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:

Tag Cloud netspeak vocabulary software computer-science quote television ai science history acronym eponymous slang games podcast music idiom entomology jargon movie space technology tipofmytongue politics grammar legal

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.


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References:

  1. Wikipedia: Jevons Paradox
  2. Planet Money: Why the AI world is suddenly obsessed with a 160-year-old economics paradox
  3. Reuters: Europe's AI bulls pin hopes on 'Jevons Paradox' after DeepSeek rout
  4. Tweet: @satyanadella 26 Jan 2025
  5. DeepSeek
  6. DeepSeek-V3 Technical Report

Tags: ai , eponymous

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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.


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References:

  1. Wikipedia: Leahy Law
  2. Washington Post: I created the Leahy law. It should be applied to Israel - An op-ed by Patrick Leahy, author of the Leahy Law.

Tags: international , legal , leahy , eponymous

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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.


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References:

  1. Definition: leitmotif
  2. Music by John Williams - Documentary on Disney+
  3. Wikipedia: Leitmotif
  4. IMDB: Music by John Williams

Tags: vocabulary , music

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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."


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References:

  1. Podcast: Breaking Points - Krystal And Saagar DEBATE Lab Grown Meat BAN - 07 May 2024
  2. Wikipedia: Lindy Effect
  3. Wikipedia: Antifragile (book) - in this book, Nassim Nicholas Taleb tweaked Lindy's Law some and coined the "Lindy Effect."
  4. The New Republic: Lindy’s Law - published in 1964
  5. Physica A: Lindy's Law (abstract) - Volume 486, 15 Nov 2017, Iddo Eliazar, Pages 797-805

Tags: lindy effect , podcast , eponymous , social

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litotes

Do you have the habit of expressing a positive statement by negating its opposite (or vice-versa)? For example, saying something is "Not bad" when you mean that it's good?

This is called a litotes (pronounced LIE-tuh-teez). The word comes from the Greek lítotēs, meaning simplicity. Litotes can be used to soften something, i.e. saying "I'm not bad at this" seems less boastful than saying "I'm pretty good at this." It can also be used for humorous effect, for example saying "I don't hate it!" instead of saying that you like something.


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References:

  1. Wikipedia: Litotes
  2. Definition: litotes

Tags: vocabulary , grammar , tipofmytongue

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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.


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References:

  1. YouTube: Otherwords - The Ancient Origins of Body Words
  2. Wikipedia: Metonymy
  3. grammarly.com blog entry - Metonymy: How to Use This Literary Device

Tags: vocabulary , grammar , tipofmytongue

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"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.


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References:

  1. Transient rapamycin treatment can increase lifespan and healthspan in middle-aged mice
  2. Of Mice and Mike—An Underappreciated Ebola Virus Disease Model May Have Paved the Road for Future Filovirology
  3. Swine as biomedical animal model for T-cell research...
  4. Twitter: @justsaysinmice - tweets about scientific and news articles about medical results, IN MICE
  5. Bluesky: @inmice.bsky.social - posts about scientific and news articles about medical results, IN MICE
  6. AIDS vaccine researchers STEP up to the challenge

Tags: quote , idiom , aphorism

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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:

  1. Definition: Milquetoast
  2. Wikipedia: Caspar Milquetoast
  3. Wikipedia: Milk Toast

Tags: slang , vocabulary , eponymous

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neologism

A neologism is a newly coined word or expression.


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References:

  1. Definition: neologism

Tags: vocabulary

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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?


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References:

  1. Greek idiom "my tongue has grown hair"
  2. Definition: no tener pelos en la lengua
  3. Podcast: A Way With Words - The Idiom to Have Hair on Your Tongue

Tags: idiom , foreign , language , spanish

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