1. … a puff of smoke from a pipe? It’s called lunt.

2. … the state of being full of beer? It’s called gambrinous.

3. … the bumps on raspberries? They’re called drupelets.

4. … a gap between two teeth? It’s called diastema.

5. … the hole in your shirt that your arm goes through? It’s called armsate.

6. … the scented trail left behind by a person wearing perfume? It’s called sillage.

7. … the holes in Swiss cheese? They’re called eyes.

8. … the use of swearing to alleviate stress or pain? It’s called lalochezia.

9. … the act of stretching and yawning? It’s called pandiculation.

10. … the space between your eyebrows? It’s called glabella.

11. … the metal band on a pencil that holds the eraser? It’s called ferrule.

12. … the symbol # (the pound sign on the keyboard)? It’s called octothorpe.

source: mentalfloss

Can you use the new words in the sentences below? 

1.  I bet you didn’t know that “the pound sign” had a name. It’s called ……. .

2. Most college students are planning on being very …………. after their exams.

3. I can’t stand people smoking cigarettes, but I love the smell of a ….. .

4.  Kids like chewing on the ….. of a pencil, though it’s not very healthy.

5. The bigger the …… are in the Swiss cheese the more I like it.

6. The ……… of the raspberries are full of sweet juice.

7. Her ……. is unusually narrow. There’s almost no space between her eyebrows.

8. Don’t worry about the ……. between little Jack’s two front teeth. They will disappear with time.

9. ……… is a good way of getting rid of stress, though it’s not a polite way to do so.

10. The ……. of this shirt isn’t big enough. I can’t squeeze my hand through.

11. I hate it that when I enter an office and I can feel the ……. of the previous customer. 

12. Are you sleepy in the morning? …………. helps you wake up fast.

Key:

1. octothorpe

2. gambrinous

3. lunt

4. ferrule

5. eyes

6. drupelets

7. glabella

8. diastema

9. lalochezia

10. armsate

11. sillage

12. pandiculation

A retronym is a term consisting of a noun and a modifier which specifies the original meaning of the noun. For example, organic food is a retronym: a long time ago, all food was what we now consider “organic.” Retronyms can be objects (pedal bike), experiences (snow skiing), or even places (meatspace). Most of us use retronyms all the time without thinking about it.

1. regular coffee distinguished from decaffeinated coffee

Consumers accept the fact that decaffeinated coffee costs more than regular coffee. They assume that decaffeinated coffee is made by putting regular coffee through an extra process that removes part of the caffeine, and it is logical that an extra process should add to the cost of the finished product.

—Bill Gold, The Washington Post, 2 Dec. 1980

2. British English distinguished from American English, Australian English, Indian English, etc.

American English, as taught to foreigners, is Boston-based, classless, recognizably but not radically different from British English except in pronunciation, and capable of analysis into a reasonably learnable number of phonemes and morphemes.

— Robert Burchfield, The English Language, 1985

3. Outdoor rock climbing distinguished from indoor rock climbing

While outdoor rock climbing as a sport has been around for more than a century, indoor climbing gyms came about only in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

— Andrea Park, Houstonia (houstoniamag.com), 14 Oct. 2016

4. Acoustic guitar distinguished from electric guitar

Dylan came out all alone, small and brave, with just his harmonica and his acoustic guitar. I was too far away to see the details of his face, but I could see his hair, curly and mousy, and that tense, crabbed stance.

— Johnathan Schell, The New Yorker, 11 Feb. 1974

5. Cloth diaper distinguished from paper diaper, disposable diaper

Carry as many paper diapers as you can squeeze into your luggage, change your child less frequently than you might at home, purchase paper diapers where available and carry a backup supply of cloth diapers.

— Donna Hussain, The New York Times, 8 June 1975

6. Analog watch distinguished from digital watch

An analog watch indicates the time with hands, analogically; a digital watch represents the time directly in digits. With an analog watch you “see” a pattern; with a digital watch, you “read” the time.

— Seiko Digital Quartz LC Information Manual, 1976

7. Manual typewriter distinguished from electric typewriter

Now, a free-lance writer, working in a corner of his own home, producing his manuscripts on his own twenty-year-old manual typewriter, operates on a Lilliputian scale, and must view even a marginal governmental interest in his work with the mingled gratitude and alarm of a wren whose nest is being appraised by an eagle.

— John Updike, Hugging the Shore, 1983

8. Scripted show distinguished from reality show

He acknowledged that there are only so many advertisers each year that would be able to sign up to fund a scripted show, particularly when the payoff … is uncertain.

— Mike Shields, Wall Street Journal, 27 Dec. 2016

9. Film camera distinguished from video camera, digital camera

Other techniques for transferring video to film involve pointing a conventional film camera at a modified video monitor, creating what is called a “kinescope.” That is how old TV shows, such as the original Honeymooners, were preserved in the ’50s, before the widespread adoption of videotape.

— Video Review, July 1991

10. Rotary phone distinguished from touch-tone phone

Although the day of the rotary phone is nearly past, lots of people still have phone service that handles only the pulse signals those phones produce, not the tone signals sent by most modern phones.

— Consumer Reports, December 1992

11. Combustible cigarette distinguished from electronic cigarette, e-cigarette, etc.

Combustible cigarettes have already been banned in restaurants and public parks, but since the FDA has not yet ruled on whether or not e-cigs are equally harmful, they have yet to be regulated.

— Linette Lopez, Business Insider, 19 Dec. 2013

12. Whole milk distinguished from skim milk, 2% milk, etc.

From nonfat through whole milk products, there’s a wide choice of nutritious dairy foods to fit every diet, even fat-modified diets.

— advertisement, Journal of the American Medical Association, 17 Feb. 1989

13. Corn on the cob distinguished from corn cut from the cob

When application was made for rations, it was found that the last morsel belonging to the division had been issued to the command, and the battalion was again thrown on its own resources, to wit: corn on the cob intended for the horses. Two ears were issued to each man.

— Carlton McCarthy, Detailed Minutiae of Soldier life in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865, 1882

14. Live music distinguished from recorded music

He neared the spot where Nedda lived. This was an especially desirable residential area. The houses were large and gracefully designed, and the gardens were especially lush. Presently he heard music ahead—live music.

— Murray Leinster, “The Pirates of Ersatz,” 1959

15. silent-film distinguished from sound film, talkie

Silent film did not merely lay the foundation for the sound film, but was itself a separate, autonomous art with significant achievements that were never to be equaled.

— Ira Konigsberg, The Complete Film Dictionary 1987

16. Brick-and-mortar distinguished from online

There are signs the brick and mortar retailing giants have begun to figure out the Web and are ready to give their online-only rivals a cyberspace spanking.

— Stephanie Stoughton, The Boston Globe, 6 Mar. 2000

17. Bar soap distinguished from liquid soap, body wash

According to the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, cuts and scrapes actually heal better when cleansed with mild bar soap and water….

— Barbara Sande Dimmitt, Parenting, April 1997

18. Old World distinguished from New World

Mesoamerican writing is believed to have arisen independently of Old World writing, because there is no convincing evidence for pre-Norse contact of New World societies with Old World societies possessing writing.

— Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel, 1997

source: merriam-webster.com

Can you give the retronym of the following words?

1. virtual world

2. decaffeinated coffee

3. American English

4. indoor rock climbing

5. electric guitar

6. disposable diaper

7. digital watch

8. electric typewriter

9. reality show

10. video camera

11. touch-tone phone                 

12. e-cigarette

13. skim milk

14. corn cut from the cob

15. recorded music

16. sound film, talkie

17. liquid soap

18. New World

19. online

Key

1. meatspace

2. regular coffee

3. British English

4. outdoor rock climbing

5. acoustic guitar

6. cloth diaper

7. analog watch

8. manual typewriter

9. scripted show

10. film camera

11. rotary phone

12. combustible cigarette

13. whole milk

14. corn on the cob

15. live music

16. silent film

17. bar soap

18. Old World

19. brick-and-mortar

Here is a selection of new words and expressions that have entered the English dictionary since January 2016 according to the Cambridge Dictionary.

1. Dude food – food that is said to be favoured by men (hence dude), often including meat

2. Wasband – a former husband (was + husband)

3. Grey gapper  – a person of retirement age who takes a year out of their normal life to go travelling

The word “gapper” comes from “gap year” which refers to young people who take a year out after school and before university to go travelling around the world. A “gapper” refers to the person. The reference to “grey” is linked to the fact that we older people end up having grey hair!

4. Switch and swipe generation – the younger generation who, it is claimed, experience more change in their lives than their parents, especially in their sexual partners, homes and jobs

“Switch’ means change and “swipe” is what we do on our smartphones or tablets when we move from one screen to another.

5. Slashkini  – a one-piece swimsuit with lots of cut-outs, giving the appearance of having been slashed

6. Farecasting  – predicting the optimum date to buy a plane ticket, especially on a website or using an app

We use the word “fare” for plane, train and taxis instead of prices.

7. Instafamous  – becoming famous through posting selfies to social networking service Instagram

8. to uberize  – (of a business) to change or be changed into an app-based, on-demand service

9. Manel (noun) – an exclusively male panel (of speakers, interviewers)

10. Mansplain – A man who explains something to a woman about something which she already knows!

For more new words take a look at the Cambridge Online Dictionary Blog. It’s such fun scrolling through the new words. Why not pick your favourites?

source: englishwithatwist.com

Which two words were combined in the new words? Do you remember?

Key:

Why was this chosen?

Emojis (the plural can be either emoji or emojis) have been around since the late 1990s, but 2015 saw their use, and use of the word emoji, increase hugely.

This year Oxford University Press have partnered with leading mobile technology business SwiftKey to explore frequency and usage statistics for some of the most popular emoji across the world, and  ‘Face with Tears of Joy’was chosen because it was the most used emoji globally in 2015. SwiftKey identified that the Word of the Year emoji made up 20% of all the emojis used in the UK in 2015, and 17% of those in the US: a sharp rise from 4% and 9% respectively in 2014. The word emoji has seen a similar surge: although it has been found in English since 1997, usage more than tripled in 2015 over the previous year according to data from the Oxford Dictionaries Corpus.

A brief history of emoji

An emoji is ‘a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion in electronic communication’; the term emoji is a loanword from Japanese, and comes from e ‘picture’ + moji ‘letter, character’. The similarity to the English word emoticon has helped its memorability and rise in use, though the resemblance is actually entirely coincidental: emoticon (a facial expression composed of keyboard characters, such as ;), rather than a stylized image) comes from the English words emotion and icon.

Emojis are no longer the preserve of texting teens – instead, they have been embraced as a nuanced form of expression, and one which can cross language barriers. Even Hillary Clinton solicited feedback in the form of emojis, and the ‘Face with Tears of Joy’ has had notable use from celebrities and brands alongside everyone else – and even appeared as the caption to the Vine which apparently kicked off the popularity of the term on fleek, which appears on our WOTY shortlist.

The Word of the Year shortlist

ad blocker, noun: A piece of software designed to prevent advertisements from appearing on a web page. (hirdetés/reklám blokkoló)

Brexit, noun: A term for the potential or hypothetical departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, from British + exit.

Dark Web, noun: The part of the World Wide Web that is only accessible by means of special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous or untraceable. ( a háló sötét bugyra)

on fleek, adjectival phrase: Extremely good, attractive, or stylish.

lumbersexual, noun: A young urban man who cultivates an appearance and style of dress (typified by a beard and check shirt) suggestive of a rugged outdoor lifestyle.

refugee, noun: A person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. (menekült)

sharing economy, noun: An economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either for free or for a fee, typically by means of the Internet. (megosztásalapú gazdaság)

they (singular), pronoun: Used to refer to a person of unspecified sex.

source: OEP blog

… és, ha neked még nincs Oxford egynyelvű szótárad, akkor ajánlom figyelmedbe ezt, a kezdőknek is kiváló példányt, amit most kedvezménnyel rendelhetsz meg tőlünk:

English – just like other languages – changes all the time. New words are created which you cannot even find in dictionaries for a while. We have collected a bunch of them for you to enjoy.

1. dumbwalking – also known as ’smartphone walking’. It’s that very slow pace people walk at when they’re staring at a phone screen – their head down, arms outstretched, looking like zombies.

2. shift  parenting – it happens when both parents have full-time jobs, each working shifts, so when one leaves the house to go to work, the other one takes over the care of the kids and the household.

3. ’Mx’ – it’s an alternative to Mr/ Miss/ Ms / Mrs. It offers people of both genders an alternative by offering a title so that they won’t have to state if they are married or single, it indicates a neutral gender. ’Mx’ has already started appearing on forms as well.

4. to zone out – to lose concentration and start daydreaming either because the topic of the conversation doesn’t apply to us, or because simply we are bored.

5. Generation Pause – it refers to young adults who are not able to do things previously typical for their age group such as buying a home, getting married, or starting a family because of lack of money.

6. vamping – the practice of staying awake into the small hours using social networks, surfing the net, skyping etc., behaving like a cyber vampire.

7. a displacement activity – it is something mindless that you do in order to put off having to do a boring or unpleasant task. For example if you are a teacher instead of marking papers you discover some urgent cleaning  task in the house and it seems more attractive than what you are supposed to do.

8. lateral space – a flat or a house offers a lot of space on a small number of floors, rather than having several floors and staircases. This appeals to many house-buyers who don’t want to spend their time rushing up and down stairs.

9. upcycling – is the process of converting waste materials or objects that might be considered useless into attractive and useful things. For example a tatty old dress restyled, mended and updated can become a vintage item and acquires new value.

10. a scouser – is someone who comes from Liverpool, female and is obsessed with her appearance. She is quick to copy the latest fashion and beauty trends, but not with a good taste, so they look naff.

Which words or expressions would you use in the following sentences?

1. Mary always looks like a (1)………… She has a lot of money to spend on clothes but her taste is not the best.

2. It’s typical among teenagers to do a lot of (2)……….. I’m afraid it’s really harmful to their health.

3. It’s really unpleasant to walk in the streets with all those (3)…………… people who can’t live without their phones for a minute.

4. More and more children have to experience (4)………………. as both of their parents must work to make ends meet.

5. Is this person a man or a woman? Well, it’s difficult to tell. There is only (5)……. written here as a title.

6. I want to buy a house. The most important issue is that it should have (6)…………… space as I don’t like climbing stairs inside the house.

7. -You looked as if you had been sleeping.

     -No, I was just (7)………… this lecture is so boring.

8. – You have a beautiful dress.

    – Well, it’s a good example of (8)…………. . I found it in the attic. It had belonged to my grandma.

9.  You are already forty and you still live with your parents. I know, I know, it’s because of the (9)……………… .

10. – You should be studying for your exam. Why are you here in the kitchen doing the washing up?

– Well, it’s just (10)……………… . I’ve just had enough of studying and I don’t feel like starting it again, you know.

Key:

1. scouser

2. vamping

3. dumbwalking

4. shift parenting

5. Mx

6. lateral space

7. zoning out

8. upcycling

9. Generation Pause

10. displacement activity

answers: 1-d 2-f 3-e 4-b 5-h 6-g 7-a 8-c