Cambridge Dictionaries Online blog

etymythology noun a false etymology that has come to be widely known and so is generally believed

You’ve written that this misunderstanding, or maybe a better term for it is ‘evolution’ of what Black Friday really means actually falls into the wider category of something know as etymythology [...] so what is an etymythology?

[radioboston.wbur.org (US issues and ideas talk radio program) 22 Nov 2012]

faitheist noun an atheist who is nevertheless understanding and tolerant of religions and religious people

Salon runs an excerpt of the book, Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground With the Religious, in which the author explores atheist fundamentalism

[news.silobreaker.com 22 Oct 2012]

gran-lit noun literature that appeals to older women

Simultaneously Quercus launched Thursdays in the Park as an e-book. No one was paying much attention to the Kindle audience for gran-lit.

[www.guardian.co.uk 11 Nov 2012]

About new words

doorer noun a person who causes a cyclist to come off their bike by opening a car door, i.e. by ‘dooring’ them

A new word has been coined in the Big Apple to cover an increasingly common cause of death or injury — doorers. That means someone opens the door of a stationary motor vehicle and sends a cyclist flying in to the path of a passing car or bus usually with dire consequences.

[www.northjersey.com 05 Oct 2012]

light quadricycle noun a two-seater car with a top speed of 28 mph that 16-year-olds will be able to drive

The Aixam Coupe S looks like a compact city car but is in fact a ‘light quadricycle’ which can be driven with a moped licence from the age of 16 – and it comes with a hefty price tag of £9,999.

[www.dailymail.co.uk 13 Nov 2012]

SMIDSY abbreviation standing for ‘sorry, mate I didn’t see you’, this refers to an accident caused by a driver’s failure to see another road user, especially a cyclist or motorcyclist

Was this Britain’s earliest SMIDSY?
SMIDSY is clearly nothing new. Drivers have been saying ‘sorry, mate, I didn’t see you,’ from the earliest days of motoring.
Although as the first drivers were all toffs, they probably never said sorry when they ran over the rural poor.

[http://quickrelease.tv 31 Oct 2012]

About new words

boil the ocean idiom to undertake something that is vastly over-ambitious

This doesn’t mean you have to boil the ocean at your first attempt.

[http://fluxx.uk.com 09 Oct 2012]

buffling noun informal speaking at length and off the point in a business context

Even face to face you may find yourself baffled, as the world is awash with people who love ‘buffling’.

[Good Housekeeping (UK women's magazine) Nov 2012]

co-opetition noun cooperative competition; an element of working together for mutual benefit between avowed corporate rivals

Microsoft and Google are archrivals on the business front, but they share a lot of customers. It’s a classic example of co-opetition.

[www.zdnet.com 06 Oct 2012]

About new words

Barbie flu noun the trend for young women to dramatically alter their appearance to make themselves look like human Barbie dolls

After one Ukrainian woman gained international notoriety for her transformation into a ‘living doll,’ at least two more have surfaced as devotees of the beauty trend, nicknamed the ‘Barbie flu.’

[http://theweek.com 18 Oct 2012]

pulchronomics noun the study of the economics of physical attractiveness

Hamermesh is the acknowledged father of pulchronomics, or the economic study of beauty.

[Smithsonian (US hist/sci/cult magazine) Nov. 2012]

virtual vanity noun feelings of insecurity over appearance brought on by seeing pictures of oneself on social networking websites

But surely if the virtual vanity is becoming too much, the easiest option is to log off?

[Grazia (UK celebrity magazine) 01 Oct 2012]

About new words

cryotherapy noun a treatment in which the patient is subjected to freezing jets of air in the bid to encourage the production of collagen and thus the rejuvenation of the skin

Cryotherapy is also used to smooth out wrinkles and fine lines.

[Grazia (UK celebrity magazine) 26 Nov 2012]

Facebook facelift noun facial cosmetic surgery as a result of vanity brought on by seeing too many photos of oneself on social-networking websites

Lucilla agrees. Her ‘Facebook facelift’ tipping point came two years ago, when a trend for posting pictures of celebrity dopplegangers swept the site.

[Grazia (UK celebrity magazine) 01 Oct 2012]

the 5:2 diet noun a modified and less extreme form of alternate day fasting, in which the dieter fasts on two days of the week and eats normally on the other five

Elaine is also doing the 5:2 diet as she has high bp and cholesterol.

[Text sent from woman, early fifties. 14 Oct 2012]

About new words

jel abbreviation informal jealous

Oh God, I’m jel!

[Heard in conversation (woman, 30s) 20 September 2012]

mob noun informal someone with a snobbish take on modern trends; a modern snob

Meet the ‘modern snobs’ (aka Mobs) – the sort of people who only watch TV dramas with subtitles.

[Grazia (UK celebrity magazine) 20 August 2012]

selfie noun informal a photograph taken of yourself, often for the purposes of posting on a social-networking website

‘The Newsroom’ Reacts To Allison Pill’s Nude Selfie

[www.buzzfeed.com 18 September 2012]

swag noun slang the quality of being accomplished, impressive, etc.

He’s got swag.

[Heard in conversation (teenage speaker) 30 Jul 2012]

About new words