Overly earnest lifeguard who isn’t any fun.
Compulsive body-builders.
Swimmer who gets banged up in the undertow.
Men’s bikini-style bathing suit.
Swimmer without the bod for the beach. Also, “stone.”
Like it sounds. Also, a “potential,” as in, “We’ve got a potential out by the rocks.”
Choppy waters. No swimming.
Bikini-clad bathing beauty.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-10” author: “Monica Zaccaria”
Eating the bill: Providing care for indigen patients who are not covered by insurance. Usage: “We ate the bill on that guy.”
Whales:Extremely obese patients, Usage: “A whale just hit the beach in the emergency room.”
Cabge(pronounced cabbage): A coronary artery bypass operation.
Head:A brain-injury patient. Usage: “I’ve got deal with.”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-03” author: “Francis Barrera”
Those wonderful mini-sandwiches served on some airlines. Also used to describe the small, round filet mignons that are a first-class staple.
Attendant who takes tickets when you board.
Training school for attendants. Also known as masterbase.
Over-stuffed garment bags.
Peanuts, so called because pilots eat so many.
Plastic trash bags in which some travelers carry their belongings.
Cheap charter flights.
A lazy flight attendant who hides out in the galley.
Older flight attendants. Also known as senior mammas or gold wingers.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-27” author: “Deborah King”
Camper: Client who travels so often his or her file never leaves the agent’s desk.
Grinder: Client who asks one difficult question after another.
Shopper: Customer who calls different agencies looking for the best fare, but doesn’t book.
Nonrev: Nonrevenue passenger, such as an airline employee, who flies for free.
Fam: Familiarization tour for travel agents, usually to some trendy new location.
Designer package: Vacation for client who leads custom-tailored lifestyle.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-28” author: “Yvonne Cramer”
Toxic Waste: Bonds that go beyond junk bonds, i.e., they’re deadly.
NlCs: A phonetic for newly industrialized countries. Usage: “Look out for the Pac-Rim (Pacific Rim) NICs.”
Clawback: An agreement in which a debtor country agrees to pay more interest if it gets a higher price for one of its commodities, such as oil. Usage: “We may get a clawback on that loan.”
Bradyize: The conversion of debt into a bond from the debtor country. Named for Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady, a sometime advocate of this approach. A negative term since bankers often don’t like to Bradyize.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-09” author: “Elizabeth Jernigan”
Heisman: Stiff-arm approach used to ward off suitors at parties. As in Heisman Trophy.
Blower: Frosh who can’t hold his beer. Usage: “Watch your shoes, Buffy. He’s a blower.”
Teethmaster: A frat boy. Usage: “Does that teethmaster’s hair ever get messy?”
Gilligans: Freshmen who work in dorm cafeterias and wear white sanitary caps.
Arnolds: Musclehead bouncers who keep freshmen out of bars. As in Schwarzenegger.
Warrens: Male upperclassmen who date freshman women. As in Beatty.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-07” author: “Michelle Finn”
On the beach Unemployed, so harder to place.
Class A, Class B Class A, the best candidate, a.k.a. a “walking fee.” Class B is as it sounds.
Stalking horse Class B candidate: sent to a prospective employer to make the Class A candidate look even better.
Positioning Getting the client firm focused on the right candidate. Usage: “Let’s send in a couple of stalking horses and then we’ll have them positioned for the walking fee.”
Knockout A mistake that instantly knocks a candidate out of contention. Examples: Being too enthusiastic about a job or demeaning one’s current employer.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-23” author: “Cheryll Mercedes”
Chowder: Odds and ends, usually thrown into one box. Movers hate this stuff, they’d rather move a piano.
Sticks: Furniture.
Bedbug haulers: Drivers who truck household goods cross-country.
O.S.: Overstuffed.
Lumpers: Beefy guys who lug items between the house and the truck.
Straight house: A one-story house.
Blackjack: An upright piano.
Tesselation: The art of packing a truck to fill every nook and cranny.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “Sheryl Cox”
Tourists: People who come into showrooms and take PICTURES of their dream cars.
Stars: Would-be customers involved in the movie business who have little money but expect special treatment because of their Hollywood associations.
Baby-sitting Saturdays: Fathers on babysitting duty who come in with their children, trying to kill time by looking at their dream cars.
Pile: Short for pile of s–. Used by dealers at the highest end to describe lower-end luxury cars. Example: Lamborghini dealers think new Cadillacs are piles.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-18” author: “Steven Dykeman”
Sports: Pejorative shorthand for sportsmen. A sport is a violator who hasn’t been caught yet.
Ditch pigs: Sports who lie in roadside ditches waiting for geese or ducks to fly over.
Pilgrims: Rookie or inexperienced hunters.
Low shoes: Pilgrims who go shooting without hip boots or waders and then kill a duck that falls in the water and can’t be retrieved.
The iron-pony show: Deer season on the prairie when sports go hunting the animals in pickup trucks and four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Pillsbury Doughboys: Sports wearing brand-new, puffed-up, down-filled hunting suits.
Creek (pronounced crick) dicks: What hunters call
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-29” author: “Jose Myers”
Spikers: Environmentalists who drive spikes into trees so loggers will break their chain saws.
Preservationists: Pejorative for environmentalists; activists who don’t want any trees cut, even if they are to be replanted.
Terrorists: Members of the environmental group Earth First!
Flatlanders: Stumble-footed city dwellers.
Boing boings: Deer.
Speed goats: Antelope.
Jag-on: An impressive load of wood being hauled by a trucker.
Bullprick: A mechanized stump splitter for tough cases.
Bullbuck: A logger’s boss.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-02-01” author: “Omar Adams”
Black-veiled Saudi females.
An all-purpose yell, the meaning of which is imprecise. Used to greet good news, such as mail call.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Standard replies by GIs to those they salute. The equivalent of the World War II “Can do,” and much more upbeat than the Vietnam “Sounds like a personal problem to me.”
Used instead of the Vietnam era DEROS (date of estimated return from overseas). Since the troops are not being rotated, as in Vietnam, there is no DEROS.
Said by a pilot when he shoots down an Iraqi plane.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-14” author: “Heidi Winbush”
EPW: Enemy prisoner of war
BDA: Bomb-damage assessment
ECM: Electronic countermeasure
EW: Electronic warfare
IDF: Israeli Defense Force
LCs: Line crossers, i.e, erstwhile enemies who defect.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-21” author: “Michael Duckett”
What batboys call themselves in relation to the players. Also, “grunts.”
Particularly ugly opposing ballplayer.
Pine-tar stick used to rub on bats.
People who constantly call looking for free tickets, autographs, souvenirs, etc.
Foul ball lined into the dugout. Superstitiously believed to seek out homely ballplayers.
Club-house crowd.
Umpire.
Candlestick Park.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-25” author: “Lillian Denmon”
Rock stars: Pro sailors, egomaniacs.
Deck apes: Crew members who do the hard work with ropes and sails.
Railmeat: Crew who are used for ballast only.
Fantasy Land: What deck apes call the helm area, where the skipper sits barking orders.
Straphanger: An owner’s guest who knows nothing of sailing.
Hydraulic sandwich: A liquid lunch, preferably beer.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-29” author: “Barbara Walters”
Dogs that bite. Also, “hedge clippers.”
Animal slated to get all its shots at once.
Claws.
Ain’t Doin’ Right, i.e., sick but not yet diagnosed.
Hit By Car.
Bit By Dog.
Very Price Conscious, e.g., owner complains about bill.
Send Off, i.e., put to sleep. Usage: That dog’s going to be SO’d.
Good-looking pet owner.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-17” author: “Ronald Horowitz”
Working the beer taps.
Liquor bottle filled with water for bartender consumption. Often used when annoying patron insists on buying bartender a shot.
Pretzels, chips, popcorn, etc.
Good-looking customers.
Bartender who spends most of his shift chatting up the talent, forcing a partner to do all the work.
Surcharge for difficult customers. Often 50 cents.
A tip consisting of loose change.
Barfly who camps out in a bar the whole evening.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-09” author: “Lawrence Reinwald”
Marijuana laced with cocaine and PCP.
Crumbs of cocaine.
In L.A., a Crip’s name for a rival Blood.
Blood’s name for a Crip.
Stolen car. From “Gangster ride.”
To arrest.
Selling rock cocaine. Usage: “Mikey’s balling over by the alley.”
Shot at someone. Usage: “I popped a cap at that Blob.”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-10” author: “Robert Terry”
Someone who cares more about the equipment than the music.
A warm, seductive tone reminiscent of older vacuum-tube technology.
Re-creating the feeling, size and space of a performance hall as well as individual instruments.
Shoppers who ask all kinds of questions with no intention of buying. From “I’ll be back for it.” Also: “groupies” or “audiostore cowboys.”
Super-duper, low-resistance audio cables connecting pieces of equipment.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-21” author: “Charles Jones”
Tourists. Usage: “Let’s take the lemmings to the Golden Gate Bridge again.” Also, “crumbs.”
Fictional anecdotes spouted by guides to keep the lemmings happy.
Tourists who study historical information before the tour, then correct guides who tell fairy tales.
A low-end bus tour. Usage: “The polyester parade is eating at the Stuckey’s.”
Game played by guides as they drive through financial districts. Fifty points per sideswiped briefcase.
The one passenger who is always pulling up the rear.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-28” author: “Elizabeth Schneider”
Someone who’s really moving, i.e., at least 85 mph.
Driver who zigzags through traffic at high speeds.
A druggie; also “airhead.”
A car that’s emitting smoke or fluids.
Violation or ticket. Usage: “I’m gonna go give out some V’s.” Also, “fang,” as in, “I really fanged that speeder.”
Arrest a drunk driver.
Handcuff and put in jail.
Hit-and-run accident where the perpetrator gets away.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-16” author: “Susan Ramsey”
Someone who’s got low body fat and is very muscular.
Beyond yoked - all muscle. Also, “roped,” “cut,” “peeled” and “inside out.”
A beginner at the health club.
A regular.
Overweight.
Someone bloated, usually with steroids. Also, “roid,” “blowfish” and “musclehead.”
Suggested wear for women who are too large for the customary G-string leotard.
Someone with a big, muscular back that whittles down to a narrow waist.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-20” author: “Julie Mackin”
A ride, as in “Let’s set up the iron behind the boardwalk.”
So-called because they often require the operator to clean up after ill customers.
High-end prizes given to game winners, like gigantic stuffed animals.
Cheapo prizes, like plastic caterpillars.
To show off the plush.
Most thrilling section of a ride, such as a corkscrew loop on a roller coaster.
Radio code for vomit. Usage: “We’ve got a Signal 40 at the Rotor.”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-15” author: “Jesse Osborne”
Mis-hit groundstroke that flies skyward.
When you hit your doubles partner in the back.
Player with best equipment but little ability.
Racquet with huge head; a.k.a. “cheater.”
Playing really well. Also, “painting the lines.”
Knocked by a bad call. As in “He really got hooked.”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-14” author: “Janet Evetts”
Mother-of-bride. Usage: Loehmann’s has a good selection of MOB dresses.
Hotel or catering hall that often has more than one wedding going on at the same time. Also, wedding mill.
Bride’s veil and headpiece.
Guest who eats more than his share of hors d’oeuvres. Also see “gas guzzler”: someone who runs up the tab at the open bar.
Bridesmaid most intent on catching the bouquet.
Wedding registry.
Afternoon nuptials, like a matinee.
Parents, as in, “Look out, here come the bride’s units.”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-21” author: “Francisco Eberhard”
A landscaper who massacres a garden that was in good shape.
People who sell plants at garden shows. Usage: “Get those petal pushers out of my face.”
Nursery employees. Usage: “Make the yard dogs water the daffodils.”
A hippie or organic gardener.
Spraying plants with pesticides,
Rich people who want instant gardens without having to work on them.
A bug-ridden plant. Usage: “Don’t touch that bush; it’s involved.”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-29” author: “Ivory Vasquez”
To intone liberal orthodoxies in a deep, soothing voice. Named for Sen. Paul Simon, the Illinois Democrat of bow-tie fame.
To read unvaryingly from a staff-prepared text, preferably as if seeing it for the first time. For South Carolina Sen. Thurmond.
For Sen. Arlen. To ask long, seemingly erudite questions on constitutional law. Usage: “That Roe query was really great spectering!”
After Utah’s Sen. Hatch. To act so doggone proud of a nominee that it hurts. Usage: “He was orrinating all over Thomas out there.”
To confuse a discussion of an already confusing topic, e.g., natural law. Usage: “That question just bebidened me.” For Sen. Joe of Delaware.
To grossly exaggerate the merits and qualifications of a nominee. Usage: “Boy, he really bushed that appointment!”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-08” author: “Sherry Frank”
(Short for Mickey Mouse.)
Like McDonald’s, fast and easy.
No assignments until midterm exam; if it’s hard, students drop the class.
A Texas term. Usage: “Last year I got an ‘A’ in Cowboy Chemistry. And I only went once.”
What U. of Chicago students call a gut, insulting their cross-town rivals at the same time.
Easy grading helps grade point average.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-14” author: “George Edwards”
Ability to run several programs at once.
Popular Microsoft program that permits multitasking, among other things.
The current standard in color screens. Usage: “Windows looks great in Super VGA.”
Extra memory. Allows programs to run faster.
A low-profile desktop computer, usually with monitor on top.
Subscriber to a bulletin board who reads messages but never contributes.
Software that speeds up file access. Usage: “My 80-megabyte hard drive really flies with the cache on.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-31” author: “Colleen Jefferson”
Together, as in “Felix is really grounded now that he has kids.”
Cool, as in “Hey man, stupid shirt.”
Really, really cool.
Goodbye. Usage: “Talk to you later. Peace out, man.”
Attached, in a relationship.
Passe, no longer happening. Usage: “This party is played. Let’s go home.”
Used like “Really.?” Usage: “They’ve been having an affair for months.” Reply: “Straight?”
Compliments, as in: “We got lots of dap last night at the club.”
A lot of time (derived from 24 hours, 7 days a week). Usage: “Ever since they met, they’ve been together 24/7.”
Go back to sleep.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-23” author: “Kathleen Erickson”
Dispatcher code for “shut up.” Usage: “1030-it, bus 20, you’re clogging the airwaves.”
A new driver who is slow and makes a lot of mistakes.
Bus
An old bus
A bus driver telling the dispatcher he’s lost.
Fare evader; a.k.a. skidder, skipper.
Passengers
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-11” author: “Lorraine Schmidt”
Used as a noun to describe non-hard-core Trekkers, as they call themselves.
Abbreviation for infinite diversity in infinite combination–a Trekkian theory of life,
Used to describe Trekkers who wear the ridged haircuts of Klingons.
A hard-core Trekker. Usage: “That Get-a-Lifer even knows Leonard Nimoy’s birthday.”
Abbreviation for disgusting, slobbering Patrick Stewart groupie.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-04” author: “Candice Jones”
A lousy tipper. Usage: “I’m not taking Dr. Leibovich. He’s a screw loop.”
A lousy golfer prone to hitting balls into ponds. Goat track: An unkempt, crummy course.
One adept at picking out the big ti Usage: “How did that sniff know Mr. Pit, would give him 20 bucks?”
Caddy who improves a player’s lie by subtly nudging the ball with his foot. Usage: “The Boyds always tip for a foot mashie.”
An inattentive caddy. Also known as a fly trap.
An overloaded, overworked caddy.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-29” author: “Patrick Boudreaux”
American fighter pilots’ derisive term for the Iraqis’ antiaircraft artillery.
A deep valley in the desert, from the Arabic.
Civilian casualties.
Iraqi commanders. As in Homer Simpson, the bumbling cartoon character.
An Iraqi attack plane.
Flight suit.
Pilot talk for the hectic confusion of air-to-air dogfights.
Helmets, which used to be all white. Now they’re camouflaged.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-12” author: “Matthew Robinson”
BMOs: Black Moving Objects, meaning Saudi women in traditional black dress.
Semper Gumby: Marine slang for “always flexible,” playing off Semper Fi.
Rumint: Rumor intelligence, which is about the only information soldiers get.
Saudi cool: What GIs get when they bury their canteens several inches in the sand.
REMFs: Rear Echelon Motherf—ers. A term used by those on the front line to describe those who aren’t.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-24” author: “Brenda Pitts”
A mess. Usage: “We’ve got a real train wreck coming into emergency.”
Pillow on face. A patient who complains too much. Usage: “She’d better quit whining or she’ll be POF.”
A person whose veins are hard to find when drawing blood.
Transfer a patient to another ward. Usage: “Let’s turf that train wreck to neuro.”
Short of breath.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “Karen Gonzalez”
Firefighter who likes climbing ladders.
Japanese-made fire trucks that drive like a 300ZX.
To clean up after a fire.
Common radio code for responding to a fire. Also used for nonfire chores, as in, “I’m 96 to the store.”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-06” author: “Amy Warren”
Flag worship.
Study of flag history.
Flag hobbyist (in Great Britain, Flagwallah).
Flag fact; or vexibyte, if the information is computerized at the flag factory.
A couple of other words not related to vexillum:
A flag maker or designer (derived from Betsy Ross).
A member of the flag industry who is unemployed.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-15” author: “Alberto Duval”
What movers call their profession. Usage: “Hey, Moe, how many years you been humpin’?”
Overstuffed furniture. “Load all the O.S. onto the truck first.”
Carrier Packed. When the company does your packing for you.
When a customer lives on an upper floor of a highrise building. “That move was hell. She lived way up in the air in that new coop on 59th Street.”
To lift a piece of furniture in order to get it through a tight space. “Yeah, hook that sofa right, then jack it and we’re home free.”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-26” author: “Cory Faison”
Marching and maneuvering.
Maximum effort for dramatic impact. Usage: “When we get to letter C, I want biffbo.
The marching band strutting in formation.
An exhausted brass player’s mouth. Rhinos: Tuba players. Bootyfruit: What band members call cheerleaders.
A stunt requiring cheerleaders to stand so straight they could hold a penny between their buns.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-02-01” author: “Frank Faith”
As in Krueger. A customer who keeps returning (the merchandise).
As in riffraff. What veteran employees call temps.
The day after Thanksgiving-the heaviest shopping day of the year.
When clerks spend their breaks wandering through the mall.
Customer in an ugly outfit.
For “nothing fits”–customer who asks for clothing in sizes that won’t fit.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-26” author: “Tomas Randolph”
A technician who only handles disconnections.
When an installer accidentally slides down a telephone pole.
Running cables inside walls. Usage: “That fish job is too tough for a rookie.”
The actual cable, from pole to house.
A customer who thinks he knows everything about cable. Usage: “That fiberoptichead wouldn’t know a drop from a fish job.”
In the West, lifelong cable installer who seeks no upward mobility. In the East, worker who deals with underground cable.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-09” author: “Raymond Miller”
The line around the edge of the pool caused by dirt and algae.
A disgustingly dirty pool.
What pool cleaners call themselves.
Swimmers who mess up the pool with sweat and other body fluids.
To douse it with large amounts of chlorine to fight filth caused by dirtbags.
To put too much acid in pool water, turning it purple.
A very clean pool.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “Joseph Wallace”
Park visitors who Just Don’t Look Right. Usage: “I’ve got two JDLRs up here. I’m going to pull them over and check them out.”
Tourists who act like morons when they enter the park.
When a touron tries to retrieve a souvenir over the edge of, say, the Grand Canyon and needs to be rescued.
Rangers who specialize in firefighting, law enforcement and emergency medicine.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-28” author: “Tristan Coppin”
Workers who climb the tallest trees.
A one-handed tree saw used for limbs.
A large, dangling limb that could easily fall on a tree doctor working below, making a widow out of his wife.
An insect-infested tree.
To hollow out and fill part of a tree with material, to leave air passages open.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-27” author: “Delores Salls”
Exporting garbage from one city to another.
Highly paid recycling consultants who have no hands-on recycling experience and whose plans usually flop.
A business that uses, the fact that it recycles promote itself.
Garbage.
Pulverized plastic, glass and foam left after a car is crushed.
A smell that leaks out of a composting plant or landfill.
A mixture of white and colored paper.
Materials Recovery Facility, where recyclables are sorted.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-22” author: “Stacey Rombough”
A shot to the heart-best because it kills quickly.
A spot where male deer gather, usually in high country.
When you hit a bird and it flies 100 yards before falling.
A young doe, which has no antlers.
A bare-necessities hunting camp with no running water.
One with running water.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-07” author: “Susan Diana”
The players.
A manager prone to arguing.
Home-plate duty, closest to the bat-wielding rats.
Third-base duty, which is usually pretty dull.
A chest protector.
Cleaning off home plate.
A minor leaguer called up to the big league.
Ejecting a Z-baller.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-19” author: “David Bertolini”
It’s going to rain.
It may rain–or it may not rain.
Baby, it’s cold outside.
Too tough to call.
A low, fast-moving cloud.
A ribbon of high humidity.
One that stays far out at sea.
The area of land covered by a severe storm warning.
A tropical storm that has hurricane potential.
Illustration: (HAL MAYFORTH)
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-03” author: “Gayle Malloy”
Day-trippers and other nonlocals.
Naked sunbathers.
When cops confiscate beer cans.
Jaybird whose rear end is showing.
People who hike around the sand dunes.
Looking for couples having sex on the beach.
Squatters who live on the beach illegally.
No traffic jam is too big to stop them.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-08” author: “Erich Walsh”
Good-looking male or female; also, biscuit: a very good-looking guy. Usage: “Look at John in his tux. He’s such a biscuit.”
A rather indiscriminate dating technique.
Someone who wears Birkenstocks, no makeup and is into nature.
An excessive amount of anything, as in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Usage: " I’ve been studying for my midterm 24-7.”
Desk clutter that should have been disposed of at the beginning of the semester but keeps piling up.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-16” author: “Quintin Orr”
An agent who refuses all media opportunities.
To volley with high-ranking corporate types.
Katerina and Manuela Maleeva–internationally feared for their on-court whining.
First day of an unsanctioned exhibition-where players “win” up to $50,000 before even stepping onto the court.
Virginia Slims, the original women’s tour sponsor.
Chris Evert, the first lady of women’s tennis; a.k.a. Chris America.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-29” author: “Kathleen Lambert”
Older American couples.
A tourist weighted down with cheap souvenirs.
A driver who accelerates through a border stop, often leading to a high-speed car chase.
Evading the $10,000 currency-reporting law by making several trips with $9,999. Derivation unknown.
Discovering contraband without a tip; for instance, by ripping open the cloth ceiling of a tastefully airbrushed van.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-15” author: “Curtis Bailey”
Talking over the musical intro right up until the lyrics start.
Missing the post and running smack into the first few words.
The point at which a song, like that “Life Is a Highway” thing, has been played so much people are truly sick of it.
Listeners who use speed dialers to win every giveaway.
Playing a song the first day it’s released-a good way to kiss up to record companies.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-23” author: “Martin Cantrelle”
Person obsessed with streetcars, particularly antiques and retired routes.
Subway bag lady.
A motorman or conductor’s schedule for the day.
Derailment.
Wet, slippery tracks.
Passengers in a crowded train.
The space between a subway car and the platform.
Collecting tokens from the turnstiles. Usage: “Two punks robbed me when I was pulling the wheel.”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-11” author: “Hang Burns”
A couple necking throughout the film.
When ushers have to scrape slime from under seats
An empty seat in a crowded theater.
The usher who takes tickets.
When people slip on the soda-soaked floor.
Nickname for big, old-style movie theaters.
People who bring their own food.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-08” author: “Ann Ray”
The real term for Rollerblading; what aficionados call the sport.
An exceptionally fast skater.
The burns and scrapes a fallen skater gets from sliding on unprotected flesh.
A hopeless neophyte.
A smooth, recently paved street. Great for skating.
A really fast slalom run.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-18” author: “John Evangelista”
Turbulent air (n.), to be done in by same (v.). Usage: “I was trashed today.”
Preferable flying conditions.
Flying so high the pilot could reach a ceiling of 18,000 feet, the highest permissible by the FAA in uncontrolled airspace. Also, “specking out” (so high you’re a speck in the sky).
To drop the nose of the glider sharply when landing, causing a crash.
A “wingover” maneuver involving a sharp 90-degree turn. Looks very impressive.
Glider version of paratroopers’ “Geronimo!” – pilots yell this as they step off a precipice.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-27” author: “Patricia White”
The half-dozen sculpted stomach muscles on a cute guy.
A number of individuals. Usage: “I’m bringing six heads to your kegger.”
Sex.
Someone who’s bad at basketball.
Students who try hard in school.
Bad, not hip, uncool. Usage: “Man, those Hush Puppies are punk.” Also, “wack.”
Very cool, hip.
I’m leaving.
Very drunk.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-29” author: “Mary Pavlovic”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-19” author: “Virginia Hitchcock”
A case of beer (24 bottles). Not to be confused with a six-pack, which is called a poverty pack.
Receiving unemployment benefits.
Rolling through a stop sign.
A hamburger (only in Quebec).
A person who lives in a high-rise that’s connected to other buildings by underground tunnels.
When kids hoist up other kids by the back of their underwear (a “wedgie” in the United States).
The one-dollar coin, which has a loon on it.
A beer belly.
Giving the finger.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-26” author: “Janice Thompson”
Laura Dern and mother, Diane Ladd.
Jodie Foster, who’s everyone’s favorite.
Oliver Stone.
Jack Palance. (That’s what old-time Westerns used to be called.)
What could hurt “The Silence of the Lambs.”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-28” author: “Rodney Pfannenstiel”
A job hunter who wants a job for which he isn’t qualified.
Laid-off defense workers.
Someone who lives off his severance pay.
A person who waits until the last minute before severance runs out before looking for a job. Usage: “How does that midnighter expect me to find him a job tomorrow?”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-26” author: “Gloria Torpey”
A job hunter who wants a job for which he isn’t qualified.
Laid-off defense workers.
Someone who lives off his severance pay.
A person who waits until the last minute before severance runs out before looking for a job. Usage: “How does that midnighter expect me to find him a job tomorrow?”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-26” author: “Joseph Cambre”
Laura Dern and mother, Diane Ladd.
Jodie Foster, who’s everyone’s favorite.
Oliver Stone.
Jack Palance. (That’s what old-time Westerns used to be called.)
What could hurt “The Silence of the Lambs.”
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-20” author: “Andrea Sievers”
Sajack-y: A favorite Letterman reason for nixing jokes, i.e., they sound more appropriate for another TV host.
Wackies: Sketches that employ elaborate props, like a creamed-corn-spewing volcano.
Snappies: One-liners, such as answers to “viewer mail.” Home Base: Dave’s desk onstage.
On the Bus: Describes guests who get bumped when the show runs long. As in, “Cher is on the bus.”
Fish Situation: A mysterious wonder of nature that impresses the writers, like Sam Donaldson’s eyebrows. Named after the NBC commissary’s weekly fish special.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-20” author: “George Bradley”
The red lines left on a fighter pilot’s cheeks by the tight oxygen mask.
No other aircraft, friend or foe, in sight.
Flying in close formation.
Acronym describing seat-of-the-pants flying. Stands for “That Looks About Right.”
Beyond T-LAR flying–“Wild-Ass-Guess” flying.
When you take a bad WAG. From “180 degrees out,” meaning “completely backward” or simply “wrong.”
Flying in the clouds, or in poor visibility.
The point at which fuel supply forces you back to base.
Not sexist-describes fighters lined up behind a tanker for midair refueling.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-25” author: “Harold Ciciora”
The island, as in “I have to leave the rock and go to Boston next week.”
Gay Head and Chilmark area on the western end of the island.
The town of Oak Bluffs.
Merry-go-round in O.B., said to be the oldest in America.
Chappaquiddick, made famous by Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Locals hired for the summer to help with the crowds.
New Englandese for milkshake.
Small lobsters.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-31” author: “Maria Kilgallon”
Main media encampment two miles from the Davidian complex. With 600 police around, it’s billed as “the safest town in America,” a.k.a. Campo Wacko.
The Salvation Army food truck, “open 24 hours.”
A.k.a. T Shirt Hill, the site near the Davidian compound where dozens of vendors have set up shop.
Term used to describe sex lives of Davidian women.
A play on Christmas-the future date when the Davidians may decide to leave their compound.
Jokey “official” ice-cream flavor of Mount Carmel. The catch: you can’t get it out of the carton.
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-01” author: “Marcelo Dow”
An unwelcome Golden State emigrant
A grunge look-plaid shirt with baggy shorts
Being Jewish is a sign of East Coast coolness, so some Seattleites claim to be Jews for the image boost.
Coffee
Originally, a “Masters of the Universe” cartoon bad guy. Nickname for Washington’s dour Sen. Slade Gorton.
Local industry giant Boeing-high pay, easygoing atmosphere
Sensitive New Age Guy; i.e., most male Seattle residents
SOURCE: MONK, THE MOBILE MAGAZINE
title: “Buzzwords” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-27” author: “Dorothy Frazier”
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