The Oxford Dictionary of New Words: Popular Guide to Words in the News

by SaraTulloch (Editor)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1991

  $3.25

  The English language is very much alive and growing. In the past decade alone such new words and phrases as Patriot Missile, thrash metal, Gaia, fatism, womanist and Cowabunga have been assimilated into everyday language. Reflecting all areas of modern life from technology to ecology, and youth culture to big business, the 750 articles in this guide illustrate the origins and usage of each term with quotations from a wide range of publications.

• Used

  Paperback
  1992

  $3.25

  What does mirror-shades group mean? (Is it a solar power array, a school of science fiction, a slang word for corporate raiders ?) Who first coined the word factoid ? When and where does the triple witching hour occur? On what kid's show was the cry Cowabunga first heard? In The Oxford Dictionary of New Words, Sara Tulloch examines over two thousand new words and phrases that have become part of our daily lives in the last decade, in 750 articles that provide pronunciation, definition, etymology, informal history, and sample sentences. Drawing words from politics, the environmental movement, computers and technology, business, sports, entertainment, and many other areas, Tulloch goes beyond the usual informative but narrow dictionary entry to offer readers a rich history of the recent changes not only in our language but in our culture as well. Just skimming the headwords is like fast-forwarding through the eighties: bailout, cocooning, deniability, the disappeared, glasnost, lambada, safe sex, spin doctor, fun run, insider trading, genetic fingerprinting, thirtysomething, designer water, liposuction, Cablevision, gentrification, intifada, and DINK (Double Income, No Kids). And the histories that Tulloch provides are so interesting that even if you know the meaning of a word you will find the article fascinating. Here then is a resource that is both useful and intriguing, the first place to turn when faced with such new words and phrases as acyclovir, magnetic resonance imaging, Alar or computer footprint, as well as a browser's delight, a goldmine of language for word lovers everywhere.