Learn English (Part 3)

#1: Bankster

Definition: a bank executive who engages in reckless or predatory financial practices

Example:

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was in town Saturday, with a message for the "banksters" controlling the American financial system: He's coming for you, and he's bringing a bunch of people with him. — Jim Shelton, New Haven Register, January 10, 2010

Submitted by: Brian J. Anderson, VA


#2: Whale Tail

Definition: the exposed waistband of thong underwear

Example:

Cosmo reminisces about Woody Allen's usage of the term "visible panty line" in 1977's "Annie Hall," the first Victoria's Secret runway show in 1995, and the rise of "whale tail" in the early aughties. — Huffington Post, February 2, 2010

Submitted by: Small Planet, CA

#3: Cyberjack

Definition: to alter or use electronic information without permission (as for identity theft)

Example:

U.S. Treasury Department's E-Mail List "Cyberjacked" and Abused — counterterrorismblog.org

Submitted by: Robert Sainz

#4: Jockumentary

Definition: a documentary about sports or a sports figure

Example:

"Semi-Pro" is more of a jockumentary, loosely based on the ABA's final season, 1975-76. — Mark Bennett, The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, IN), 2008

Submitted by: J.C. Moore, PA

#5: Glitten

Definition: a fingerless glove usually with an attached flap covering for the fingers

Example:

A functional cross between a glove and a mitten – a glitten. — jcrew.com

Submitted by: Anonymous

#6: Snain

Definition: mixed snow and rain

Example:

With the temperature hovering just above freezing, snain is predicted for today.

Submitted by: Cathy Cordry, AL

#7: Unshop

Definition: to return unpurchased merchandise to the shelf while shopping

Example:

I better unshop these items, since I can't really afford them.

Submitted by: Vegan Chick, CO

#8: Webliography

Definition: a list of references gathered from Internet sites

Example:

This webliography presents a wide range of electronic resources related to the open access movement that are freely available on the Internet as of April 2005. — digital-scholarship.org

Submitted by: Rebecca Ortega, CA

#9: Aughties

Definition: the years 2000 through 2009

Example:

Here in the United States, we spent New Year's weekend bidding good riddance to the awful, awful aughties – a miserable decade of bubbles and busts, rising health care bills and soaring deficits, domestic terror attacks and overseas quagmires. — Ross Douthat, New York Times, January 4, 2010

Submitted by: Art Fisher, VA

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SOURCE: Merriam Webster

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Learn English (Part 2)

#1: Goth

This word contains over a thousand years of drama. In brief:

Around the fifth century, the Goths were a tribe that helped defeat the Roman Empire; by the 1500s, gothic meant "barbaric" and was used to insult a new style of architecture; that architecture became associated with the medieval age; ideas of medieval darkness and mystery inspired gothic fiction of the 1800s like Dracula.

All this eventually led, in the 1990s, to goth fashion – characterized by vampire-ish black clothes and eyeliner, and a preference for dark music and moody Romanticism.

#2: D'oh

Officially referred to as "annoyed grunt" in The Simpsons scripts, Homer Simpson's signature interjection became a catchphrase of the decade (and later an audio trademark of Twentieth Century Fox).

Merriam-Webster thoughtfully defined it this way: "—used to express sudden recognition of a foolish blunder or an ironic turn of events."

#3: Globalization

Positive word? Negative word? In many ways, both.

Although globalization dates back to the 50s, it went into overdrive in the 90s – representing not just the excitement and opportunities of an electronically connected global village, but also the conflict between multinational companies and local interests.

#4: Grunge

Punk rock mixed with heavy metal: a defining sound of the decade.

With the Seattle band Nirvana (and its 1991 album Nevermind) leading the way, grunge bands filled the 90s with distorted guitars and angst-filled lyrics.

The word comes from grungy, meaning "dirty," but the outsider look – flannel shirts, knit caps, ripped jeans – was adopted by high-end designers and mainstream retailers.

#5: Politically Correct

It so happens that the Left invented this phrase: it entered Communist lingo in the 1930s to praise loyalty to the party line.

But eventually politically correct turned against them.

By the 90s, it was used mainly by the Right – as a kind of battle cry of the Culture Wars.

Here's President George H. W. Bush, in a 1991 commencement speech at the University of Michigan:

"The notion of political correctness has ignited controversy across the land. And although the movement arises from the laudable desire to sweep away the debris of racism and sexism and hatred, it replaces old prejudice with new ones. It declares certain topics off-limits, certain expression off-limits, even certain gestures off-limits."

#6: DVD

In the second half of the decade, these slim shiny objects slipped easily into our lives.

The inventors never really decided whether the acronym stands for "digital video disc" or – to cover more than just video – "digital versatile disc."

Either way, DVDs pushed clunky old VHS tapes off movie rental shelves (remember those stores?) and introduced an important new revenue stream to Hollywood.

#7: Gen X

You know who you are (and you can still hum the Brady Bunch theme).

This term was initially used to describe British teens, first in the 1950s and again in the 1960s.

But finally – after Douglas Coupland's 1991 best seller Generation X – it stuck with North Americans, born in the 1960s and 70s, who grew up in the shadow of the baby boomers.

#8: Dot-com

The digital revolution uploaded a huge batch of new terms into the language: Internet, the Web, spyware, MP3, the prefix e-, etc.

Dot-com evokes memories of the 90s: startups boomed in the decade's stock market bubble – then went bust in the collapse that followed.

These days, successful online ventures simply call themselves businesses.

#9: Genome

"All told, genetic technology will give humankind an almost godlike power to improve its condition." – From a 1992 Time article about The Human Genome Project, a massive international collaboration to fully understand human DNA.

As a result of that project, which ran from 1990 to 2003, this decade saw unprecedented popular interest in what makes us who we are – our genetic material, or genome.

#10: Virtual Reality

Video games with head-mounted displays. Highly sophisticated simulation training for the military. In the 90s virtual reality became, well, more real – more science, less sci-fi.

That said, sci-fi continued to express the dream nicely, particularly in one of the decade's defining films:

"If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain." – Morpheus, in The Matrix

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SOURCE: Merriam Webster

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Learn English (Part 1)

#1: Bikini

In July 1946, the United States detonated two nuclear bombs at the Bikini atoll, an island in the South Pacific, which of course was big news around the world.

A year later, a French fashion designer introduced a scanty two-piece bathing suit and named it the bikini.

Unable to find a model immodest enough to wear it, he debuted it on a stripper – and it too became big news.


#2: Denim

Denim, the all-American fabric, actually gets its name from the French words de Nĭmes meaning "of Nĭmes," because it was manufactured in the French city of Nĭmes.

The word jeans is also European in origin – the name comes from the city of Genoa (earlier known as Genes) because the pants were worn by sailors in the Genoese navy.



#3: Lesbian

Originally, lesbian simply meant "from Lesbos," the Greek island pictured here.

Its current sense comes from the ancient poet Sappho, who lived on Lesbos around 600 BC and wrote poems that dealt with the relationships – sometimes passionate – between women.



#4: Tuxedo

Sometimes called a "monkey suit," its origins involve the wolf. Here's why:

In the 1880s the village of Tuxedo Park, about 50 miles north of Manhattan, became a popular resort. It was here that some young men, disregarding the fashion of the day, began to wear dinner jackets without tails.

The new style was soon called the tuxedo.

And the name of the town? It comes from a Native American word meaning wolf.

#5: Marathon

After defeating the Persians at the battle of Marathon, a town in southern Greece, the Athenians sent a messenger to run the 25 miles back home.

According to legend, he delivered the news and then dropped dead.

Marathons became 26 miles, 385 yards at the 1908 Games in London when extra yards were added so the race would finish in front of the royal box.

#6: Tequila

Developed in Mexico in the 16th century, this was probably the first distilled alcoholic beverage created in North America.

It's made from the fermented juice of the Mexican agave plant.

Some of the best was – and still is – made in the town of Tequila.



#7: Badminton

A game with an upper-crust heritage.

Badminton House is the residence of the Duke of Beaufort in southwest England, and the sport is said to have been played there for the first time in 1873.

Originally it was known as "The Game of Badminton," but soon became plain old "badminton."

It's a combination of a children's game called "battledore and shuttlecock" and poona, which was played by British officers in India in the 1860s.

#8: Hamburger

Hamburger means of or from the city of Hamburg, Germany, where this preparation of meat, originally called "Hamburg Steak", originated. In the U.S., the name was applied to the sandwich as well.

Frankfurters, by the way, originated in Frankfurt, Germany, where they were often served in beer gardens. And wieners? Named for Vienna, Austria.

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SOURCE:Merriam Webster Dictionary

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English: Lesson 1

An English professor wrote the words:

“A woman without her men is nothing”

On the chalkboard and asked the students to punctuate it correctly.

The males in the class wrote:
“A woman, without her man, is nothing.”

The females in the class wrote:
“A woman, without her, man is nothing.”

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Moral of the Lesson:
Punctuation is powerful.

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