Fun_People Archive
18 Jan
American Vocabulary Update

Date: Thu, 18 Jan 96 15:30:19 -0800
From: Peter Langston <psl>
To: Fun_People
Subject: American Vocabulary Update

Forwarded-by: Lani Herrmann <lanih@info.sims.berkeley.edu>
Forwarded-by: jmichael@sas.upenn.edu

From: Lisa Ratmansky

	A list of new words and phrases
	noted by the American Dialect Society:

Anxious class
	Middle-class people worried about economic security.

Astroturf
	Phony grassroots movement created by special-interest advertising.

Big box
	Large chain store specializing in one kind of merchandise.

Brownfield
	Vacant city lot.

Drive-through delivery
	Shortened hospital stay after childbirth.

EQ
	Emotional intelligence.

Fuhrman
	As a verb, to exhibit racial prejudice.

Gaydar
	A gay person's ability to spot other gays.

Generation Y
	Post-post baby boomers.

Home meal replacement
	Takeout.

Joe six chip
	Ordinary Joe with computer.

OJ
	As a verb, to batter a spouse.

Overclass
	Highly educated, upper-income class.

Sero-discordant
	Partners with conflicting HIV status.

Sidebar
	An aside.

Spamming
	Sending junk e-mail.

Spinning (also RPM)
	Riding stationary bicycle while listening to music.

Starter marriage
	First marriage.

24-7
	Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Testilying
	Lying under oath.

Waymazin
	Really amazing.

Whatever
	Gratuitous remark.

They
	Singular gender-neutral pronoun.

Trunking
	Taking a joyride in a stolen car and locking the owner in the trunk.

V-chip
	Computer chip that screens out TV violence.

Webliography
	Bibliography of material on the Internet.

© 1996 Peter Langston