Dictionary, n. A malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of a language and making it hard and inelastic. This dictionary, however, is a most useful work.
July 19, 2012 12:58 PM Subscribe
Collins Dictionary is seeking suggestions for popular new words that deserve official definitions. Most recent suggestions: blurge, wammocky, dingbat, sloading, and many more.
"Dingbat" is new? Hey, has anyone tried this new TV sitcom called "I Love Lucy"? I've heard good things about it.
posted by yoink at 1:04 PM on July 19, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by yoink at 1:04 PM on July 19, 2012 [3 favorites]
YOLO baby, all day e'ry day
posted by 2bucksplus at 1:04 PM on July 19, 2012
posted by 2bucksplus at 1:04 PM on July 19, 2012
Let's do this.
posted by R. Schlock at 4:03 PM on July 19 [+] [!]
Sorry, no results for “shitstorm” in the Collins English Dictionary.
posted by Fizz at 1:05 PM on July 19, 2012
posted by R. Schlock at 4:03 PM on July 19 [+] [!]
Sorry, no results for “shitstorm” in the Collins English Dictionary.
posted by Fizz at 1:05 PM on July 19, 2012
Woot. Seriously.
posted by Roger_Mexico at 1:07 PM on July 19, 2012
posted by Roger_Mexico at 1:07 PM on July 19, 2012
this is, as I say every time the list comes out, crasping news.
posted by boo_radley at 1:08 PM on July 19, 2012
posted by boo_radley at 1:08 PM on July 19, 2012
If batshitinsane doesn't make it, the terrorists have won.
posted by tommasz at 1:12 PM on July 19, 2012
posted by tommasz at 1:12 PM on July 19, 2012
"Dingbat" is new? Hey, has anyone tried this new TV sitcom called "I Love Lucy"? I've heard good things about it.
Or, you know, there's this trade called "type-o-graphy". I hear it's gonna be the next big thing.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:15 PM on July 19, 2012
Or, you know, there's this trade called "type-o-graphy". I hear it's gonna be the next big thing.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:15 PM on July 19, 2012
What about bathsaltinsane?
posted by Roger_Mexico at 1:15 PM on July 19, 2012
posted by Roger_Mexico at 1:15 PM on July 19, 2012
has anyone tried this new TV sitcom called "I Love Lucy"?
I believe you are thinking of All in the Family. All of Ricky's verbal abuse was in Spanish.
posted by dgaicun at 1:16 PM on July 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
I believe you are thinking of All in the Family. All of Ricky's verbal abuse was in Spanish.
posted by dgaicun at 1:16 PM on July 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
I believe you are thinking of All in the Family. All of Ricky's verbal abuse was in Spanish.
But we can give Ricky credit for "splain'in".
posted by Fizz at 1:19 PM on July 19, 2012
But we can give Ricky credit for "splain'in".
posted by Fizz at 1:19 PM on July 19, 2012
"T-pot," meaning "teapot"? Geez, if you're not even going to try......
posted by key lime guy at 1:30 PM on July 19, 2012
posted by key lime guy at 1:30 PM on July 19, 2012
For those who are interested, "¿Cómo se dice dingbat?" in Google returns, at least for me, once you get past the Spanish translation websites, something about George W. Bush.
Also, because you asked, there are a lot worse things you can do if you have 30 minutes to kill on a weeknight than watch All in the Family re-runs. Even the bad episodes are like a really well acted bad play.
But as to the post at hand, somebody has suggested "chillax" -- which I am not going to do until I can ensure it doesn't actually end up in a dictionary.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:40 PM on July 19, 2012
Also, because you asked, there are a lot worse things you can do if you have 30 minutes to kill on a weeknight than watch All in the Family re-runs. Even the bad episodes are like a really well acted bad play.
But as to the post at hand, somebody has suggested "chillax" -- which I am not going to do until I can ensure it doesn't actually end up in a dictionary.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:40 PM on July 19, 2012
I believe you are thinking of All in the Family. All of Ricky's verbal abuse was in Spanish.
Consciously I was just thinking "that word's got to have been around since at least the 50s--what's a 50s cultural reference I can make to suggest how out of date this is." But the choice of an iconic sitcom probably was subconsciously guided by the All in the Family connection.
posted by yoink at 1:47 PM on July 19, 2012
Consciously I was just thinking "that word's got to have been around since at least the 50s--what's a 50s cultural reference I can make to suggest how out of date this is." But the choice of an iconic sitcom probably was subconsciously guided by the All in the Family connection.
posted by yoink at 1:47 PM on July 19, 2012
Oh boy, there goes my former employer trying to do something newsworthy again. Back when I was there, we fought strenuously against buzzwords. Not any more.
They should really just do a redirect to urbandictionary.com and have done with it.
posted by scruss at 1:48 PM on July 19, 2012
They should really just do a redirect to urbandictionary.com and have done with it.
posted by scruss at 1:48 PM on July 19, 2012
Dingbat is nearly two hundred years old. That the submitter attributed its coining to Keith Lemmon makes the tiny dictionary nerd inside me do a cry. To be fair he cries a lot. It's kind of his MO.
posted by RokkitNite at 1:51 PM on July 19, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by RokkitNite at 1:51 PM on July 19, 2012 [5 favorites]
dingbat 1838, Amer.Eng., "some kind of alcoholic drink," of unknown origin. One of that class of words (e.g. dingus, doohickey, gadget, gizmo, thingumabob) which are conjured up to supply names for items whose proper names are unknown or not recollected. Used at various periods for "money," "a professional tramp," "a muffin," "a typographical ornament," "male genitalia," "a Chinese," "an Italian," "a woman who is neither your sister nor your mother," and "a foolish person in authority."
Popularized in sense of "foolish person" by TV show "All in the Family" (1971), though this usage dates from 1905.
brickbat
mid-16c., piece of brick (half or less) used as a missile, from brick + bat (n.1). Figurative use, of comments, insults, etc., is from 1640s.
posted by Herodios at 2:16 PM on July 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Popularized in sense of "foolish person" by TV show "All in the Family" (1971), though this usage dates from 1905.
brickbat
mid-16c., piece of brick (half or less) used as a missile, from brick + bat (n.1). Figurative use, of comments, insults, etc., is from 1640s.
posted by Herodios at 2:16 PM on July 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
I think that "squick" is a useful word, one for which I don't really have any alternatives. It's in the Urban Dictionary, but hasn't graduated to dictionary.reference.com.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:43 PM on July 19, 2012
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:43 PM on July 19, 2012
sarcurious
eponysterical
Can we also get a dictionary entry for 'meta'...in the sense that everybody else (especially here) uses it?
And add "zen" to the Scrabble dictionary, while you're at it, please.
posted by iamkimiam at 3:47 PM on July 19, 2012
eponysterical
Can we also get a dictionary entry for 'meta'...in the sense that everybody else (especially here) uses it?
And add "zen" to the Scrabble dictionary, while you're at it, please.
posted by iamkimiam at 3:47 PM on July 19, 2012
I was going to be That Guy In The Thread who makes the inevitable Simpsons reference, but apparently I'm behind the curve.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:23 PM on July 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:23 PM on July 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
I envision a time (perhaps next year) when I'll be on the verandah with someone's two grandchildren on my knees telling them about the time when dictionaries had real words in them. Their eyes might glaze over as I rant about all that is wrong with the world. Then, since they were the only ones willing to listen to me as I shook my fist at a low-hanging argumentative cloud, I'll give the tykes a handful of Tootsie Pops and tell them to run on home.
posted by Mael Oui at 8:17 PM on July 19, 2012
posted by Mael Oui at 8:17 PM on July 19, 2012
Ah, it's that time of year again when dictionary compilers remind us that they exist!
2011... 2010... 2009... 2008... 2007... 2006... 2005... 2004...
posted by rh at 8:52 PM on July 19, 2012
2011... 2010... 2009... 2008... 2007... 2006... 2005... 2004...
posted by rh at 8:52 PM on July 19, 2012
Someone has to post this - it might as well be me....
C is for contrafibularity.
posted by ninazer0 at 11:14 PM on July 19, 2012
C is for contrafibularity.
posted by ninazer0 at 11:14 PM on July 19, 2012
I've been waiting since middle school for someone to tell me what the hell "chode" means.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:54 PM on July 19, 2012
posted by Navelgazer at 11:54 PM on July 19, 2012
Come back, Rich Hall, all is forgiven!
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:23 AM on July 20, 2012
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:23 AM on July 20, 2012
When Prince changed his name to that symbol, I always pronounced it 'dingbat' for the typographical meaning.
posted by mike3k at 10:48 PM on July 21, 2012
posted by mike3k at 10:48 PM on July 21, 2012
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