MAMIL noun [C]
/ˈmæm.ɪl/
abbreviation for middle-aged man in lycra: a man who takes up cycling in middle age, especially one who rides an expensive bike and spends a lot of money on clothing, accessories and so on
Richard’s transformation into a MAMIL began five years ago when, to get fit, he bought a road bike. At first, he wore a sensible pair of shorts and a loose-fitting jersey. But then the buying began in earnest. New wheels (the old ones were slowing him down, apparently), a pair of cycling shoes, then another pair, then a ‘quicker’ helmet, then a personal trainer to help him shed the pounds and improve his ‘power to weight ratio’.
[Daily Mail, 11 December 2014]
YIMBY noun [C]
/ˈjɪm.bi/
abbreviation for yes in my back yard: a person who (in contrast to the NIMBY) supports the building of new housing and other development in their local area
Look around, and YIMBYs are a growing presence. There’s a YIMBY group in Somerville, Massachusetts, and one in Los Angeles; there’s a San Francisco YIMBY party and a YIMBY group in Portland. YIMBYtown, a national conference, will take place in Oakland this month; Helsinki is hosting Yimbycon in August.
[www.theatlantic.com, 5 July 2017]
EIP noun [C]
/ˌiː.aɪˈpi/
abbreviation for extremely important person: a person who is treated even better than a VIP (very important person) because they are famous or influential in some way
Recently, a stylist from Net-a-Porter hand-delivered an order just as her designated EIP (Extremely Important Person) was about to perform on stage, while a team from Moda Operandi flew with a couture wedding gown back to the designer’s atelier to oversee alterations just days before the wedding, after the bride changed her mind about what she wanted.
[The Telegraph, 13 September 2017]
Hi there! I interpreted you were talking about a man in the “Middle Ages”, haha! I had to read it three times to realise my mistake… mmm. Thanks for the post ;))
The same problem, I had to read it several times.
Interesting, thanks for the post.
MAMIL. I’ve never seen the word before, although I may have heard it and not known, thinking i was hearing the word “mammal”. Like “phast”, these cutesy coined homophones are of limited semantic value, and their value is even more limited by the fact that they are only useful as written words. A mamil is a mammal, a phast is, perhaps, a sort of fast. The similarity in meaning and sound makes such words unlikely to be used except in a misguided attempt to display wit or linguistic currency. Such words do not edify the mind, do not enrich the understanding. How much more meaningful it is to employ one’s existing lexicon with precision and insight, than to deploy yet another useless neologism. This trend must be a symptom of the attention economy. Or is that the distraction penury?