Locked Up Lingo: 8 Terms That Summarize Prison Slang
In prison, people use their own special forms of lingo and communication. The unique slang used by prisoners reflects this.
Tag Archives: category-wordtrends
-
-
Linalool, Floccinaucinihilipilification, And More Trending Words On Dictionary.com
From the college gridiron to the chemistry lab to a politician in India, the trending word list for October 5–12, 2018 has a world’s worth of information in it. So pack your bags, and get ready to hit the road with us. Linalool LaCroix may be the reason you can’t get enough of bubbly water these days, but the brand is facing a lawsuit that …
-
Outdated Phrases Your Parents Used To Say
Parenting has changed over the years and so has the language. While some phrases were popular years ago, today they are obsolete - and for good reason. Here are ten old expressions that your parents might have used but you wouldn't dare use today.
-
Unprogrammed, Glen Coco, And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.com
Kanye West. Mean Girls. Brett Kavanaugh. What do they all have in common? Spots on the trending words list this week, September 29–October 5, 2018! Let’s get to all the learning, shall we? Unprogrammed Rapper Kanye West announced the creation of a new word over the weekend. Just one problem? Unprogrammed has been around for centuries. The word made its first landing on the trending …
-
Dunking, Sequelae, And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.com
A popular donut shop changed its name, and the president threw a press conference. How did this affect word searches on Dictionary.com? Dive into the September 21–28, 2018 trending words list to find out! Dunking It’s a name change we probably should have seen coming: After years of using the catchphrase “everything runs on Dunkin,” Dunkin Donuts is officially dropping the word “donuts” from its …
-
What It Really Means To Call A Woman Hysterical
by Kory Stamper published September 25th, 2018 Is hysterical a gendered insult? It began, unsurprisingly, on cable TV. In 2017, the Senate intelligence committee called Attorney General Jeff Sessions to testify about his Russian contacts as well as conversations about those contacts with Donald Trump prior to the 2016 general election. The hearings were widely discussed, as were all things having to do with Russia, but they …
-
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Tatterdemalion, And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.com
A sequel to a treasured children’s film and a celebration of the nation’s laws both landed on the Dictionary.com trending words list for September 14–21, 2018. Here’s what else had you wondering about words. Prevarication Searches for prevarication climbed 1,209% this week on the heels of its use in a tweet by George Conway, Washington D.C. lawyer and husband of White House staffer Kellyanne Conway. Prevarication …
-
Will Emoji Ruin Language As We Know It?
By Jane Solomon There are two polarizing opinions about emoji that are often set up in a false dichotomy. Are emoji destroying language as we know it or are they a universal language that will one day save the world? Neither of these get at how emoji are actually being used, but they’re the frame through which many people experience emoji, and that’s worth unpacking. …
-
Did One Man Write The First Great English Dictionary All By Himself?
We’d like to take a moment to celebrate the man behind A Dictionary of the English Language, the first definitive English dictionary, the famous Samuel Johnson. A Dictionary of the English Language, also called Johnson’s Dictionary, was first published in 1775 and is viewed with reverence by modern lexicographers. Who wrote the first English dictionary? Samuel Johnson created a widely imitated style of biography and literary …
-
Yeet, Payola, And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.com
Rapper feuds. Football celebrations. There’s a lot going on in the trending word list from September 7–14, 2108. Payola A feud between rappers Nicki Minaj and Cardi B ballooned to new heights this week, with Cardi allegedly throwing a shoe at Nicki and the Starships singer accusing the “I Like It” rapper of earning her success thanks to payola. So what’s payola? Clearly that was the …
-
The Power Of Reclaiming Controversial Terms
Fair warning: Reading ahead will put you in contact with some controversial “bad” words. There are some words in English considered so derogatory and controversial that some people won’t even type them out. They’re shortened, instead, to the just one letter, followed by “word.” The c-word. The b-word. They’re the sort of words young children are told never to utter and most certainly not to hurl …
-
Why Isn’t It “Pardon my German?”
Often an idiom—an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its parts—can seem like something from Alice in Wonderland. Pardon my French is one of the most colorful idioms that combines the profane with a language associated with love. Where does pardon my French come from? Pardon my French, or excuse my French, is an apology for the use of profanity; the expression dates …