Slang word of the day: FLK

Today's slang word of the day is FLK. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

FLK

adjective

• acronym for "funny looking kid", an insult used by doctors in the UK on medical charts.

  The increasing rate of litigation means that there is a far higher chance that doctors will be asked in court to explain the exact meaning of NFN (Normal for Norfolk), FLK (Funny looking kid) or GROLIES (Guardian Reader Of Low Intelligence in Ethnic Skirt).
  
  -- "Doctor slang is a dying art", BBC News, 18 August 2003

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Slang word of the day: mantuary

Today's slang word of the day is mantuary. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

mantuary

noun

• an area of a (usually shared) residence where a male can enjoy his hobbies independent of normal house rules (usually of cleanliness.) From "man" + "sanctuary".

  It's about having a "mantuary," or "man cave" -- a space just for him where he can watch sports uninterrupted or play Xbox games with his buddies.
  
  -- "Why he needs a room of his own", CNN.com, Michelle Goodman

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Slang word of the day: give (one) a hiding

Today's slang word of the day is give (one) a hiding. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

give (one) a hiding

verb

• to beat up.

  "The third [robber] started running when he saw his buddies getting a hiding, but a passerby caught him and gave him a proper hiding as well!"
  
  -- "'Ninja', 58, beats up 3 muggers", News 24.com, 2010-05-13

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Slang word of the day: carrot mob

Today's slang word of the day is carrot mob. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

carrot mob

noun

• a flash mob type of gathering, in which people are invited via the Net to all support and reward a local small ethical business such as a shop or caf by all patronizing it at the same time. Also as noun, carrotmobbing.
  
  -- "Oxford Word of the Year 2008: Hypermiling", Oxford University Press Blog, November 10 2008

  Word was a semi-finalist in the New Oxford American Dictionary word of the year for 2008 selection.

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Catching up with updates #32

Hello slang fans!

Continuing catching up with updates:

• May 28 (bumpf, IDEK)
• May 29 (floosie, grrr, Twitard...)
• May 30 (BBIAB, filthy stinking rich, POETS day...)
• May 31 (doflicky, fug...)
• June 1 (thinker...)

Don't forget that there's now a Word of the Day email list / news feed. You can subscribe on this page.

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Slang word of the day: flash mob

Today's slang word of the day is flash mob. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

flash mob

noun

• a spontaneous public gathering of people organized via the internet.

  The messages come by e-mail or cellphone, with instructions to meet at a specific place and time. Once there, participants in flash mobs, the compulsively deconstructed geek-chic game of the summer, briefly perform some collective activity, then flee.
  
  -- "Ideas & Trends: Flash Mobs; Guess Some People Don't Have Anything Better to Do", The New York Times, Amy Harmon, August 17 2003

origin

• The term "flash crowd" was introduced by author Larry Niven in his novella Flash Crowd.

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Slang word of the day: geek chic

Today's slang word of the day is geek chic. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

geek chic

noun

• fashion influenced by clothing worn by geeks and nerds.

  Levi's and Philips team to provide 'geek chic' fashion clothing.
  
  -- article title, Telecomworldwire, August 16 2000

• anything popularized by geeks, e.g. particular cellphones, video games, etc.

  The stylish and petite machine combines the geek chic of a moped, the fuel economy of a similarly displaced scooter and the gear shifting of a motorcycle.
  
  -- "Kestrel is Falcon's latest take on concept motorcycles", Chicago Tribune, Susan Carpenter, June 17 2010

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Slang word of the day: fram

Today's slang word of the day is fram. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

fram

noun

• unwanted messages sent to you by friends. From "friend" + "spam". Coined by the McAfee security company.

  It is called Fram, or Friend Spam, and is one of the most subversive forms of advertising on Facebook.
  
  -- ""Fram" for Facebook is no laughing matter", McAfee Security Insights Blog, Tracy Mooney, March 16 2010

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Slang word of the day: three-finger salute

Today's slang word of the day is three-finger salute. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

three-finger salute

noun

• the pressing of the "Alt" key + the "Ctrl" key + the "Del" key to reboot or unfreeze a PC computer.

  You may not even be aware of the two different types of crashes, the soft crash (recoverable by the three-finger salute, Ctrl-Alt-Del) or the hard crash (big red switch and count to 5 slowly).
  
  -- "Operating in a New Environment", PC Magazine, Charles Petzold, February 25 1986

  More words meaning: computer slang

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Catching up with updates #31

Hello slang fans!

Continuing catching up with updates:

• May 22 (boomtang, ...)
• May 23 (one vulgar term...)
• May 24 (meadow muffin)
• May 25 (as if, drippin', giggity, hork...)
• May 26 (outside the box, topless meeting, wild out on (one)...)

Don't forget that there's now a Word of the Day email list / news feed. You can subscribe on this page.

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Slang word of the day: frugalista

Today's slang word of the day is frugalista. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

frugalista

noun

• person who leads a frugal lifestyle, but stays fashionable and healthy by swapping clothes, buying second-hand, growing own produce, etc.
  
  -- "Oxford Word of the Year 2008: Hypermiling", Oxford University Press Blog, November 10 2008

  Word was a finalist in the New Oxford American Dictionary word of the year for 2008 selection.

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Slang word of the day: ankle biter

Today's slang word of the day is ankle biter. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

ankle biter

noun

• a young child.

  In Aussie English small children (toddlers) have been known as ankle biters for some time now.
  
  -- from ABC Newsradio

• people who criticize a position but offer no constructive alternative.

  In an appearance this afternoon on WAMU-FM's Politics Hour, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty made as stinging a rebuke to his political ankle-biters as he ever has.
  
  -- "Fenty on WAMU-FM: 'I'm the One Making the Tough Decisions'", WashingtonCityPaper.com - City Desk (blog), Mike DeBonis, Apr. 9 2010

• a small dog.

  And I wanted a big dog. Not huge-big, but I knew I didn't want one of those little "ankle-biter" types. Poodles, wiener dogs - not my thing.
  
  -- "Big love", M - Milwaukee's Lifestyle Magazine, Amy Siewert, April 5 2010

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Catching up with updates #30

Hello slang fans!

Continuing catching up with updates:

• May 17 (hand egg, yow)
• May 18 (andygogglin, swamp donkey, umm...)
• May 19 (buck, cheese-paring, GL...)
• May 20 (Hello, nurse; swing; win...)
• May 21 (noodle, shim, tcheyah...)

Don't forget that there's now a Word of the Day email list / news feed. You can subscribe on this page.

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Slang word of the day: measure drapes

Today's slang word of the day is measure drapes. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

measure drapes

verb

• to prematurely plan to replace someone else (in a job, acting role, etc.)

  Despite what Van Hollen called a tough year for Democrats, he said it is premature for Republicans to be measuring drapes and ordering champagne.
  
  -- "Van Hollen: Democrats Are Still the Party of Change, Will Keep Their Majority", Politics Daily (blog), Jill Lawrence, April 7 2010

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Slang word of the day: moofer

Today's slang word of the day is moofer. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

moofer

noun

• a mobile out of office worker - ie. someone who works away from a fixed workplace, via Blackberry/laptop/wi-fi etc. (also verbal noun, moofing)
  
  -- "Oxford Word of the Year 2008: Hypermiling", Oxford University Press Blog, November 10 2008

  Word was a finalist in the New Oxford American Dictionary word of the year for 2008 selection.

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Catching up with updates #29

Hello slang fans!

Continuing catching up with updates:

• May 12 (dog, nab, NVM...)
• May 13 (bon-bon, cash in (one's) chips, malamanteau...)
• May 14 (hrm, shrimper, shrimping, willy nilly...)
• May 15 (push up daisies)
• May 16 (whackadoodle, yahoo, yip)

Don't forget that there's now a Word of the Day email list / news feed. You can subscribe on this page.

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Catching up with updates #28

Hello slang fans!

Continuing catching up with updates:

• May 7 (throw (one) for a six, vaca...)
• May 8 (EWBTE, fat-finger, good old boy, hand cannon...)
• May 9 (PIIYB)
• May 10 (SCNR, ...)
• May 11 (DYOH, ...)

Don't forget that there's now a Word of the Day email list / news feed. You can subscribe on this page.

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)

Slang word of the day: fat-finger

Today's slang word of the day is fat-finger. Click here to vote on usage, vulgarity, etc.

fat-finger

noun

• an instance of fat-fingering.

  The "fat finger" that supposedly triggered a scary U.S. market selloff on Thursday is likely just a myth.
  
  Soon after the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 6 percent in 10 minutes, rumors abounded that a trader had sparked the rout by erroneously inputing a massive "sell" order -- a mistake known as a "fat finger."
  
  -- ""Fat finger" role in selloff likely a myth", Reuters, Dan Wilchins, May 7 2010

transitive verb

• To accidentally press an adjacent button, e.g. while typing on a keyboard or entering a phone number. Happens more frequently as the button size is reduced, e.g. on cell phones.

  Whoops, I just fat-fingered his phone number.

  More words meaning: computer slang
  More words meaning: to make a mistake, be incorrect, err

-- Walter (waltergr@aol.com)