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The Lonely Planet has come up with a list of thirty travel terms that aren't in the dictionary.
posted by gman on Feb 5, 2012 - 70 comments

Even though Starbucks was founded by an english teacher, history teacher and writer, the company has grown to have a particular relationship with language, especially with its drink menu. Notably, the sizes of drinks defies commonly understood usage as it attempts to engage customers on multiple levels while providing a new experience. Said experience has resulted in a glossary of terms and even step by step instructions on how to order and decode the lingo.

All of this helps to explain the recent trouble English professor Lynne Rosenthal had at a Starbuck's on New York City's Upper West Side when she ordered a plain multigrain bagel. [more inside]
posted by nomadicink on Aug 17, 2010 - 341 comments

International House of Logorrhea, at The Phrontistry, a free online dictionary of weird and unusual words to help enhance your vocabulary. Generous language resources, 2 and 3 letter Scrabble words l The Compass DeRose Guide to Emotion Words l all kinds of glossaries for color terms, wisdom, love and attraction, scientific instruments, manias and obsessions, feeding and eating, carriages and chariots, dance styles and all kinds of fun word stuff. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on Jan 11, 2009 - 12 comments

Glossary of Food Terms From Abalone to Zweiback, this extensive reference of food terms is found, somewhat surprisingly, on the site of a salsa manufacturer. Who knew advertising could be so useful?
posted by jacquilynne on Jul 6, 2005 - 9 comments

The British Library has an unmatched collection of fine and historic bookbindings. Hundreds of western European bindings have been digitized and made available to the public. The Database of Bookbindings is a searchable, high resolution collection. Search by binder, ownership mark, country, material, and more. If you have the whole weekend free, you may find this glossary of binding terms a useful resource on your journey of discovery. If your interest is seriously peaked check out these bookbinding models used to exemplify and demonstrate the various mechanisms of books. For a more American experience of bookbindings, the Redwood Library has created this exhibit. Tomorrow our journey continues inside the books
posted by Grod on Oct 29, 2004 - 4 comments

A dictionary of Japanese pornography terms. After you've mastered the theory, you can read about it in greater detail, then test your knowledge. (First link SFW if no one's reading over your shoulder, others N.)
posted by kenko on Apr 11, 2004 - 9 comments

It's Aprill, with his shoures soote, so here's The Canterbury Tales, complete with hypertext glossary. Sorry about the frames.
posted by Slithy_Tove on Apr 26, 2003 - 6 comments

The Glossarist is "a searchable directory of glossaries and topical dictionaries." Obvious enough. Topic areas are arranged in a Yahoo-like structure.
Now, go find out what all those obscure technical terms you've been wondering about mean.
posted by Su on Jun 2, 2002 - 5 comments

Contribute to the BBC's E-cyclopedia Glossary of 2001 . "Impeachment nostalgia" - phrase coined by novelist Douglas Coupland to characterise depression following 11 September and a hankering for the era in which details of stains on Gap dresses were the main obsession of media and politics.
posted by timyang on Dec 19, 2001 - 5 comments