Metaverse

According to Wikipedia, the metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space. WHAT?!?

Okay, so basically, it's the existing universe plus everything you see in your Google glasses, Hololens, or your cheap pair of virtual reality glasses, which will probably be avalaible at your local drugstore some time in the near future.

Boilk

According to one of my favorite blogger/podcasters, Andrew something or other, who makes a living perambling about the Arsenal football team, boilk is "the noise you make when you wake up after being out on the piss the night before."

Alacrity

Alacrity is the quality that this guy shows in front of the goal:

Lewondowski always seems to be ready.

Ignominy

Public shame or humliation, kind of like what Larry David's character experiences on every episode of  Curb Your Enthusiasm. Or if he doesn't, then we do for him.

Lachyrmose

Given to tears, like these guys:

Rapacious

To be rapacious is to be greedy for something that you don't necessarily deserve. I am not rapacious when it comes to money and material things, but I can be in another context this word is often used in: A rapacious appetitite. Can you relate?

Keelhauling

lllustration from donavoanbixley.com 

Keelhauling was a really nasty punishment inflicted on sailors where they would be tied to a rope and dragged under the keel of the ship.

But it can be also be used in metaphorically to mean severely reprimanded, for example: "Gee Mom really gave little Teddy a keelhauling for not taking the trash out."

Gimcrackery

Ha ha, love this word.

Gimcrackery refers to useless showy items, like these:

Quesadilla maker

Weird cable

Donald Trump

Can you think of any better examples of gimcrackery than these?

Contumelious

insulting and insolent, like a 5-year-old who can't have his way. So next time, your 5-year-old misbehaves, try telling him you won't tolerate his contumelious behavior. Yeah, see if that works.

Noisome

This word has nothing to do with noise. It refers to something that is extremely unpleasant, disgusting, gross, noxious, blahhhhhhhhhhh. Like Monday morning, for example.

Avuncular

Friendly and mentoring the way an uncle takes you under your wing, hence the uncular part of the word.

Didactic

Something is didactic if it consciously and demonstrably sets out to teach a lesson. For example, many U.S. sitcoms aimed at younger viewers have theme episodes where they take a moral stance on an issue like drug use eating disorders. Also, I remember (with some fondness, I'm afraid I have to admit), the Highlights for Children comic strip Goofus and Gallant's etiquette lessons like the one below.

Also, check out this funny (very unpolitically correct) parody of Goofus and Gallant.

Visceral

Something that gets your blood boiling, your pulse pacing, that you can feel in your intestestines and deep under the skin is visceral. I like the sound of that.

Deictic

Words that point to something else thus implying a given context have deictic function. Such words can be powerful because they thrust the audience into the middle of a situation establishing specificity.

For example in the classic Budweiser ad: This Bud's for you, this has a deictic function.

Aglet

My daughter has always had a sweet spot for this underdog of a word, which refers to the little plastic thingy at the end of your shoelaces.

BRICS

Not something you build a road with, but an acronym for the five rapidly industrializing economic opportunity centers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Macrosmatic

My wife is the most microsmatic person I know. I'd like to tell you that that means something romantic, but what it really means is that she has an incredible sense of smell. She once came into our living room and said, it smells like mouse in here, and sure enough, a few days later, we discovered on.

Perfidy

This word sounds kind of cute and friendly when you say it out loud. Pefidy. But don't be fooled, it refers to a disloyal or treacherous act.

Momtrepeneur

A mother who runs a business from home. Google it, and you might be surprised how many sites there are related to the word, like this nice looking South African momtrepeneur portal, for example.

Bailiwick

Most commonly used to indicate the office or area of power of a court bailiff (a court officer). More interestingly, though, it can also be used to describe one's special field of interest or expertise. For example, you could say, "Digital marketing is his bailiwick." Even though people would probably look at you like you were nuts if you did.

Freemium

A common internet-services business model used by, for example, MailChimp and Wix, where you can get a free account to use online services or pay for one with more features.

Exculpatory

Something that works to prove that someone is innocent. Evidence for the defense is exculpatory.

Mydeation

This is a really f***ed up new buzzword. It's really just a new synonym for another made up word, which I like a lot better: crowdsourcing, or using a group to solve a challenge by brainstorming ideas. So, for example, a high school kid who can't be arsed to do his English assignment abuses an Internet QA site like Yahoo Answers or Quora, by innocently asking: What do you think the main themes of Moby Dick are in 1000 words or less. Of course, mydeation can used legitimately for business to generate a product name or campaign idea or whatever. The idea behind it is okay, I just think the word itself is a monstrosity. Let's stick with crowdsourcing, eh?

Remarketing

What do you think, guys, is remarketing a great way of converting or horrible pain in the butt - or something in between?

Remarketing is when you follow a user with ads after he or she has left your website without doing business. I can see the appeal for marketers, but I think there is a danger to your brand as well. After all, by now, as users, we've all experienced the irritation of remarketing.

For example, you want to take a mental vacation for five minutes at work, so you search for tickets to Jamaica- just to see what you could get for your money. Then, wherever you go after that - Facebook, Google, anywhere they sell ads, there are these hyper-excited salesy ads urging you to pack your goddamn bags and get on the next F-ing plane to Jamaica. Well, that'll teach you to daydream at work anyhow.

Geolocate

To find the location of a person, device or information in a specific area by digital means. This is either a nice word or a scary one, depending on whether it's you using technology to search for jobs in your area, or the authorities tracking down your rich uncle in the Cayman Islands.

Discombobulate

To addle, baffle, bamboozle or confusal - er I meant cofuse, but I got discombobulated.

Flamboasting

Hip hop artist, E-40, combined the words flamboyant and boasting to provide us with a brand new word meaning to show off in a flashy way.

Bajillion

One of those terrific dictionary words that sounds like it was invented by a 5-year-old, bajillion, means a really, really, really, really, really large quantity of something.

Pompatus

Normally used as part of the phrase, "the pompatus of love," I actually don't think this word means anything at all, but it found it's way from Steve Miller's awesome pop-rock song, The Joker, into movies, essays and novels. So that's good enough for me. If you're Steve Miller or you know what it means, let me know.

Rapscallion

Besides the fact that it's just fun to say, this word is also useful when you want to refer to someone who is dirty, nasty and unethical, but you don't want to swear. For example, after watching Diego Costa's shameful circus show for Chelsea against Arsenal in this weekend's football match, I could call him a lot of things. But I'll just stick with rapscallion. Publically, at least.

Craptacular

This word isn't actually in the "respectable" dictionaries yet, but it is in usage. It's a word used by Bart on The Simpsons to refer to something so horrible that it has an element of the spectacular. I don't know why, but every other word on this blog makes me want to refer to a certain Republican presidential candidate. Well, maybe it's because he's so craptacular.

Pizazz

It's dazzling; it's sparkling; it's delightful; it's exciting - it's got pizazz. Why am I suddenly imagining Neil Patrick Harris and Andrew Rannels tap-dancing in shiny suits? Cause they got pizazz, that's why.

Kafkaesque

When real life has an eery nighmarish quality, like a story by Franz Kafka, it can be described as Kafkaesque. What happens in Kafka stories? Men are put on trial for no reason. Instantly found guilty by a machine, which inscribes their sentence by tearing into their skin. Or they wake up metamorphos
ized into an insect but still with their human brain. You know, fun stuff like that.

Caprice

An impulsive, unpredictable condition, disposition or action. It has a bit of a negative connotation. For example, if you describe someone as acting instinctually, that's a compliment. But if you describe them as capricious - not so much.

Golem

A Jewish folkloric creature, which represents a revenge fantasy of a persecuted people. made from the earth, The Golem can be brought to life by writing a specific word on its body or on paper and feeding the paper to it. It can then be ordered to fight on behalf of its master
.
Besides its place in Jewish legend and folklore, this story has been an inspiration to many writers, including Mary Shelly, Jorge Luis Borges, Michael Chabon and Quentin Tarantino.

Scylla

A sea monster from The Oddyssey. Wheras the Scylla was on one side of a narrow body of water, another monster called the Charbydis was on the other side. So to be stuck between a Scylla and Charbydis is a fancy way of saying being stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

Although, it also means choosing the better of two evils. In the myth, Oddysseus chooses sailing closer to the Scylla and only loses a few sailors. So you can easily see how it could apply to nasty decisions that world leaders have to make.

Dystopian

Unlike utopian, which refers to something based on an a concept of idealized perfection (utopia literally means no place), dystopia refers to a society where everything has gone dreadfully wrong. There is a whole sub-genre of sci-fi dystopian literature, including novels like:

A Clockwork Orange by Anthonly Burgess
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Vice and Virtue in the Middle Time by Sven Åge Madsen
The Giver by Lois Lowry
1984 by George Orwell

And also, I can't help but mention Terry Gilliam's incredible film about a future bureaucratic society based on a Tom Stoppard screenplay, Brazil from 1985. Check out this clip, or better yet, get the movie.

in vitro

Literally, in glass, in vitro refers to a biological process that occurs in a laboratory setting as opposed to a human organsim. Most people think immediately of in vitro fertilization as an example.

Another recent example s has to do with Israeli and German scientists who have mimicked human physiology by creating a human organ on a digital chip. Not only could this potentially replace annimal testing, it also would make the results more predictable for humans.

Spurious

Somethng that is founded on a false premise or illogical reasoning.

For example, comedienne Gilda Radner's had a recurring character called Emily Litella who would base all her Saturday Night Live news update editorial replies on spurious reasoning, like in the skit below.

Facepalm

The easily understood international gesture of slapping one's forehead in frustration or disgust, which is often used on the internet to convey emotion. For example, the Danish journalist, Mads Brugger uses it in his Facebook profile where he posts (in Danish) about issues that he thinks are just too much.

Nutmeg

Nutmeg, as most people know, is a spice with a distinct odor used mainly for desserts.

But did you know that it is also a British football slang term referring to the dribbling trick where a player dribbles around the defender by putting the ball in between his legs and running around him (or her). Check out these 10 Lionel Messi nutmegs:

Gargantuan

Gargantuan means really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really big. The word comes from Rabelais 16th century series of five crude satirical novels, Gargantua and Pantagruel, in which Gargantua was a giant, voracious monster - born after an 11-month pregnancy with a yard-long erection and calling for ale.

Bet you want to read it now, don't you?

Inchoate

Only partly formed, as in, I want a new coat, but I only have an inchoate idea of the coat that I want to buy. And you can quote me on that.

Gobbledygook

Gobbledygood is meaningless jabber - speech or writing that is so convoluted, it makes no sense, which unfortunately, there is plenty  examples of in the business world, like this Dilbert comic strip illustrates.

Chimera

From Greek mythology, a chimera is a fire-breathing monster with a lion's head, a goat's body and a serpent's tail. But it can also mean something positive that is unattainable in reality, or an imaginary monster made up of parts that don't really fit with each other. You know, like Donald Trump. No wait, he actually exists, doesn't he?

Unputdownable

Believe it or not, this is a real word, the first known citation being by Raymond Chandler when in 1947, he was quoted as saying of a book that it was unputdownable. As in once you pick it up and start reading it, it's so riveting, you can't put it down. Well in fact, what would you use to describe other than a book? Well, maybe these days, you might use it to describe an app or device. A few books I've found unputdownable are Ragtime, the Hannibal Lector series, Shogun and pretty much any Elmore Leonard book. How about you?

Pandemonium

Today, we use pandemonium to refer to wild chaos and uproar. Literally it means the home of the demons, and it was coined by John Milton in Paradise Lost where it was the assignation of the capitol of hell. Not a nice place - though I hear they had some really happening bars and nightclubs.

Snarky

Rude or sarcastic, this word comes from Lewis Carroll's brilliant nonsense poem,

"Just the place for a Snark!" the Bellman cried,
As he landed his crew with care;
Supporting each man on the top of the tide
By a finger entwined in his hair.

"Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What i tell you three times is true."

The crew was complete: it included a Boots--
A maker of Bonnets and Hoods--
A Barrister, brought to arrange their disputes--
And a Broker, to value their goods.

Read the whole poem

Chintzy

Cheap, poor, crappy, bargain basement, low quality, gaudy... if something is chintzy, don't buy it. You can almost guess what the word means just by the sound of it, can't you?

Polyanna

A Polyanna is a person who is blindly optimistic putting everything in a positive light. You know the type. In fact, you can probably ascribe the word to several of your Facebook friends. It comes from Eleanor Porter's popular children's book from 1920, which had sequels and movie adaptations. Although the word is used negatively now, the title character, Pollyanna was the heroine of the story.

Shenanigans

Mischievous behavior, as in "What kind of shenanigans are you kids up to?" Nowadays, it is also often used in the phrase, "I call shenanigans," meaning "I suspect you are trying to pull one over on me." I just love the sound of this word. Try saying it out loud. It will lift your mood.

Mosey

To move in a leisurely fashion. This is a country word; it's not a city word. It's a west coast word, not an east coast word. It's a word used in the dialog of old western movies with Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne, not in the dialog of gangster movies by Scorcese.  Nobody moseys on down anywhere in a Scorcese movie.

Commiserate

To commiserate is to sympathize with someone over their poor fortune.An elegant, lovely word, if you ask me. So what do you say, shall we commiserate together?

Berserk

Native English speakers, and many others, will know that berserk means crazy, deranged, reckless, destructive and violent. But did you know that the word originates from the ancient Scandinavian warriors known as berserkers who fought in a trance or possibly drug-induced state?

Sanguine

Hopeful, confident, cheerful - the word sanguine originates from the ancient theory of the four humors or personality types. The theory went that if you had blood as your dominant bodily humor, then you were a happy-go-lucky type.  The other three humors are:

Choleric: Too much yellow bile makes you a bad-tempered hombre
Melancholic: Black bile makes you the quiet, introspective type
Phlegmatic:  An abundance of yellow bile produces a chilled out type of dude

The idea was to have a good balance of all four, which is still a good rule, I think. But in the middle ages, it lead to the idea of blood-letting as a medical treatement.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoetic words suggest their meaning by the very words themselves, for example, splash drip, meow. Listen to the Spike Jones version of Old Mcdonald Had a Farm for more examples. (Anyone remember Spike Jones?)

Digerati

If the literati are the elite group who are extremely knowledgable about literature, the digerati are those who are in the know about computers and technology. The digerati are the influencers, the elite, the geek-hipsters of the internet.

Malapropism

The misuse of a word that sounds similar to another word to comic effect. Malapropism comes from the playwright Richard Sheridan's character Mrs. Malaprop from the play, The Rivals, who often was guilty of this. The 1970's American comedian, Norm Crosby, built his whole career on malapropisms.
Check him out.

Shibboleth

A word or phrase that can be used to identify whether someone belongs to a given group. The word comes from the Bible's Book of Judges, where one tribe could not pronounce word Shibboleth the way their rival tribe did, and thus it was used to expose enemies, Kind of like Danes asking foreigners to try to pronounce the phrase: "Rødgrød med fløde," although that's usually more for laughs.

Hypnagogic

Refers to that strange, almost hallucinogenic state between wakefulness and slumber just before you fall asleep. Kind of like the state that Donald Trump appears to be in all the time.

Quixotic

Idealistic to the point of foolishness. This word comes from the Spanish classic novel, Don Quixote. You could be guilty of worse things than being quixotic, though.

Donkeyman

A man who works in the engine room of a ship. Ah, that's kind of disappointing, eh. But on the other hand, what did you think it would mean?

Cybersquatter

Cybersquatters register domain names that are trademarked by someone else in order to sell it to them later. That's not nice, and it is illegal too. It's a pretty cool word though.

Jamais-vu

Jamais-vu is the opposite of deja-vu; it refers to the feeling that something very familar is actually very new. Sound familar? No? Maybe you're experiencing jamias-vu.