in the context of suppressing an immune response (...strategies to abrogate antibody production...).
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References:
Date Added: 29 Jul 2024
Date Modified: 21 Dec 2024
AGI
AGI stands for "Artificial General Intelligence." Unlike AI, AGI is meant to connote a system that exhibits human-like intelligence and is not trained for specific tasks.
Related: ASI (Artificial Super Intelligence), ANI (Artificial Narrow Intelligence), p(doom)
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References:
- Wikipedia: Artificial General Intelligence
- YouTube: Wozniak: Could a Computer Make a Cup of Coffee? - Steve Wozniak talks pontificates about a computer being smart enough to make a cup of coffee in a random person's home; something that would take a lot of "general" intelligence.
Date Added: 23 Jun 2024
Date Modified: 27 Jun 2024
alacrity
Alacrity means to respond or act with zeal and promptness.
It comes to English from the Latin alacritās, meaning liveliness or eagerness.
An example:
The team responded to the urgent call with alacrity, eager to prove their capability.
Another example, from a New Republic article from July 2025:
The Democratic Party also needs some of its members and best-known figures to start seeding the earth with the future they envision if they return to power. This begins with paving the way for “CTRL+Z 2028”—a promise to undo the damage done to the civil service with the same alacrity and doggedness with which Trump and his flunky Elon Musk destroyed it.
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References:
- Definition: alacrity
- New Republic: The Democrats Finally Have a Plan to Attack Trump. Sort of.
- Etymology: alacrity
Date Added: 26 Sep 2025
albedo
Albedo is the measure of reflectivity of a surface, specifically Earth's ability to reflect solar radiation back into space. It is expressed as a percentage, with higher albedo indicating greater reflectivity.
I first came across this term while reading a SciTechDaily post about how scientists have a theory as to why global warming in 2023 exceeded predictions. The year 2023 was also had a record-low albedo.
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References:
- SciTechDaily: Scientists Discover Explanation for the Unusually Sudden Temperature Rise in 2023
- Science: Recent global temperature surge intensified by record-low planetary albedo
- Wikipedia: Albedo
Date Added: 21 Dec 2024
alla turca time
While alla turca generically just means "in the Turkish style," alla turca time (or alaturka saat) specifically refers to the way that time was reckoned in the Ottoman Empire.
In the alla turca time Sun always sets at the 0’th hour and rises at the 12th hour. The hours of the alla turca time have variable length. During winters the length of 1 (alla turca) night hour is longer than the length of 1 (alla turca) day hour. During summers the opposite is true.
-- from alla turca time (blog post)
Clocks around the empire were manually set/reset by the muvakkit, or timekeeper. It's hard to even imagine using this sort of time keeping in our modern era.
I haven't been able to find a whole lot about this online, but I've noted what I have found. My father introduced me to this term; it was something he recalled from his childhood.
Heather Cox Richardson's "Letters from An American" series had a good essay covering the event when US railroads adopted a standard time on 18 November 1883. There are some interesting parallels -- some opponents to the standard time because telling time by the sun was "God's time."
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References:
- Reading Clocks, Alla Turca - A review of the book _Reading Clocks, Alla Turca_ by Avner Wishnitzer
- alla turca time - Blog post on alla turca time
- It's Sirius O'Clock: Astronomical Timekeeping in Ancient Egypt - Dr. Sarah Symons lecture on ancient timekeeping.
- Reading Clocks, Alla Turca: Time and Society in the Late Ottoman Empire - Excerpt from the book _Reading Clocks, Alla Turca: Time and Society in the Late Ottoman Empire_ by Avner Wishnitzer.
- Letters from an American: November 17, 2024 - Heather's essay about November 18, 1883 when US railroads conformed to a "standard" time.
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 18 Nov 2024
anathema
An anathema is something or someone that is abhorrent or extremely disliked.
I came across this word while reading an essay, "'Weird' Should Not Be An Insult."
Using “weird” as an insult ought to be anathema to Democrats.
Leading up to the 2024 presidential election, Democrats took to calling Republicans (especially Donald Trump and his VP candidate JD Vance) weird. (And the Republican retort seems to be: "I'm not weird, you are.")
While writing this, it's too early to know whether or not this tact will pay off.
The word anathema has its origins in the Greek word anatithenai, meaning "to dedicate." In the "Old Testament" of "The Bible," the word anathema is sometimes used in this way. Interestingly, the meaning of the word shifted to mean something accursed or repulsive and translated into Hebrew as herem. We see this meaning in the "New Testament" of "The Bible."
The ecclesiastical meaning of the word still exists today (it's the second definition in Merriam-Webster's dictionary). A more prominent use in English, though, is something that is vehemently disliked.
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References:
- Definition: anathema
- "Weird" Should Not Be An Insult
- 'Anathema' has had opposite meanings since its Greek birth
Date Added: 03 Aug 2024
"...and she stepped on the ball."
My favorite line in the movie "Trading Places" is a reference to a joke in another movie called "Aunti Mame." In that movie, a rich and condescending woman tells a story about a ping pong game in which she "stepped on the ball."
In "Trading Places," this exchange takes place as Louis Winthorpe III, now disgraced, jobless and homeless, enters his tennis club in in hopes of getting help from his rich friends. As Louis enters the scene, we hear the end of a story being told by one of these friends to the rest of the gang, "...and she stepped on the ball." Louis, of course, discovers that his friends and even his fiancée want nothing to do with him.
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References:
- What do Kimmy Schmidt, Trading Places, & Auntie Mame have in common - Reel Memorable blog entry
- IMDB: Trading Places
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
"...an effective plot must be 'unexpected but inevitable'..."
I came across this quote in the television series Mythic Quest. In that show, it was attributed to Aristotle, but I haven't been able to confirm this.
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References:
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
antipathy
Antipathy is a deep and strong dislike for something.
While composing a message, I was trying to figure out which of these two words fit my sentiment more accurately: antipathy and animosity. I had the realization that I wasn't really sure what the difference was. While trying to figure that out, I came across this old opinion piece:
Some people are irritated by the weirdest things.
Wow! He summed up exactly how I feel about mourning doves -- and all pigeons generally. (I do, however, own an Argus.)
Unfortunately though, I'm still not sure I know the difference between antipathy and animosity.
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References:
Date Added: 03 Sep 2024
Date Modified: 17 Jul 2025
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:
- The Atlantic: The Brouhaha Behind 'Argle Bargle': A Linguistic Explanation
- Definition: argy-bargy
- Risky Business #758
Date Added: 18 Aug 2024
Date Modified: 09 Jul 2025
banoffee
Banoffee is a portmanteau combining the words "banana" and "toffee" and is often used in reference to Banoffee Pie, which seems to be a popular pie flavor in the UK.
I learned of this while watching a YouTube show: Food Tours: Finding the Best Afternoon Tea in London.
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References:
Date Added: 21 May 2024
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
Bees?
There is a "Cards Against Humanity" card that simply reads: "Bees?" It's so fatuous that it has become a common expression for me.
Some on the internet believe that this is a reference to an "Arrested Development" episode.
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References:
- Cards Against Humanity
- Arrested Development clip - perhaps the origin of the card
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
bespoke reality
"Bespoke realities" is a term used by David French in a NYT op-ed. The op-ed describes a phenomenon that is bigger (and perhaps more dangerous) than quirky little "confined" conspiracy theories.
There is a fundamental difference between, on the one hand, someone who lives in the real world but also has questions about the moon landing and, on the other, a person who believes the Covid vaccines are responsible for a vast number of American deaths and Jan. 6 was an inside job and the American elite is trying to replace the electorate with new immigrant voters and the 2020 election was rigged and Donald Trump is God’s choice to save America.
Such individuals don’t simply believe in a conspiracy theory or theories. They live in a “bespoke reality.” That brilliant term comes from my friend Renée DiResta, the technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, and it refers to the effects of what DiResta calls a “Cambrian explosion of bubble realities,” communities “that operate with their own norms, media, trusted authorities and frameworks of facts.”
-- French, David. Welcome to Our New ‘Bespoke Realities', NYT, 30 Nov 2023
I heard reference to this on a Hard Fork podcast episode on which Renée DiResta was a guest, A Surgeon General Warning, The Disinformation Battle and The Rise of CryptoPACs, 21 Jun 2024.
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References:
- Our ‘Bespoke Realities’
- Hard Fork: A Surgeon General Warning, The Disinformation Battle and The Rise of CryptoPACs
- Renée DiResta - home page
- Stanford Internet Observatory
- NYT: Welcome to Our New ‘Bespoke Realities’
Date Added: 24 Jun 2024
Date Modified: 09 Jul 2025
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!"
From Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky," a poem in "Through the Looking Glass."
The poem was about the capture and killing of a creature called the "Jabberwock" and is filled with many other nonsense terms.
The word "jabberwocky," itself, has come to mean something meaningless in writing.
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References:
Date Added: Unknown
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:
- Definition: bork
- Quartz: The Oxford English Dictionary is adding new words based on your workplace jargon
- 99% Invisible -- Episode 634: Food Deserts
- Wikipedia: Robert Bork
Date Added: 13 Jul 2025
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:
- Urban Dictionary: Broligarchy
- The Atlantic: The Broligarchs Are Trying to Have Their Way
- The Guardian: Tech broligarchs are lining up to court Trump
- Vox: The broligarchs have a vision for the new Trump term. It’s darker than you think.
- The Cut: The Broligarchy Is Here
- American Dialect Society: 2024 Words of the Year
Date Added: 22 Jan 2025
Date Modified: 28 Jan 2025
Caledonian Orogeny
When Great Briton's two halves were slammed together.
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References:
- Caledonian Orogeny - Encyclopedia of Geology (Second Edition), 2021
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
canard
A false or unfounded statement/story.
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References:
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 17 Jul 2025
chookas
The word chookas is Australian slang and something performers traditionally say to each other to wish luck before a show. It's similar to the expression "break a leg."
Chook is Aussie slang for chicken. One explanation for how chookas came to be used in the performing arts is that if there was a full house, the theater company could afford a chicken dinner.
Other sources seem to indicate that it was originally pronounced choogas was was an abbreviation of the phrase "cheers and good wishes."
I first came across the word chookas while watching Deadloch (S1, E6).
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References:
Date Added: 01 Oct 2024
Date Modified: 09 Jul 2025
Christian Zionism
An ideology that, in a Christian context, supports the concepts of Zionism (Jewish people returning to the "Holy Land").
Joe Biden considers himself a Zionist.
Mike Huckabee (nominated in Nov 2024 as the US Ambassador to Israel by the forming Trump administration) considers himself to be an "unapologetic, unreformed Zionist."
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References:
- Wikipedia: Christian Zionism
- 'I am a Zionist': How Joe Biden's lifelong bond with Israel shapes war policy - A Reuters article from shortly after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.
- The Times of Israel: Biden stands by identification as a Zionist
- Aljazeera: Who is Mike Huckabee, the US evangelical, pro-settlement envoy to Israel?
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
COINTELPRO
Short for Counter Intelligence Program, COINTELPRO was a series of covert operations conducted by the FBI from 1956 to 1971 (when it was exposed). Its primary goal was to disrupt, discredit, and neutralize civil rights organizations, political activists, and other groups deemed "subversive" by the government. Targets included Martin Luther King Jr., the Black Panther Party, and anti-Vietnam War protestors.
Though I had some knowledge of the illegal tactics used by the FBI during this era, I first came across the term COINTELPRO after listening to the second season of SNAFU with Ed Helms.
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References:
- S2 E1 of SNAFU with Ed Helms: The Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI
- FBI Records: The Vault -- COINTELPRO
Date Added: 03 Dec 2024
devour feculence
Devour feculence is a "big word" way of saying eat shit.
The phrase was used in S2E9 of the Apple TV+ show Severence. Earlier in the show, the character Mr. Milchick receives a performance review that criticizes him for "using too many big words." The character, played by Tramell Tillman, is black and works for Lumon Industries. Lumon is operated like a cult and, as such, it is a very oppressive environment for most employees. Tensions between Mr. Milchick and Mr. Drummond grow to a head and upon being asked to apologize for his use of large words, he replies with "devour feculence."
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References:
- IMDB: Severence
- Severence Wiki: Lumon Industries
- Definition: feculent
- Screen Rant blog on "devour feculence"
Date Added: 25 Mar 2025
djent
Djent, pronounced "duh-jent", is a subgenre of progressive metal music characterized by guitar riffs that produce a percussive, and rhythmic sound. The term is derived from the sound the guitar makes when playing it in this fashion, resembling a "djent" noise. Duh-jent. Duh-duh-duh-jent. Duh-duh-jent. Duh-jent. Puh-keng-keng-keng.
When I recently saw my nephew, he was wearing a Meshuggah shirt. I asked him what genre they were and he replied djent which, of course, I had to have him further explain what that meant. Meshuggah are considered pioneers of the djent sound.
The phrase "pick up a pancake" is sometimes used when describing this sound, but I haven't been able to figure out why. Perhaps the way the guitar pick is held? Perhaps that the sound is so strong that it could literally pick up a pancake?
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References:
- Definition: djent (Urban Dictionary)
- YouTube: If 'djent' was added to the OED
- Meshuggah Band Website
Date Added: 03 Dec 2024
down to raisins
An expression coined by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. It means something similar as "seeing the light at the end of the tunnel." In other words, a task or period is reaching its end.
When Lincoln was asked where this phrase came from, he told the story of a little girl who ate too much and then followed that up with a dessert of raisins. She became sick and, eventually, was throwing up only the raisins. Thus, she knew that she was nearly done.
I came upon this phase while watching Manhunt, S1E6.
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References:
- Anecdotes About Abraham Lincoln - Got Dow to Raisins
- Mr. Lincoln's Whitehouse - The War Effort: Telegraph Office
- IMDB: Manhunt
Date Added: 05 Jun 2024
Date Modified: 09 Jul 2025
DSKY
An acronym for Display Keyboard (pronounced diskey). This was the interface that Apollo astronauts used to communicate with the computers on the Command and Lunar Modules.
I first came across this acronym while watching the television series For All Mankind.
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References:
- IMDB: For All Mankind
- Smithsonian: DSKY - A Smithsonian description and image of a DSKY.
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
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:
- CNN: Dallas ICE facility shooting leaves 1 detainee dead and 2 more injured, officials say
- The Guardian: I’ve learned a new word – and now I’m seeing the people it describes everywhere
- Ken Klippenstein: Exclusive: The ICE Shooter’s Politics
- Definition: edgelord
Date Added: 26 Sep 2025
elision
An elision is the omission of a sound or syllable when speaking (i.e. "I'm" for "I am"). It can also refer to the deliberate omission of something.
The word comes from the Latin elisio meaning "a striking out."
Examples:
- His account of the events was marked by a conspicuous elision of blame.
- I shoulda called you yesterday.
The Seinfeld episode "The Yadda Yadda" uses an elision to skip over the best part.
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References:
Date Added: 21 Jun 2025
Engels' Pause
Engels' Pause is a period during the early Industrial Revolution (1790–1840) in England in which economic productivity and GDP per capita rose significantly, but real wages for the working class stagnated or even declined. It was named after Friederich Engles and coined by Robert C. Allen.
Many have theorized that AI will bring about similar changes for today's workers.
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References:
- Wikipedia: Engels' Pause
- YouTube: Open AI Founder Sam Altman on Artificial Intelligence's Future | Exponentially - Azeem Azhar interviews OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2023 and brings up Engels' Pause.
- Aberdeen Investments: How is AI going to change the economy?
Date Added: 08 Jul 2025
Findlandization
Findlandization is the process by which a country maintains its formal independence while being heavily influenced or constrained by the policies of a more powerful neighboring state, especially in its foreign policy.
The name comes from Finland's relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, where Finland avoided antagonizing the USSR to preserve its sovereignty.
The term is used pejoratively.
I first heard this term in an interview President Biden gave to MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell in which Biden recalled a conversation with Putin in which Putin was predicting the Findlandization of Europe.
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References:
- Definition: Finlandization
- Wikipedia: Finlandization
- The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, 16 Jan 2025 - Biden shares 'serious concern' for U.S. democracy in Oval Office interview with Lawrence O'Donnell
Date Added: 21 Jan 2025
Floyd Hole
In the Venture Bros episode "Perchance to Dean," Dr. Venture introduces Dean to progressive rock (including one of my favorites, King Crimson!). He leaves Dean and comes back later to find that he's fallen unconscious. Dr. Venture screams, "He's fallen into a Floyd Hole!"
The term "Floyd Hole," now refers to the act of losing track of time while consuming media.
For example, "It's already 4PM?? I fell into a Floyd Hole watching YouTube!"
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References:
Date Added: 05 Sep 2024
Date Modified: 12 Feb 2025
"Focus on the things that make your beer taste better"
A quote from Jeff Bezos during the 2008 YC Startup School.
Bezos made an analogy between AWS and breweries, at the turn of the 20th century when electricity had just been invented. These early breweries started generating their own power to leverage machines that ran on electricity. Soon, utility companies came along. Newer breweries that were able to just use electricity from the utility companies didn't have the capital expenses of the older breweries and were able to beat them.
I heard of this analogy from the Acquired podcast.
(link to this entry)
References:
- YouTube: Footage from the '08 Startup School
- Acquired: The Playbook: Lessons from 200+ Company Stories
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
fomite
A fomite is an object or surface that acts as a medium to transmit infection. I became aware of this word during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
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References:
- Tweet: @veshi 11 May 2020 - I think my word of the year is going to be "fomite" this year.
- Definition: fomite
- ACS Environmental Au: Occurrence of Human Viruses on Fomites in the Environment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Date Added: 23 Jun 2024
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:
- Definition: fractomorpheme
- Wikipedia: United States government group chat leak
- The Atlantic: The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
- The Atlantic: Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal
- Drop Site News: Israeli App on Mike Waltz’s Phone Exposed User’s Passwords
- Wired: How the Signal Knockoff App TeleMessage Got Hacked in 20 Minutes
- DDoSSecrets: TeleMessage - A large amount of data stolen from TeleMessage after they were hacked, including plain text messages.
- SignalGate Meets WordPress: Outgoing National Security Adviser’s Phone Dumps Messages via Israeli App
- DarkReading: CISA Warns of TeleMessage Vuln Despite Low CVSS Score
Date Added: 31 Mar 2025
Date Modified: 20 May 2025
glaze
To glaze is to excessively praise or flatter someone, often in an over-the-top, cringe, or sarcastic manner. The implication is often that the recipient was unworthy of such praise. This slang word was popularized in online spaces like TikTok.
I first heard it when Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) had the following Tweet exchange:
@sama:
we updated GPT-4o today! improved both intelligence and personality.
@StockLizardKing:
It’s been feeling very yes-man like lately
Would like to see that change in future updates
@sama:
yeah it glazes too much
will fix
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References:
Date Added: 20 May 2025
Date Modified: 17 Jul 2025
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.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Podcast: The Allusionist - Episode 193: Word Play 3: Lemon Demon
- Definition: grumbletonian
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
habeas corpus
Habeas corpus is a Latin phrase meaning "you shall have the body."
It is a legal principle that safeguards individual freedom by protecting against unlawful or indefinite imprisonment and it has its origins many hundreds of years ago in England. The Magna Carta in 1215 established that no one -- not even the king -- is above the law. In the 13th century and for the next few hundred years, common law court practices involved issuing writs to check unlawful imprisonment. These started with Habeas corpus ad subjiciendum, meaning you have the body to submit [before the court]. Over time, this evolved into a powerful legal tool, eventually codified in the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679.
In the U.S., the right to habeas corpus is enshrined in the Constitution (Article I, Section 9), which states that it may only be suspended "when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it." As it was centuries ago, it remains a key check on arbitrary power by government leaders. . I’ll be honest -- if you’d asked me to define habeas corpus or explain the Magna Carta, I probably would’ve stumbled through it. I knew the term appeared in the Constitution, but I couldn’t have told you exactly what it meant.
Then came the news cycle in late May 2025.
Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, bungled answers on Tuesday about habeas corpus, incorrectly asserting that the legal right of people to challenge their detention by the government was actually the president’s “constitutional right” to deport people.
-- Gold, Michael. "Noem Incorrectly Defines Habeas Corpus as the President’s Right to Deport People" The New York Times, 20 May 2025
Heather Cox Richardson also covered this in the 20 May 2025 Letters From an American.
I'm guessing I wasn’t the only one suddenly revisiting high school civics after that performance.
Edit: Habeas corpus was in the news again in October 2025 as Donald Trump seemingly didn't know what (or who?) it was.
(link to this entry)
References:
- NYT: Noem Incorrectly Defines Habeas Corpus as the President’s Right to Deport People
- Letters from an American: May 20, 2025
- Wikipedia: Habeas Corpus Act 1679
- Wikipedia: Habeas corpus
- NYT: What Is Habeas Corpus, the Basic Right That Trump Officials Are Talking About Suspending?
- Independent: ‘Who?’ Trump stumbles after being asked about the suspension of Habeas Corpus during Antifa roundtable
Date Added: 22 May 2025
Date Modified: 10 Oct 2025
ICE
An acronym for Internal Combustion Engine. This acronym seems to be bandied about a lot during automobile discussions, especially when discussing electric vehicles (EVs).
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References:
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
IEEPA
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA, pronounced "eye-EE-puh") is a U.S. federal law enacted in 1977 that grants the President broad authority to regulate commerce and impose economic sanctions during a declared national emergency related to external threats.
IEEPA was signed into law by President Carter as a response to the Iran Hostage Crisis.
The act is frequently used to enforce sanctions against foreign governments, organizations, and individuals involved in terrorism, cyber threats, or other destabilizing activities.
In January 2025, President Trump used these powers to enact tariffs on Canada and Mexico using the external threat of illegal immigration and drug trade (specifically fentanyl).
Update: on 02 April 2025, President Trump declared another national emergency in order to use his IEEPA powers. This time the emergency was posed by the large and persistent trade deficit that is driven by the absence of reciprocity in our trade relationships and other harmful policies like currency manipulation and exorbitant value-added taxes (VAT) perpetuated by other countries. This emergency was used to implement broad and sweeping tariffs against most contries. (See White House "fact sheet")
Update: on 28 May 2025 judges ruled that Trump's usage of IEEPA exceeds what the Constitution permits. Obviously this will be appealed.
(link to this entry)
References:
- NYT: What Is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act?
- US Code: Title 50; Chapter 35 - WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE; INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY ECONOMIC POWERS
- Wikipedia: International Emergency Economic Powers Act
- The American Presidency Project - Executive Order—Imposing Duties to Address the Situation at Our Southern Border
- Cafe: ‘No Reason for Disturbance’: The Birth of IEEPA and President Carter’s Asset Freeze on Iran
- White House: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Declares National Emergency to Increase our Competitive Edge, Protect our Sovereignty, and Strengthen our National and Economic S
- Letters from an American: May 28, 2025
Date Added: 03 Feb 2025
Date Modified: 30 May 2025
"I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal, you sockdologizing old man-trap."
"I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal, you sockdologizing old man-trap" was delivered just before Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865 in the play Our American Cousin. The audience’s laughter at the joke provided the cover John Wilkes Booth needed to fire his shot.
Sockdologizing is 19th-century slang for something decisive, final, or conclusive, often referring to a telling blow in an argument or a finishing move.
The humor in the line comes from its exaggerated insult, aimed at a male character but framed in absurdly feminizing terms, culminating in man-trap, a term for a woman who ensnares men. To a 19th-century audience, this mix of ridicule and bombast landed as a sharp comedic moment.
I came upon this line while watching Manhunt.
(link to this entry)
References:
- The context behind the fatal punchline that obscured the Lincoln assassination - Washington Post Op-ed
- Definition: sockdologer
- IMDB: Manhunt
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
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.
(link to this entry)
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
Date Modified: 14 Jul 2025
inkhorn term
An inkhorn term is one that is pretentious or overly ornate (often words from Latin or Greek).
An "inkhorn" was how ink was carried by scholars and clerks in the 1500s. The metaphor suggests that such words come from the scholar’s desk rather than natural speech.
Ironically, some words which historically were derided as inkhorn terms are now rather mundane and commonplace... including the word mundane.
Example:
Sally loved to flaunt her giant vocabulary, peppering every conversation with inkhorn terms that left her friends reaching for a dictionary.
(link to this entry)
References:
Date Added: 27 Sep 2025
interregnum
- A period when normal government is suspended, especially between successive reigns or regimes.
- An interval or pause between two periods of office or other things.
As in:
...the interregnum between the discovery of radioactivity and its detailed understanding.
or:
You are a weak monarch in a dangerous interregnum.
The latter comes from a line of dialog from the character Gerri in the television series "Succession"
(link to this entry)
References:
- Definition: interregnum
- succession-season-4-episode-6-recap - episode recap from thewrap.com
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
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.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Definition: jawbone
- U.S. jobs report: These numbers have economists jawboning - news article using the word "jawboning"
Date Added: 24 Jun 2024
Jevons Paradox
Jevons Paradox is the economic principle stating that as technological improvements increase the efficiency of resource use, overall consumption of that resource may increase rather than decrease.
Originally observed by 19th-century economist William Stanley Jevons in relation to coal consumption during the Industrial Revolution, the paradox highlights how greater efficiency lowers costs, which can drive higher demand.
Jevons Paradox was in the news a lot early in 2025 after the unveiling of AI models developed by a Chinese start-up called DeepSeek. In a report titled "DeepSeek-V3 Technical Report" published in December, DeepSeek showed that they were able to create this AI model much more efficiently (and cheaper) than their counterparts (i.e. OpenAI's ChatGPT, Meta's Llama, etc).
AI research benefits from more efficient neural networks, yet Jevons Paradox suggests that these efficiency gains will lead to even greater overall computational demand, as more complex models are developed and deployed at scale.
While all of this was in the news, Microsoft's Satya Nadella posted on X: Jevons paradox strikes again! As AI gets more efficient and accessible, we will see its use skyrocket, turning it into a commodity we just can't get enough of.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Wikipedia: Jevons Paradox
- Planet Money: Why the AI world is suddenly obsessed with a 160-year-old economics paradox
- Reuters: Europe's AI bulls pin hopes on 'Jevons Paradox' after DeepSeek rout
- Tweet: @satyanadella 26 Jan 2025
- DeepSeek
- DeepSeek-V3 Technical Report
Date Added: 12 Feb 2025
Leahy Law
From Wikipedia:
The Leahy Laws or Leahy amendments are U.S. human rights laws that ostensibly prohibit the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense from providing military assistance to foreign security force units that violate human rights with impunity.
In 2024, as the Israel–Hamas war wages on, the Leahy Law has been in the news a lot.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Wikipedia: Leahy Law
- Washington Post: I created the Leahy law. It should be applied to Israel - An op-ed by Patrick Leahy, author of the Leahy Law.
Date Added: 30 May 2024
Date Modified: 12 Feb 2025
leitmotif
A leitmotif is a recurring theme, idea, or motif that runs through a work, often associated with a particular character, concept, or situation. The term originates from German Leitmotiv, meaning "leading motif" and was used to describe Wagner's characteristic association of a melody to a character.
I was introduced to this term while watching Music by John Williams. In the documentary, George Lucas describes how he wanted John to create a theme for each of the characters in Star Wars.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Definition: leitmotif
- Music by John Williams - Documentary on Disney+
- Wikipedia: Leitmotif
- IMDB: Music by John Williams
Date Added: 06 Jan 2025
Lindy's Law
In simple terms, the longer something is around, the better it gets (or the longer it's likely to continue to be around).
I first heard a reference to this in a Breaking Points episode in which the hosts were debating the merits of lab grown meat.
The origin of this term comes from a 1964 article published in The New Republic by Albert Goldman. In this article, Goldman described comedians that used to meet up at Lindy's Deli in NYC discussing comedy shows. An observation was made that the longer a show has been running, the longer it is expected to continue to run. This was formalized in something Goldman called "Lindy's Law." Note: this is also commonly referred to as the "Lindy Effect."
(link to this entry)
References:
- Podcast: Breaking Points - Krystal And Saagar DEBATE Lab Grown Meat BAN - 07 May 2024
- Wikipedia: Lindy Effect
- Wikipedia: Antifragile (book) - in this book, Nassim Nicholas Taleb tweaked Lindy's Law some and coined the "Lindy Effect."
- The New Republic: Lindy’s Law - published in 1964
- Physica A: Lindy's Law (abstract) - Volume 486, 15 Nov 2017, Iddo Eliazar, Pages 797-805
Date Added: 21 May 2024
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
metonymy
A metonymy is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is substituted with another closely associated with it. For example, in the sentence "Hey, who are all the suits?" the word suit is a metonymy for "business people."
The word comes from the Greek metōnymía, meaning "a change of name."
I heard the word in an episode of PBS' Otherwords.
(link to this entry)
References:
- YouTube: Otherwords - The Ancient Origins of Body Words
- Wikipedia: Metonymy
- grammarly.com blog entry - Metonymy: How to Use This Literary Device
Date Added: 03 Feb 2025
"Mice lie and monkeys exaggerate."
Mice lie and monkeys exaggerate.
-- David B. Weiner, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Chair, Gene Therapy and Vaccine Program, CAMB Co-Leader Tumor Virology Program, Abramson Cancer Program University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine
Dr. Weiner coined this aphorism while musing on the use of NHP (nonhuman primates) in HIV vaccines studies at a conference in 2008. In essence, animal models aren't necessarily predictive of how drugs will work in humans.
The phrase is often used in research papers and by science journalists. I can't recall where I first heard it, but I thought of it recently when a friend shared a blurb about how rapamycin is purported to have anti-aging benefits in humans. Though there is no evidence for this in humans, there have been studies with the drug on mice that have found that they live ~12% longer.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Transient rapamycin treatment can increase lifespan and healthspan in middle-aged mice
- Of Mice and Mike—An Underappreciated Ebola Virus Disease Model May Have Paved the Road for Future Filovirology
- Swine as biomedical animal model for T-cell research...
- Bluesky: @inmice.bsky.social - posts about scientific and news articles about medical results, IN MICE
- Twitter: @justsaysinmice - tweets about scientific and news articles about medical results, IN MICE
- AIDS vaccine researchers STEP up to the challenge
Date Added: 03 Oct 2024
Date Modified: 14 Jul 2025
milquetoast
The word milquetoast is used to describe a meek or timid person.
It originated from the comic strip character Caspar Milquetoast, created by Harold T. Webster in 1924. The character was known for his timidity and refusal to participate in controversial discussions. Some time after the character's debut, the term "milquetoast" began to be used to describe people with similar characteristics.
Caspar's last name is derived from "milk toast," a breakfast food that was thought to be easy to digest and was a popular food for convalescents in New England (USA) in the 19th and early 20th century.
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References:
Date Added: 18 Jul 2024
Date Modified: 17 Jul 2025
neologism
A neologism is a newly coined word or expression.
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References:
Date Added: 30 May 2024
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
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
"Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds"
An English translation of a line from The Bhagavad Gita, written in Sanskrit. A more accurate translation is "Time I am, destroyer of the worlds..."
I first encountered this expression in the late 90s on the CAKE BBS. It appears many times in popular culture:
- Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer
- Bolivar in s01e07 of Xmen '97
- Captain Ramius' diary in Hunt for Red October
- Caleb Smith in Ex Machina
And probably many more.
(link to this entry)
References:
Date Added: Unknown
orthosomnia
Orthosomnia is an obsession with getting "perfect" sleep. The word was coined in a 2017 article in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine titled Orthosomnia: Are Some Patients Taking the Quantified Self Too Far?
We termed this condition “orthosomnia,” with “ortho” meaning straight or correct, and “somnia” meaning sleep, because patients are preoccupied or concerned with improving or perfecting their wearable sleep data. We chose this term because the perfectionist quest to achieve perfect sleep is similar to the unhealthy preoccupation with healthy eating, termed orthorexia.
I first encountered this term while listening to an episode of The Guardian's Science Weekly podcast called Is sleep perfectionism making us more exhausted?
(link to this entry)
References:
- Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine; Volume 13, Issue 02
- Science Weekly: Is sleep perfectionism making us more exhausted?
- Wikipedia: Orthosomnia
Date Added: 22 Oct 2024
Date Modified: 09 Jul 2025
Overton window
The Overton window is the range of topics that are considered acceptable or "mainstream" at a point in time. The term is used in political discourse and it implies that politicians can only advocate for policies within this window without risking their careers.
The window can shift: ideas that were once fringe (i.e. like women’s suffrage) can move into the window as social norms evolve. Conversely, ideas that were once mainstream can fall out of favor and become politically toxic.
The term is named after Joseph Overton, a vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy (1992-2003). To help with his fund-raising duties he designed a brochure describing what eventually became known as the Overton window. His view was that think tanks should be pushing policies that fall outside the window and help to shift the window.
When listening to policy wonks debate politics, this term seems to come up quite a bit.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Wikipedia: Overton window
- Wikipedia: Joseph Overton
- Mackinac Center Blog: What is the Overton Window?
- Tweet: @elonmusk 20 Mar 2025 - That fresh breeze you feel is the wide open Overton Window
Date Added: 01 Jun 2025
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
Pale Blue Dot
The "pale blue dot" is how Carl Sagan described the Earth as seen in a photograph taken by Voyager 1 in 1990 (the last picture of the Earth it took as it continued to leave the solar system).
(link to this entry)
References:
Date Added: 23 Jun 2024
p(doom)
p(doom) stands for "probability of doom" and is a term used when talking about AGI.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Wikipedia: p(doom)
- NYT: Silicon Valley Confronts a Grim New A.I. Metric
- Fast Company: P(doom) is AI’s latest apocalypse metric. Here’s how to calculate your score
Date Added: 27 Jun 2024
phononics
Phononics is the study of the behavior and control of mechanical vibrations and acoustic waves in materials.
The word is derived from phonon (a quantum of vibrational energy in a crystal lattice, analogous to a photon in light). It seems to be a relatively new neologism, as it doesn't have an entry in conventional dictionaries.
I first came upon this word in a Science magazine article titled Does the mantis shrimp pack a phononic shield?. The study provides experimental proof that the mantis shrimp’s club acts like a biological shock absorber, using phononic filtering to prevent damage.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Does the mantis shrimp pack a phononic shield? - Science, 387, 659–666, 2025.
Date Added: 07 Feb 2025
pogrom
A pogrom is an organized (i.e. mob) attack of a particular ethnic group. Historically the word has been used to describe ethnic cleansing of Jews, but it can apply to any instance of violent, organized persecution against a specific group.
The word originates from the Russian word "погром," which means "to wreak havoc." It was first used in reference to the violent attacks on Jewish communities in the Russian Empire.
In 2024, as the Israel–Hamas war wages on, the word appeared in the news when on Sunday, 23 June, a protest turned violent in Los Angeles.
Demonstrators were protesting a real estate fair at a synagogue. The Pro-Palestinian protesters have been criticized as antisemitic as violence broke out and CNN's Van Jones called it a pogrom. And this rhetoric seems to be spreading.
The reason for the protest appears to be because the real estate event was promoting the sale of land located in the illegally-occupied Palestinian territories and restricting those sales to Jews. It's unfortunate that this hasn't been the headline in the news. How is this type of event even be allowed to happen??
(link to this entry)
References:
- LA Times: Protest violence outside L.A. synagogue spurs widespread condemnation. Bass vows quick action
- Wikipedia: Pogrom
- Definition: pogrom
- CAIR: CAIR-LA Condemns Events Promoting Real Estate Sale of Occupied Palestinian Land
- Van Jones - homepage
- Mediaite: CNN’s Van Jones Calls Protest Outside Synagogue That Turned Violent a ‘Pogrom’ - including clip
- NYT: Biden and Democratic Leaders Condemn Protest Outside L.A. Synagogue as Antisemitic
Date Added: 26 Jun 2024
pulses
The dried seeds of legumes (beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, etc). This seems to be a word that is commonly used in the UK. In the US, I don't think I've ever heard it.
I looked this up after watching a YouTube show: Food Tours: Finding the Best Cheeseburger in Los Angeles. The two hosts (popularized on Food Wars) are from the US and UK. In the US, if I were eating chickpeas and lentils I'd say that I was eating "chickpeas and lentils," while in the UK it seems like it might be common to say that one is "eating pulses."
(link to this entry)
References:
- YouTube: Food Tours: Finding the Best Cheeseburger in Los Angeles
- Definition: pulses - (third definition)
Date Added: 21 May 2024
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
quishing
Quishing is a portmanteau of QR and phishing. It is a form of phishing that uses QR codes to trick victims into visiting malicious websites.
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References:
Date Added: 05 Aug 2025
rhodopsin
I learned, from sort of an unlikely source -- the National Park Service, the reason why "night vision" is reset after exposure to light. That our pupils dilate is probably obvious, but what I didn't know was that the body produces a protein called rhodopsin which, through a series of chemical reactions, gives our rods the ability to "see" in dim light. The protein decays in bright light (though much slower in longer wavelengths, i.e. red light). When depleted, it takes ~30m to regenerate.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Dark Adaptation of the Human Eye and the Value of Red Flashlights - National Park Service blog article
- Wikipedia: Rhodopsin
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
rozzer
Rozzer is British slang for a police officer.
"Cripes, the rozzers are after us!"
I first heard this while watching the movie Wicked Little Letters.
The terms rozzers , bobbies and peelers (all slang words for police officers) likely originate from a play on the name Sir Robert Peel, founder of the Metropolitan Police Service in 1829.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Definition: rozzer
- IMDB: Wicked Little Letters
- Why are the police in the UK called "rozzers"?
- Wikipedia: Robert Peel
Date Added: 16 Jul 2024
sanewashing
Sanewashing (also sometimes hyphened as sane-washing) is a term that rose in popularity during the 2024 US Presidential election to describe the practice of minimizing or explaining some of the bizarre rhetoric from Donald Trump (this is often tied to a critique of "the media").
According to Wikipedia, it originated on a Reddit forum in 2020.
The sentiment that the media has been sanewashing Donald Trump and his campaign perhaps shifted a little with the coverage of Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden on 27 October 2024. The headline from a NYT article covering the event read Trump at the Garden: A Closing Carnival of Grievances, Misogyny and Racism.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Wikipedia: Sanewashing
- The Atlantic: Trump Has Not Been 'Sane-Washed'
- NYT: Your questions about The Times’s election coverage: ‘Sane-washing’
- The Present Age: No More Euphemisms: Media Gets Real on Trump’s MSG Hate Rally
- NYT: Trump at the Garden: A Closing Carnival of Grievances, Misogyny and Racism
Date Added: 02 Nov 2024
sawbuck
A sawbuck is slang for a $10 bill. Likewise, a double-sawbuck is a $20 bill.
It has been suggested that the slang originated because a sawbuck (sawhorse) resembles an "X," the Roman numeral for "10."
I came across this slang while watching For All Mankind, S3E2.
(link to this entry)
References:
Date Added: 05 Jun 2024
Shoe Leather
"Shoe Leather" is a bit of television/movie jargon that refers to all of the boring/procedural parts of an exchange that often get eliminated from a script.
For example, you often don't see actors answering the phone with "hello" or even saying "good-bye" before hanging up. These little exchanges don't do much to move the plot forward.
(Note: there are other definitions of this term as well to refer to an "old fashioned" process, especially in police or detective work)
The origin of the phrase seems to refer to the sound of someone walking, i.e. the sound of their shoe's leather soles hitting the ground.
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References:
Date Added: 09 Jul 2024
skramz
There is a point in one's life in which not only does the music of the younger generations make no sense, neither do their labels. For me, this is illustrated by the musical genre of "skramz" (I've also seen it spelled "scramz"). When I asked my nephew what he likes to listen to, he told me skramz. When I asked what that was, he told me it was a synonym for screamo. And, well, the rabbit hole continues to HXC and post hardcore.
Listening to this music, it all just sounds like punk. But... maybe these are all just subgenres of punk?
(link to this entry)
References:
Date Added: 25 Jun 2024
spaghettification
Spaghettification refers to the streching and compressing that occurs as an object passes within a black hole's event horizon. The process was first described by Stephen Hawking in the book "A Brief History of Time."
(link to this entry)
References:
- A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes
- Wikipedia: Spaghettification
- Black hole kills star by 'spaghettification' as telescopes watch
Date Added: 05 Jul 2024
specious
Something that is specious is superficially plausible, but actually wrong.
You know how there are some words that you know would fit exactly what you're trying to communicate, but you can never remember them? This is one of those words for me.
The Latin speciosus means "beautiful" (or "plausible"). According to Merriam-Webster, in Middle English the word specious was used to mean "attractive." Over time, however, the word was used to denote a fake or superficial beauty.
I don't usually hear this word being used to represent a false-beauty, but more in rhetoric. A specious argument is a type of argument that seems to be good at first glance, but is actually fallacious.
(link to this entry)
References:
Date Added: 20 Aug 2024
spoonerism
A spoonerism is a slip-up in speech in which the person talking transposes the first part of two words. For example, saying "shake a tower" instead of "take a shower." The word is named after Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930) who, apparently, this happened to often.
I came across this while listening to an episode of The Allusionist which discussed an old puzzle novel called "Cain's Jawbone." Among the many word-based challenges in this puzzle novel are spoonerisms which the player must identify in order to put the pages in the right order.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Definition: spoonerism
- Wikipedia: Spoonerism
- Podcast: The Allusionist - Episode 195: Word Play 5: 100 Pages of Solvitude
Date Added: 29 May 2024
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
stigmergy
From Wikipedia:
Stigmergy was first observed in social insects. For example, ants exchange information by laying down pheromones (the trace) on their way back to the nest when they have found food. In that way, they collectively develop a complex network of trails, connecting the nest in an efficient way to various food sources. When ants come out of the nest searching for food, they are stimulated by the pheromone to follow the trail towards the food source. The network of trails functions as a shared external memory for the ant colony.
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References:
Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
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
Stockdale Paradox
The Stockdale Paradox is a concept named after Admiral James Stockdale, who survived as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for over seven years. The paradox describes a mindset that balances unwavering faith in a positive outcome with the discipline to confront brutal realities. Stockdale observed that prisoners who relied solely on optimism -- expecting to be freed by Thanksgiving, then New Years, then ... -- often succumbed to despair when their expectations weren’t met. In contrast, those who survived, like himself, maintained hope while also acknowledging and adapting to the harshness of their circumstances.
I'm not sure that I would have read it otherwise, but I worked a company were we were all gifted the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. This is where I first came across the Stockdale Paradox.
I came across it again recently while listening to The Interview (a New York Times podcast) interview of Ed Yong. Ed brought up the Stockdale Paradox as a means for coping with the state of the world right now.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Wikipedia: James Stockdale
- Excerpts from "Good to Great" on the Stockdale Paradox
- NYT (The Interview): Ed Yong
Date Added: 23 Feb 2025
Date Modified: 09 Jul 2025
Streisand Effect
The Streisand Effect is the phenomenon where the harder someone tries to suppress information, the more attention it ends up getting. The term originated in early internet culture after Barbra Streisand attempted to suppress photographs of her Malibu home in 2003 by suing a photographer. Before the lawsuit, the photo had been downloaded exactly six times. After the lawsuit became public? Over 400,000 views in a single month.4 What was meant to be hidden instead became famous.
In July 2025, The Epstein Files consumed much of the news cycle. Donald Trump and his administration had campaigned on the promise of releasing these files to the public. But Trump seemingly flip-flopped on the issue, instead urging his followers to simply "move on." The result: a rift in the MAGA world. Far-right activist Laura Loomer remarked, "The more Truth Social posts that are posted about this are going to create a Streisand effect."
(link to this entry)
References:
- Definition: Streisand Effect
- Wikipedia: Streisand effect
- Politico: Playbook: Trump world searches for off-ramp on Epstein
- Techdirt: Turns Out Barbra Streisand Is Aware Of The Streisand Effect, But Seems Confused About It
- Independent: Fox & Friends does just what Trump wants – they pretend the Epstein fiasco doesn’t exist
Date Added: 17 Jul 2025
thagomizer
A thagomizer is a bit of paleontology jargon referring to the spikes on a stegosaurian dinosaur.
When I was young, the Stegosaurus was my favorite type of dinosaur. I had no idea what the spikes were called until very recently though. I especially didn't know that the word was coined by none other than Gary Larson of Far Side fame.
In 1982, Gary Larson wrote a comic in which a caveman, perhaps in a teaching role, explains to an audience that these spikes were named "after the late Thag Simmons."
(link to this entry)
References:
Date Added: 23 May 2024
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
"There's nothing more exhilarating than pointing out the shortcomings of others, is there?"
"This sounds schemey. Redolent of thwart."
Something that the character Tom Wambsgans says in the television series "Succession," in Season 2, Episode 8.
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Date Added: Unknown
Date Modified: 22 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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Date Added: 30 May 2024
Date Modified: 08 Jul 2025
trial balloon
A trial balloon is a metaphorical term describing a tentative action or statement meant to test reactions or explore possibilities before committing to a course of action. It's often used in diplomacy, politics, and awkward social situations, where one wants to gauge sentiment or diffuse tension without directly confronting the issue.
The phrase originates from the early days of hot-air ballooning in the late 18th century. British aeronauts would send up small, unmanned balloons as trial balloons to assess weather conditions, wind direction, and other factors before launching a manned flight. By the mid-19th century, the term was being used figuratively, particularly in politics, where governments or individuals would "float" proposals through unofficial channels to gauge public opinion before formally committing. Over time, it came to describe any cautious, preliminary step taken to assess outcomes.
I first heard this term in an interview with Bill Hader on the Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes) podcast. Hader shared a story about embarrassing himself by badmouthing a movie to someone who starred in it. To mend the social faux pas, he waited an hour and floated a trial balloon by saying, "Um, hey, they’re grilling some chicken over there."
He shared this awkward story with Larry David, who, of course, loved it -- particularly the hilariously ineffectual nature of the "trial balloon" attempt -- and encouraged him to repeat it often.
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References:
- Definition: trial balloon
- Podcast: Where Everyone Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes), - Bill Hader
- Wikipedia: Trial Balloon
Date Added: 10 Dec 2024
Date Modified: 09 Jul 2025
tribology
Tribology is the scientific study of friction, lubrication, and wear between interacting surfaces in relative motion. It blends principles from mechanical engineering, materials science, chemistry, and physics.
The word was coined in 1966 by British mechanical engineer Peter Jost in a report to the UK government titled "Lubrication (Tribology) - A Report on the Present Position and Industry’s Needs". The word is formed from the Greek root tribos meaning rubbing.
During a trip with my brother, he told me about a tribological analysis his firm performed along with a write-up they published and this is how I was introduced to the term.
While looking up the origins of the word tribology, I thought it would fit perfect in an episode of Archer. The characters often use absurdly niche references followed by incredulity when nobody knows the reference.
[Scene: ISIS HQ hallway, someone slips slightly on a recently waxed floor]
Lana: Whoa -- can we not buff the floors like an Olympic luge track?
Archer: Who are you, Peter Jost?
Lana: Who?
Archer: Peter Jost? The father of tribology??
[Everyone stares blankly]
Archer (muttering): Seriously guys, read a book! Well, actually an obscure UK lubrication report from 1966.
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References:
- Definition: tribology
- Science Direct: tribology
- Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers: What is Tribology
- "The Invention of Tribology: Peter Jost's Contribution" - by John Williams, Robinson College, University of Cambridge
- IMDB: Archer
Date Added: 13 May 2025
Date Modified: 20 May 2025
vibecoding
Vibecoding (also vibe coding) is the act of developing software by purely defining a project and letting AI do the work.
The term was popularized earlier this year (in 2025) by OpenAI founding member Andrej Karpathy. It has since taken off and I hear it everywhere.
The NYT's Kevin Roose wrote an article on his experience with vibecoding and also covered it in an episode of Hard Fork.
Update May 2025: added Freethink's piece about the technical and cultural shift happening around vibecoding.
(link to this entry)
References:
- Wikipedia: vibe coding
- NYT: Not a Coder? With A.I., Just Having an Idea Can Be Enough
- Tweet: @karpathy 02 Feb 2025 - @karpathy's tweet about "vibe coding"
- Hard Fork: Is Google Search Cooked? + We're Getting a U.S. Crypto Reserve? + What You're Vibecoding
- Freethink: Vibe coding is rewriting the rules of technology
Date Added: 15 Mar 2025
Date Modified: 17 Jul 2025
wagwan
Wagwan means "what's going on" and is Jamaican/English slang. It seems to have originated from Jamaican Creole wah gwan ("what go on").
I first heard this while watching Supacell, where it's used prolifically in the dialog.
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References:
Date Added: 07 Jul 2024
"What ho! She bumps!"
I came across this bit of old-timey slang in the television show "The Artful Dodger." It means something like, "Wow! It works!"
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Date Added: Unknown