everlearn

8/07/2004

Expanding Your Vocab Or Verse Visor

Here is a highlighted list of nue wordz introduced into the dictionary...

astrobiology
n. the branch of biology concerned with the discovery or study of life on other planets or in space.
— derivatives
astrobiological adj. astrobiologist n.

bioindicator
n. an organism used as an indicator of the quality of an ecosystem, especially with respect to pollution.

blogosphere
n. (the blogosphere) informal personal websites and weblogs collectively.

bookcrossing
n. the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.

bridge-and-tunnel
adj. US informal (of a person) living in the suburbs and perceived as unsophisticated.
— origin with ref. to the means used to commute into New York.

bumsters
pl. n. trousers that are cut very low on the hips.

cybercrime
n. criminal activities carried out by means of computers or the Internet.
— derivatives
cybercriminal n.

cyberwar
n. the use of computers to disrupt the activities of an enemy country, especially the deliberate attacking of communication systems.

designer baby
n. a baby whose genetic make-up has been selected in order to eradicate a particular defect, or to ensure that a particular gene is present.

ecological footprint
n. the amount of land required to sustain a particular person or society.

elimination diet
n. a procedure used to identify foods which a person is intolerant of, in which all suspected foods are excluded from the diet and then reintroduced one at a time.

fan fiction (also informal fanfic) n. fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, film, etc.

flash mob
n. a public gathering of complete strangers, organized via the Internet or mobile phone, who perform a pointless act and then disperse again.
— derivatives
flash mobber n. flash mobbing n.

flip chip
n. Computing a chip on one side of which all the connections are in the form of contacts which can be made simultaneously by pressing the chip against the matching substrate and applying heat or pressure.

gangmaster
n. Brit. a person who organizes and oversees the work of casual manual labourers.

glatt (also glatt kosher) adj. Judaism (of food) completely kosher; prepared according to a strict interpretation of Jewish dietary law.
— origin Yiddish, from Ger. glatt 'smooth' + Heb. kaser 'proper'.

guestbook
n. Computing a facility on a website on which visitors to the site may record their comments.

gulet
n. a traditional Turkish wooden sailing boat, now often used for holiday cruises.
— origin Turk., via Ital. goletta from Fr. goélette.

handbag Brit. n. 2. (handbags) humorous a confrontation that does not lead to serious fighting, especially among soccer players. [from the idea of women fighting with their handbags.]

hazmat (also hazmats) n. [often as modifier] dangerous substances; hazardous material: hazmat shipments.

hoser
n. N. Amer. informal 1. a foolish person. 2. an uncultivated or unintelligent person.

ident
n. a short sequence shown on television between programmes to identify the channel.

iechyd da
exclam. Welsh used to express good wishes before drinking.
— origin Welsh, lit. 'good health'.

junk DNA
n. Genetics DNA that does not code for a protein, usually occurs in repetitive sequences of nucleotides, and does not seem to serve any useful purpose.

low-hanging fruit
n. (pl. same) informal something easily achieved or overcome.

mini-me
n. informal a person closely resembling a smaller or younger version of another.
— origin the name of a cloned character in the film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999).

nimrod
n. 2. N. Amer. informal an inept person.
— origin C16: from Heb. Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah, known for his hunting skill (see Gen. 10:8-9).

noogie
n. N. Amer. informal an instance of rubbing a person's head with one's knuckles, as a prank or to express affection.
— origin 1970s: perh. a dimin. of knuckle .

plasma screen
n. a flat display screen which uses an array of cells containing an inert gas which emits ultraviolet radiation when ionized to form a plasma, causing visible light of an appropriate colour to be emitted separately for each cell of the screen.

pole dancing
n. erotic dancing which involves swinging around a fixed pole.
— derivatives
pole dancer n.

pop-up
n. 1.
an unrequested browser window, especially one generated for the purpose of advertising.

va-va-voom informal n. the quality of being exciting, vigorous, or sexually attractive. adj. sexually attractive: her va-va-voom figure.
— origin 1950s (orig. US): representing the sound of a car engine being revved.

For a full list klick here...

///posted by the often humiliated but never decaffeinated X @ 8/07/2004

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