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"At one point during the webinar, 'W00ts!' were heard emanating from the conference room as Harry, a renowned Team Fortress 2 fanboy, demonstrated how to properly tea-bag an opponent."
Most English teachers would have a field day with the above sentence, but with the exception of 'tea-bag,' the rest of the terms are now officially recognized. Perhaps Merriam-Webster is undergoing a mid-life crisis, or maybe as geeks we've leveled up our ability to affect the English language. Either way, a bevy of new terms are being added to the latest version of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, and many of them could be pulled straight out of any computer forum. Among the new terms are:
Not all the new words are technology terms, but many of them do reflect societal trends. "As soon as we see the word used without explanation or translation or gloss, we consider it a naturalized citizen of the English language," explained Peter Sokolowoski, an editor-at-large for Merriam Webster.
Also among the entries is mondegreen, "a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung." For example, proclaiming 'Donuts make my brown eyes blue' instead of 'Don't it make my brown eyes blue,' as Crystal Gale intended. Have one of your own? Merriam-Webster's soliciting submissions until Friday, July 25, 2008, at which point they'll reveal their favorites starting the week of July 28. And of course don't forget to post it in the comments section.
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dally
October 30, 2010 at 7:55am
That’s the evolution of the English language, these slight changes explain everything. We can’t expect the language to stay the same for hundreds of years. I believe the Internet has fastened this process. Now nations you hardly heard of put efforts to implement English learning programs, it’s also very easy to find an esl tutor online, it’s all just a matter of choice.
Queenof1
July 10, 2008 at 3:00pm
compunicate - IMing, texting, or emailing someone instead of speaking verbally, usually done when the person is within "vocal" distance to you.
EX. I compunicate with my teen daughter all the time; her music is always too loud but she always has her cellphone on.
stay-cation - a vacation from work when you don't go anywhere, you stay at home.
EX. I have a stay-cation coming up in September; I plan on catching up on episodes of "OZ".
Talcum X
July 08, 2008 at 1:34pm
Sounds clost to Ramnar.
"Take me now, Ramnar. Take me now!"
Cookie to the person who can name that movie.
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Every morning is the dawn of a new error.
