Saturday, March 26, 2011

Oxford and fascinating...

Writers love words. I think words are fascinating, anyway; and when the Oxford Dictionary Gods (aka the people who determine every three months what new words are and are not "officially" added to the English language) update the dictionary, interesting things happen.
I just read an AP article, by Jill Lawless. These are the great tidbits I gleaned from it. Enjoy.
The heart shape has been added to the dictionary, and defined as a symbol for love. 
"Ego-surfing" (the practice of searching for your own name on the Internet) has also been added...
And yes, I've done it. Have you?
Then there are the Online abbreviations they've added: OMG, LOL, BFF, and IMHO have all been added (and I'm LMAO about the entire thing!)
And for those young whippersnappers who think they are original, this surprised me:
"Although the new abbreviations are associated with modern electronic communications, some are surprisingly old. The first confirmed use of OMG was in a 1917 letter by a British admiral." 
OMG, right?
And I have to say, this last tidbit is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE:
"muffin top," was added as an official term and means, "a protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers."
I'm going to use "muffin top" in my next novel. Except I'm going to use it to describe a guy's waist...maybe my hero will notice another guy's muffin top...
Or, maybe not.
(as I'm about to push the "publish post" button," I notice Blogger spellcheck has not quite been kept abreast of Oxford's new changes. Hmm)

2 comments:

  1. Yeah, I've done the ego surfing thing. and that 1917 OMG thing is really interesting! But are they sure the abbreviation means the same thing?

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  2. Hmm, I don't know Abigail. I assumed it meant the same thing, but you never know right? It could have been code for Old Man Green or something else from left field ;-))

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