New words – 18 July 2011

typecasting noun the activity of using a typewriter to write messages that you then scan and post to a Web site

One of his favorite typecasting blogs, Strikethru, is run by a Microsoft employee. [New York Times (US broadsheet) 31 March 2011]

type-in noun a social event where people bring and use typewriters

In the last three months, type-ins have clattered into cities from coast to coast and even overseas.
[New York Times (US broadsheet) 31 March 2011]

typosphere noun the community of people who use, buy and sell, write about and read about typewriters

Online, he is a proud member of the ‘typosphere’, a global community of typewriter geeks.
[New York Times (US broadsheet) 31 March 2011]

dumbphone noun a mobile that is not a smart phone

The market is 90 percent dumbphone users.
[Heard in conversation (man 40s) 11 February 2011]

Androids are awesome, iPhones impressive […] but dumbphones still dominate.
[www.foxnews.com 10 February 2011]

About new words

2 thoughts on “New words – 18 July 2011

  1. Harry

    I gave away my last typewriter 20 years ago. Who knew?

    In any event, I resist “typecasting” very strongly. This is a useful, long-established word, which, I predict, will not be hi-jacked by a passing vogue for antiques.

    For those unfamiliar with the term, “typecasting” has its roots in the theatre, where it refers to the practice of casting actors in roles depending on their physical “type” — ie, attractive young women as sexpots, plain women as spinsters — or the type of role they have most recently played — Daniel Radcliffe as a teen-aged wizard, for instance. The term is often used metaphorically, referring to the choice of one person over another solely or primarily on superficial grounds, such as physical appearance.

Leave a Reply