address
the problem = tackle the problem
aka =
alias, also known as
bear pit
= creative area at work where a group of
people can meet
big time
= very much
blamestorm
= version of brainstorming, where you get
together to decide who is to
blame for a disaster
blockhead,
meathead = stupid
bottom
fishing = buying stocks when they are cheap
breadhead
= s.o. who likes money
breathalyser
[bri] / breathalyzer [am.] = equipment
to analyse[analyze] your breath (for
alcohol)
brunch =
breakfast + lunch
camcorder
= camera + recorder
chick-flick
= film designed to appeal to women
chill-out
spaces = places at work where people can relax
chunnel =
channel + tunnel
contactee
= someone who claims to have been
contacted by alien
beings from space
cool =
trendy (as in Cool Britannia)
customize
[customise] = to adapt a car (in the factory)
to a customer's specifications
dead-cat
bounce = when after a crash a stock rises
and encourages "suckers" to buy
digiterati
= people who only communicate
via digital media
Dinky =
Double Income No Kids Yet
docusoap
= documentary filmed like a soap opera
downdate
= to seek a partner below one's expectations,
because it's just so difficult
to form a relationship
these days
downshifting
= change to a less pressured and less
highly paid career
downsizing
= getting rid of employees
first-time
buyer = young person buying their first home
follically
challenged = PC for bald
geek =
boring person with only one boring interest in life
geekspeak
= computer jargon
glitch =
technical hitch (difficulty to be overcome)
glitterati
= celebrities who are seen at all the most trendy
places
glitzy =
ostentatious, showy
going postal = to be total
stressed out (reference to US postal
employees who have snapped and
gone on shooting rampages)
go-peds =
motorised scooters
grow the
business = make the business grow
grunge =
raucous rock music, baggy clothes
GSOH =
good sense of humour
hot-desking = several people sharing the same work
space
hotelling
= to book a workspace for a short time
icon =
someone to be looked up to, a figure to be
respected and imitated and
almost idolised
irritainment = entertainment and media shows that
are
annoying but that you
find yourself unable to switch off
It all
went pear-shaped = domestic disaster, collapse
of business, breakdown of a
relationship, etc.
It's the
flavour of the month = it's very popular right now
journobabble
= journalist + babble
last-time
buyer = elderly person looking
for sheltered housing
literati
=intellectual types who read all the classics
and go to the theatre and opera
loser
magnet = sort of person who ends up talking only
to the boring people at parties
LTR =
long-term relationship
Martian
mail = e-mail that arrives months after it was sent
(as if it had been routed via
the planet Mars)
media
savvy = to know how to handle the media
and understand it
mouse
potato = online computer addict
N/S =
non-smoker
netiquette
= rules for polite behaviour followed by people
when sending
messages over the Internet.
observee
= a teacher who is being observed while teaching
off-message
= politicians giving opinions deviating from
the party line
ohnosecond
= that tiny fraction of time in which you realise
you've just made a big mistake
PA =
photo appreciated
PC =
Political Correctness (voluntary censorship of our
languag to avoid
offending s.o.)
petrolhead
= s.o. who is crazy about fast cars
portfolio
career = people with short-term contracts who carry
their "career" from job to job
pot-head,
acid-heads = drug-users
prebuttals
= pre + rebuttals (fending off possible criticism
in advance)
pre-sumer
= children following the fashions, buying fashion
clothes and
accessories
psychobabble
= language that sounds scientific but is
often annoying, that
some people use when
talking about their emotional
problems
quiet
rooms = rooms which contain only a table
and a few chairs
quitterati
= people constantly talking about how they have
given up drink, drugs, sex, tea,
coffee, chocolate,
etc.
saddo = a
pathetic figure who should get a life
saunasium
= gym which also offers a sauna
Sinbad =
Single Income No Boyfriend
(absolutely desperate)
snail
mail = traditional postal service
spin
doctor = public relations spokesperson
who manipulates the media
surfing
the Net = looking at different websites
suss out
= to investigate
toosh =
shatoosh shawl made from the fur of the chiru,
an Tibetan antelope
tweenager
= girls of 7 to 10 years of age
user-friendly
= easy to operate or understand
War Room
= a very competitive, creative space at work
weirdo =
a strange, weird person
When push
comes to shove = If we really have to,
in the last resort
whinge =
whine or complain
WLTM =
would like to meet
your call
= your decision
your take
on this = your idea about this
Collected by
Bernhard Tiben, 2000
Sources:
Clare West: Geeks, Glitches
and Glitterati – Changing English,
Praxis des neusprachlichen
Unterrichts 4/00, S. 380 ff.
Ian Dunlop: New Word for
Old, Praxis ... 4/01, S. 376 ff.
Bibliography:
Elizabeth Knowles,
Julia Elliott (Eds.), The Oxford Dictionary of
New Words. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997
Judy Pearsall (Ed.),
The New Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1998
David Rowan.:
Glossary for the 1990s. London: Prion, 1998
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