| Word |
Meaning |
|
|
Affluenza
|
A blend of 'affluence' and 'influenza'.
A social disease resulting from extreme materialism and
excessive
consumerism: earning more money and consuming more, which
can lead to overwork, debt, waste, stress, anxiety, etc.
|
|
|
Agritourism
|
A form of tourism in which tourists stay on farms or in agricultural
villages,
and
often participate in farm activities.
|
| Alcopop |
Fruit drinks fortified with alcohol, designed and marketed to
appeal
to young people. |
|
Audiophile |
Person who loves
and collects high-quality audio equipment. |
| Baggravation |
Blend of the words 'bag' and 'aggravation'.
A feeling of annoyance and frustration at the airport when your
baggage has not arrived but the other passengers' bags have. |
|
Breadcrumbing |
A navigation technique which helps users by displaying a list of links
to the pages they have visited when exploring a website
e.g. home >>vocabulary>>transport. |
|
Burkini or Burquini |
Blend of 'burqa' and 'bikini'
A swimsuit worn by Muslim women which covers the whole body
i.e. the arms to the wrist, the legs to the ankle, with a hood to
cover the hair and neck. |
| Busking |
Performing on the
streets and other public places, while soliciting
donations.
Busy urban areas will attract street performers (buskers) who
sing,
play, juggle, etc |
|
Buzz |
Excited interest or attention surrounding, for example, a new invention,
a
recent event or something that has become fashionable. |
|
Buzzword |
A new
word or expression that is commonly used in specialized
work environments or age-groups, and has become fashionable.
Terms used in advertising can often convert into buzzwords and
become widely used. |
|
Captcha |
Completely
Automated Public Turing Test To Tell Computers and
Humans Apart.
A
distorted image of letters and numbers used to ensure that a
response is not generated by a computer, in order to prevent
spamming. |
|
Carjacking |
Blend of 'car' and 'hijacking'
When a car driver is forced to give up his vehicle or drive to a
destination designated by the attacker. |
|
Chatroom |
Areas on the internet where people can communicate by
exchanging typed messages. |
|
Chick lit |
Books, usually featuring female characters, written by women on
contemporary themes and issues that appeal more to women than
to men. |
|
Citizen journalism |
News collected and reported by ordinary people, especially
through the use of blog software. |
|
Cloud computing |
A computing service which enables access to a shared pool of
resources (servers, data storage, applications, etc.) over the Internet.
For example, users can access and use tools or applications through
a web browser without having to install them on their computers. |
|
Content farm |
A website that publishes large amounts of low-quality content, or
content copied from elsewhere, in order to attract visitors and
improve its search-engine rankings. |
|
Copyleft |
Opposite of copyright.
Whereas copyright imposes restrictions on the distribution of a
work
or publication, copyleft eliminates restrictions and allows
freedom of
use for all. |
|
Cot potato |
Very young child who spends a lot of time watching television.
(cot = a baby's bed) |
|
Couch potato |
A person who spends a lot of time sitting in front of the television. |
|
Daycation |
A trip or short vacation which lasts only one day -
daycationers do not stay away overnight. |
|
Decruitment |
Euphemism for laying-off staff or downsizing a company. |
| Docusoap |
Blend of
< font="">'documentary' and 'soap'.
(soap opera: sentimental TV serial)
A 'docusoap' is a reality television programme in the style of a
documentary.<> |
|
Dramedy |
Combination of 'drama' and 'comedy'.
A film, play or TV programme that mixes drama and comedy. |
|
Earworm |
A tune that keeps repeating itself over and over again in our heads. |
|
E-cruitment |
Online
recruitment of employees, including online submission of
resumes and cover letters. |
|
Elancer |
A professional person who works from home and provides services on
the internet. |
|
Emoticon |
A blend
of 'emotion' and 'icon'.
A
symbol, used in email messages, which is made out of
punctuation marks and resembles a human face. |
|
E-piracy |
Electronic piracy
Illegal downloading of material found on the internet (films, music,
etc.) |
| E-stalk |
To stalk (follow) someone using Internet searches and email. |
|
E-waste |
Electronic material and devices that have been thrown away. |
|
|
|
|
| Fashionista |
Person who dresses
according to the latest fashion trends. |
|
| Flame war |
A period during
which angry or rude email messages are exchanged. |
| Flash mob |
A crowd that
gathers in a pre-determined place, performs an action
then disperses very quickly. The mob is not told exactly what to do
until just before the event. |
| Flexitarian |
A vegetarian who
sometimes eats meat or fish |
|
Freemale |
A
woman who is happy to stay single and independent so that she
can do what she wants when she wants. |
| Flightmare |
Blend of 'flight'
and 'nightmare'.
Unpleasant air travel experience (lost luggage, missed connections, etc.) |
| Foodoir |
A blend of 'food'
and 'memoir'.
An account of someone's life or personal experiences, with a strong
emphasis on food, often including recipes and cookery advice. |
Funemployed/
Funemployment |
A blend of 'fun'
and 'unemployed'.
Someone who enjoys not having a job because they have more
time for leisure and fun activities. |
| Funkinetics |
A form of energetic
step aerobics that mixes exercise and soul music. |
| Gastropub |
A pub which, in addition to beer and alcoholic
drinks, offers
gastronomic cuisine. |
| Gastrosexuals |
A new generation of
men who see cooking more as a hobby than
a household chore, and use their cooking skills to impress friends
and potential partners. |
| Glamping |
Blend of 'glamour'
and 'camping'.
Luxury camping : sleeping in the open but with every comfort
including cooking equipment. |
| Greycation |
Going on holiday or
vacation with grandparents in order to
reduce the cost. |
| Guesstimate |
Blend of 'guess'
and 'estimate'.
A rough estimate without any claim of accuracy. |
| Hacktivist |
A person who
manipulates information on the internet in order
to transmit a message, usually political. |
| Hoody or hoodie |
A person,
especially a youth, wearing a hooded top. |
| Hotspot |
Location in
which wireless Internet access is available
for example airports, hotels, train stations, etc. |
| Infomania |
Constantly checking and responding to email and text messages. |
| Infotainment |
Blend of 'information' and
'entertainment'.
Online services connected to information and leisure activities. |
| It bag |
High-priced
designer handbag that is the bag "of the moment", or
a "must-have" item. |
| It girl |
A girl who has
become a celebrity more through intense media coverage
than through any personal achievements (e.g. Paris Hilton). |
| Jumbrella |
Blend of 'jumbo' and 'umbrella'.
Very large umbrella set above tables outdoors at a coffee shop,
pub or restaurant. |
| Landline |
A telephone
connected to wires in a fixed location as opposed
to a mobile or cell phone. |
| Locavore |
A person who only eats food produced locally. |
|
Mailbomb |
To deliberately try to disrupt another computer system by sending
massive amounts of email to it. |
| Meritocracy |
The idea that merit
and individual effort determine one’s success
rather than wealth or birth. |
| Mocktail |
Non-alcoholic drink
that looks like a cocktail. |
| Nail tat |
A
temporary tattoo applied to the nails. |
| Netbook |
Small laptop computer
which weighs less than 3 pounds and has
a 7 to 10 inch screen. |
| Netiquette |
Blend of 'network'
and 'etiquette'.
Set of rules governing appropriate behaviour and courtesy on the
internet. |
|
Netizen |
Blend of 'internet' and 'citizen'.
A person who spends an excessive amount of time on the internet. |
| Nevertiree |
A person who
continues to work after they have reached the age
of retirement. |
| Newbie |
A new member of any
group, community, or activity. |
| Nonliner |
Someone who rarely
or never uses the Internet, usually because
they cannot access it. |
| Noogler |
New Google
employee. |
| Notspot |
An area where there
is slow Internet access or no connection at all. |
| Noughties |
The years between
2000 and 2009 which contain a 'nought' (zero),
in the same way as other decades are called the 'thirties', 'sixties',
etc . |
| |
|
|
|
Offshorable |
Something that can be done or produced in another country, especially
at reduced costs. |
| Optics |
The way a situation
appears to the general public, or the impression
it gives. |
| Outernet |
Traditional media (newpapers,
magazines, radio, television) as opposed
to the internet. |
| Overparenting |
Being excessively protective
of one's children in order to guarantee
their safety and ensure their success in life. |
| Oversharing |
Providing too much
information on the Internet (credit card details,
personal information, etc.) especially through social network sites. |
| Overworking class |
A segment of today's
working population where there is a desire or need
to work long hours. |
| Password fatigue |
Being tired of having
to remember a large number of passwords for
different electronic devises. |
| Quintastic |
A blend of the
adjective 'fantastic' and the prefix 'quin'.
An informal way of referring to a person who is aged fifty or over
but remains sexy, smart, energetic and successful, especially
someone famous.
In August 2011 President Barack Obama will become a quintastic. |
|
Recessionista |
Popular new term for a person who succeeds in dressing stylishly
on a tight budget. |
| Road
rage |
Aggressive habits often resulting in violence against other drivers. |
| Robocall |
Commercial
telemarketing call which plays a recorded message. |
| Sandwich generation |
A generation of people
who care for the needs of their children
as well as those of their own elderly parents.
|
| Screenager |
A young person or
teenager who spends a lot of time in front of
the computer screen. |
| Sitcom |
Blend of 'situation' and 'comedy'.
A drama, on television, based on humorous everyday situations. |
| Slumdog |
Very poor,
underprivileged person who lives in an overcrowded
squalid area of a city called a slum. |
| Smirt |
Blend of 'smoke' and
'flirt'
Smoking prohibition laws have led to a new sort of social pastime :
'smirting', smokers getting to know each other when outside on
the pavement. |
| Snail mail |
The standard system of delivering mail which is very slow in contrast
to electronic mail. |
| Sofalise/sofalize |
Stay home and use the
internet, phone or other electronic device to
communicate with people (social networking, chatting, tweeting, etc.),
rather than go out and meet them face to face. |
|
Spinnish |
The language used by
spin doctors, spokes-persons, campaign
managers, etc. when trying to present information in a favourable
light. |
| Staycation |
A vacation in which
you stay at home and relax or visit places
close to where you live. |
| Textual harassment |
Sending text messages to mobile
phones which insult or abuse
people. |
| Tombstoning |
Jumping or diving into
water from a dangerously high place such as
a hotel balcony, a cliff, bridge, wall, roof, etc. |
| Trashion |
Blend of 'trash' and
'fashion'.
Fashionable items created from old, used and recycled elements. |
| Trekkie |
A fan of the TV science
fiction series Star Trek. |
| Tribal marketing |
Marketing strategy
which consists in using the social behaviour of
certain groups ('tribes') of consumers (e.g. surfers, rappers) to promote
a product or service. Very often used by clothing and accessory brands. |
| Tweet |
People who 'tweet' send
short messages via the microblogging
service Twitter. |
| Tweetheart |
A user of the Twitter
service who is very popular or admired, or with
whom other users communicate a lot. |
| Upskill |
Teach an employee new
or additional skills. |
|
Videophile |
Person who is very
interested in watching videos and making
recordings, and values high-quality results. |
| Viral marketing |
Marketing strategy that
consists in encouraging people to pass along
information to friends, family and colleagues through e-mail messages,
blogs, video-sharing, etc., so that the marketing message spreads
like a virus. |
| Vook |
A combination of
video, text, images and social streams in an
electronic book. |
| Web rage |
Anger or frustration as
a result of difficulties or problems encountered
when using the Internet. |
|
Webinar |
Presentation or seminar conducted over the web. |
| Weblish |
A form of English that
is used on the web (use of abbreviations,
acronyms, small letters, absence of punctuation and hyphens etc.)
Also known as : webspeak, netspeak, internetese. |
| Widget |
Blend of 'window' and
'gadget'.
A small application or tool that can be installed and executed
within a web page. |
| Winterval |
Blend of 'winter' and
'festival'.
A festival that takes place in winter. |
| Wordle |
The
words of a piece of text arranged into a sort of graphic.
The more frequent a particular word appears in the text, the bigger
its size in the wordle.
(Also called 'word cloud' or 'text cloud'.) |
|
|
