By: Charles Bowen Pseudodictionary.com Includes Words That Don't Exist
Remember "Sniglets?" Back in the 1980s, that was comedian Rich Hall's name for words that didn't exist, but ought to. Like "elbonics," for what happens when two people maneuver for the same armrest in a movie theater. Or the "hozone" - the place into which a sock disappears in the laundry, leaving its mate a widow.
Sniglets predate the Web by almost a decade, but now the Net has its own creative wordsmiths, Paul Jarvis of Vancouver and Steve Comrie of Toronto. Though their "Pseudo Dictionary" obviously was designed for fun, it is a surprisingly useful resource for journalists who want to stay on top of new Webspeak, slang, and colloquialisms from around the world.
Looking for a new way into your financial story about the region's wealthiest residents? Try using the "two-comma" set for those with more than $1 million (because it takes at least two commas to write it in numerals).
Want a novel term for someone who is computer addicted? Try "mouse potato."
Writing a column about memories of your mom? Maybe you want to mention her penchant for "middle-naming" - calling you by your full name whenever she was angry.
Reporting on graffiti? Don't forget to note any local evidence of "evandalism" - an edgy term for painting "Jesus Saves" in a public place. Well, you get the idea.
To see the latest, visit the site at http://www.pseudodictionary.com, where a tightly edited introductory page gives samples of recent entries and links for delving into the data.
For writers and editors, perhaps the most useful link at the top of the page is the "Search" button. The simple resulting display invites you to type a word or phrase to locate entries. For instance, if you were looking for military-related words, you could enter "Army" to find phrases like "sack up," meaning "to gain bravery," as in, "Private, you better sack up and jump outta this airplane!"
Or just click "Random" and see where it takes you. You'll get a feel for the types of entries, and you may be surprised and amused.
After you have become a regular at the site, you might want to use the "Recent" button at the top of the screen to see only the latest additions.
If you choose to report on the site, you might want to note that because the material comes from a wide variety of contributors, some entries might be a bit risqu?.
Other considerations for using and/or reporting on the PseudoDictionary site:
o At the top of the page is a clickable alphabet, allowing readers to jump to a specific portion of the dictionary for browsing.
o Be sure to tell your readers that they can submit their own words. If the site uses the contributions, the submitter gets credit online and a link back to his or her own Web site, if desired.
o Watch the "Famous Slang" section of the site's introductory page for entries from popular culture, such as movies and TV shows. The site is good about reporting its sources for this material, as with two examples cited in this column: "Middle-naming" comes from an episode of the TV show "Friends," and "two-comma" was borrowed from the recent film "Finding Forrester."
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Bowen writes columns, articles and books from West Virginia, and is host of the daily Internet News syndicated radio show (http://www.netnewstoday.com).
charlesbowen@compuserve.com
Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher
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