Words not in the Dictionary
May. 18, 2005 by Jason
You’ve probably seen this on the news, it’s pretty funny. Merriam Webster (the dictionary dudes) came up with a list of favorite words that are not in the dictionary.
- Number one on the list is a word I’ve used for years - ginormous. It’s like gigantic and enormous put together to mean super massive. And it’s fun to say, because it actually sounds like a real word.
- Next up is confuzzled. I guess like ginormous, it’s a combination of two words: confused and puzzled. I don’t get it, though. Ginormous means bigger than gigantic and enormous. Does this mean extra confused? How can you be super-puzzled? Damn, now I’m all confuzzled.
- Now this one you all know - woot. The dictionary dudes do not do this one justice. They say it’s an exclamation of joy. That’s it. For you non-gamers, it was created years ago to mean “we owned the other team.” Yeah, it’s an exclamation of joy, but it also says “I’m such a badass!” Also, I’m no gamer, but even I know it should be w00t - in uber-dork 1337 (look that one up if you don’t know it). One last thing on this: The Associated Press misspelled it - whoot. Stupid.
- I’m skipping over a couple because they’re just pointless. On to phonecrastinate. I’ve never heard this one, but I like it. It’s when you take too long looking at the caller ID on your phone before answering it. Phonecrastinating can lead to missing a call. I know a bunch of people who do this. I’m not one of those people. If my phone rings at least twice before I can get to it, I just blindly pick it up. Certain others who will remain nameless often miss calls because they just have to know who is calling.
- Okay, this is the last one I’ll mention, because the rest suck anyway. Slickery - it means wet and icy, like “that road’s too slickery to drive on.” Now this one pisses me off. It’s slick you idiots. Don’t waste your time on those extra two syllables. If I catch someone saying this, I’m going to give them the stink-eye of death.
May 18th, 2005
What about Diplomatical Strategery?
May 18th, 2005
One that I always liked that I never thought was a real word is “stiction”. See it a lot in motorcycle and car mags…it means “the force required to cause one body in contact with another to begin to move ” basically, how hard it is to overcome rolling resistance.
May 18th, 2005
i had no idea that’s what ‘woot’ meant. cool!
and i’ve only heard my dad and me say ginormous==so i’m glad other people say it too!
May 18th, 2005
That is a great listing. I know a lot of people who use ginormous. A fantabulous post.
Thanks for stopping by earlier.
May 18th, 2005
Stink-eye, “Slickery - it means wet and icy, like “that road’s too slickery to drive on.” Now this one pisses me off. It’s slick you idiots.”
I also dislike this one, but the word is a conflation of Slick and Slippery. By the time people have finished saying it, they’ll be off the road and in the snow…
May 18th, 2005
Good one, Ev. Will Ferrell came up with quite a few new words while playing our fearless leader on SNL.
I’ve never heard that one, Mike. Sounds sexual to me. “Hey baby, get out the lube, there’s too much stiction.”
W00t, Sarah! Ginormous rocks! I also like to say “ridunculous.” Oh, and “wasticated.”
Thanks for the kind words, CC. You are my hero. I adore positive comments.
Good call, Deek. Those extra syllables might provide just enough time for you to slide off the road entirely.
May 18th, 2005
How long before speedpr0nning makes the list? Or Turboslut?
May 18th, 2005
Don’t forget “voluntold”. When you somehow get told that you are partaking in some voluntary activity. Oh, and “stuporvisor”. Yeah. anybody that’s worked in a call center and hated their idiotic boss will like that one. You can probably call them by it and they won’t pick up on it anyway. “Hang on, I have to check with my stuporvisor, Hey Mac, come here a second!”
May 18th, 2005
Speedpr0nning should definitely be in there.
May 18th, 2005
Maine, “turboslut” is listed at UrbanDictionary.com. I’m not sure if that counts.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=turboslut
Mike, are you making these up? They’re like sniglets.
Ev, Maine, I assume not too many people are familiar with speedpr0nning. It’s a skill that takes time to master, and most people just don’t have that kind of dedication.
May 18th, 2005
Yah know, I’m not making them up. I’ve heard both from other people, but they’re probably not on The Churning, so I figured I would share to make sure the word got out. What’s a sniglet anyway?
May 18th, 2005
Right on, Mike. I used to watch this old HBO sho called “Not Necessarily the News.” It was a satire of TV news. That’s probably how I began to get interested in the news biz. Anyway, a comedian on that show created Sniglets. They’re just made up words.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniglet
And no I’m really not that old. I was just a kid when I watched that show.
May 18th, 2005
“Woot”… I hate that word… “Woot”… Argh… Sounds like anArsenio Hall audience full of owls… I will never say “woot”… Oh, damn… I just did…
Hey, J… Speaking of NNTN… What about the list of television lingo not listed in the dictionary:
- Teasable — A story that you run towards the end of the newscast just so that you can mention it a million times to keep the suckers wathing and hold ratings through the quarter-hour (whatever that means).
- Efforting — We might do it… Then again, we might not. Depends on if we feel like doing it.
- Talker — A story that may or may not be teaseable that will help add or create a buzz with the audience.
- Whack Job — A crazy caller who dials up the newsroom who usually sees UFOs, pictures of some deity in their fries, or is just generally cranky about something.
- Interns — Like getting a paid vacation except you still have to show up to work. Also see: Test Subjects, as in “I need someone to get sprayed with two different types of mosquito spray and then stick their hand into this net full cage of mosquitos to see which one works best.”
May 18th, 2005
Oh my god, I am on the floor laughing right now. From that definition of Turboslut, please don’t get the wrong impression of me, or do, I don’t really care, lol.
I might have to put that on my blog
May 18th, 2005
Wow. I just read the definition of turboslut. That’s great. I need to find me a couple of those.
May 18th, 2005
Excellent list, Travis. I remember a few of those from the good old days. W00t!
Don’t worry, TS. It’ll only lead to more readers (well, more male readers).
They’re a rare breed, Mike. Good luck.
May 18th, 2005
Ovary punch? What about ovary punch?!
May 18th, 2005
Mimi, I think they’re adding “ovary punch” to next year’s list. Right below the phrase “hit my cervix.”
May 18th, 2005
JJ, the only readers that TS is going to get by having more men read the definition of a turboslut are skechy male readers that are trying to speedprOn.
May 18th, 2005
Hey Mike, readers is readers. And they’re ain’t nothin’ wrong with speedpr0nning.
May 18th, 2005
I don’t know what speedprOnning is, but I love sniglets! Remember toasticles, the little pieces of toast left on the butter?
May 18th, 2005
wOOt is a real word.. cause i say it.. thus making it real..
that is how reality works, isn’t it?
May 18th, 2005
i’ve never even heard of such words before!!! ^_^
May 19th, 2005
I better not get into speedpr0nning, Eddie. It’s a secret art. “Toasticles!” I’ve never heard of that one. Awesome!
Yes, MCG, that’s absolutely true. Perception is reality.
Thanks for stopping by, Michelle. Yeah, I’m learning all kinds of new vocabulary this week.
May 19th, 2005
Eddie, if you’ve got a live-in boyfriend and an internet connection, he can tell you about speedprOnning. But don’t bother asking, because he’ll deny it.
I’ve got another one, too–”corporate slacktitude”. It’s the art of looking like you’re working when all you’re really doing is surfing the net and blogging.
May 19th, 2005
I’ve been saying “ginormous” for years too… and here we all think we’re being original… I’ve heard Seth on the OC say it, and Marshall used it last night on Alias.
I made up “snough” today to describe a sneeze/cough. My co-worker snoughed and I said “um, bless you, I think? What the hell was that anyway?”
May 19th, 2005
You are the very first person in all my years on the net who knows exactly what “woot” means. Far too many people over use, abuse it and don’t have the slightest clue what it means and where it came from. I’ve always hated the word but now that I know the true meaning behind it and really know that the people who often use it look even more stupid, I hate it even more.
However, in gaming world, it makes perfect sense and it wouldn’t bother me there. Maybe I’m just a word snob.
May 19th, 2005
“ovary punch”–is that anything like a donkey punch?
May 19th, 2005
Hey Cindy, I heard Seth say it too… I mean, wait, no. I don’t watch the OC, I swear,
Thanks for stopping by Faolan. Don’t feel bad. I’m kind of a word snob too. I figure, if you’re going to try to sound cool using slang terms, at least use them correctly.
Uh, Mike… Check out Mimi’s blog for the answer. It’s not like a donkey punch. When an ovary punch happens, it’s sort of accidental.
May 19th, 2005
oh. I see now about the ovary punch thing. That’s probably something to shoot for in my new career as a “man-ho”. Nothing wrong with seeing if I can totally immobilize a chick from bumping uglies.
July 22nd, 2005
how about documentational… I get that a lot at work… “this blog was written for documentational purposes…”