The (r)evolution of language: are you intexticated or a kidult?
An interesting fact about languages is that they evolve. New words are added each day to our vocabulary, for better or worse. Take “groovy” as an example, a slang colloquialism popular during the 60s and 70s springing out of African American culture. Unless you are nostalgic or have been frozen, like the British spy character Austin Powers played by Mike Myers, you probably would say “cool”, “excellent”, “fashionable”, or “amazing”, depending on context.
How about adding a couple of new words?
#1: Humble Brag
Definition: a statement that conveys false humility : a brag couched in self-deprecation
Example: “Facebook seems to be the perfect place for this. How many status reads have actually been humble brags?” – post on Elizabeth Runs blog, February 25, 2011
#2: Planking
Definition: a game or activity in which participants lie facedown in unusual locations
Example: “Planking has achieved notoriety as an online fad, as people try to plank in the most unlikely places.” – Los Angeles Times, July 28, 2011
#3: Capgras’ Delusion
Definition: a disorder in which a person falsely believes that a friend or relative has been replaced by an identical impostor
Example: “Capgras delusion can be brought about by a variety of conditions – changes in brain chemistry associated with different mental illnesses, or physical trauma to the brain – but the delusion always involves the distinct feeling that the people around you have been replaced by impostors.” – Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, NPR Morning Edition, March 30, 2010
#4: Intexticated
Definition: distracted by the act of texting to such a degree that one seems intoxicated
Example: “[Justin Bieber] says he was inspired to get involved in the campaign because of the Alex Brown Foundation, which is a charity named after a teenager who died because he was driving while intexticated.” – Darian Demetri, Teenchive.com, July 20, 2011
#5: Epic Fail
Definition: (interjection): used to identify something as a complete failure; also
(noun) : something that fails completely
Example: “Righting the struggling economy through saner, sounder fiscal policies is not the only issue that should be ranked an ‘epic fail’ on Capitol Hill over the last decade.” – Sid Salter, ClarionLedger.com, Aug. 9, 2011
#6: Stuffocation
Definition: the fact of being overwhelmed by the stuff one has bought or accumulated
Example: “Over the weekend, I worked on filling two more storage tubs for our local consignment store, as I do every month. … Regularly consigning two tubs of stuff … is how I prevent ‘stuffocation.'” – post on WantingWhatYouHave.com, September 13, 2010
#7: Kidult
Definition: an adult who behaves like a child
Example: “But alpha male has been superceded by omega male, the under-achieving, low-testosterone kidult who lounges at the other end of the blokey spectrum, playing computer games and watching Lost.” – Kevin Courtney, Irish Times, July 30, 2011
#8: Tanorexic
Definition: having a compulsion to tan
Example: “The cast of ‘Jersey Shore’ has arrived. Everyone’s favorite tanorexic reality stars claimed they had made it after appearing in cartoon form on ‘South Park’ Wednesday.” – Soraya Roberts, New York Daily News, October 14, 2010
#9: Longboard
Definition: a long skate board
Example: “A man riding a longboard has hilariously demonstrated how not to dismount while speeding down a road in Portugual.” – NineMSN.com, July 22, 2011
#10: Coffice
Definition: a café that a customer uses as a place in which to conduct business
Example: “Acceptable ‘coffice’ etiquette states that something must be ordered during your stay.” – post on GetItBusinessServices.com, April 21, 2011