First encountered this word in some column by George Will. Which just figures. (Both the fact that it was a George Will-dispatched vocabulary word, and the fact that I have zero recollection of the article save for said word.)
Generally, referring to male-to-female transsexual persons, whether pre- or post-op (or whether or not a transitioning surgery is intended by the person who self-identifies in this manner).
Apparently this is a German version of "two cents." Context in which encountered: The closing of this blog comment, which read "So, those are my zwei pfennig."
I am utterly mystified at the number of German terms I'm encountering on blogs lately (where there is no expressed German theme); see also my annotation for über alles.
From 1900 until about 1950 in the larger Black neighborhoods of major American cities "paper bag parties" are said to have taken place. People whose skin was not lighter than a brown paper bag were denied entry.
Context in which I encountered the term: A comment by Bint Alshamsa:
The arguments that are made for excluding transwomen are the same ones used for excluding women with disabilities and women of color. The deliberate exclusion of transwomen is nothing but the modern-day version of the Paper Bag Test.
(Comment found at this entry at the blog, Superbabymama.)
Apparently this means "above everything else" and is derived from the German*, but one can only get at that definition via Merriam Webster by looking it up as "uber alles." Yet the definition there has the first character of as ü rather than u. Go figure.
Also, apparently if you have this capitalized, as Über Alles, it means something totally different (see the Wikipedia entry here).
* German language words (sorry) will always make me a bit nervous.
Per Urban Dictionary: "style with ease." Context in which I encountered it:
The sobering “Runaway Love�? finds Ludacris weaving a tale of three girls dealing with the realities of rape, drugs, and alcoholism with a solemn resignation no Ludacris song has ever approached. And it does so without compromising his steez - Stylus Magazine, as quoted here.
Ha! Why does the presence of other blamers here (or at minimum, those knowledgeable about the blamer phenomenon) not surprise me?
Perhaps, given what one blamer (not me) offered as an alternative URL for IBTP in this comment today: "isprinkleadorablevocabularylikefairydustwhileobstreperouslylayingbarethepatriarchy.com," Twisty's site attracts at least as many vocabulary fetishists as radical feminists. (Not that these are mutually exclusive identities... hardly!)
Evidently, this means "Diamond-bearing ground." Yet another word I had to look up in the course of reading Twisty Faster's blog, I Blame the Patriarchy - specifically, after this passage:
With the damp, colorless fog that awakened the denizens of the Twisty Bungalow this morning (instead of the expected diamantiferous fanfare of taco-eating cherubim upon which my obstreperal lobe depends for its award-nominated vim and vigor) has also dawned the realization that the FAQ is somewhat out of date.
(And yes, I had to look up cherubim too. Also, to the best of my knowledge, the "obstreperal lobe" is a Twisty-Fasterism, that is, a word made up by the author because no existing word met her writing needs. See also blamer. Truly, this particular blogger's contributions to the modern lexicon are impossible to measure.)
Ooh, that's where I heard it, too. (Somehow it comforts me to know that I'm not the only one who rushes to look up words in the middle of watching Law & Order.) I realize it has the literaly definition of inner ear inflammation leading to vertigo, but I'd like to see it used metaphorically. As in, the dizziness and loss of orientation one feels while wading through complex (indeed, labyrinthine) discussions of controversial subjects.
I love how this word, which describes the classification of diseases, has nothing to do with noses per se, but in some cases (diseases of the nose, obviously) might, just to keep things confusing.
Thanks ever so for the comment; indeed I simply misspelled my entry, and have since deleted it from my collection (adding the correct term, fruitarian).
I do know that it makes a big difference to women I know who were coerced into the industry (whether as children or adults). Typically, once someone is described as a "prostitute," that is seen as the be-all, end-all of their identities, and it's dehumanizing. The thinking is: one wouldn't call someone who had been robbed "robbery," so in those situations where an individual has been forcibly prostituted, one shouldn't call them "prostitutes," either.
I'm not one for political correctness, to be sure. Rather, I'm for accuracy, and this is, in fact, a term in use by many women who have this shared experience. Which is not to say that all women in the industry use this language (plenty are more inclined toward the far more "politically correct" moniker of "sex worker," for example), either before or after their experience in the industry, but it is an important term among those who advocate for the needs and rights of such persons. (Often, of course, such advocates are themselves self-described survivors of the industry, or "formerly prostituted women," just as women working against domestic violence may describe themselves as "formerly battered women.")
I realize the term is controversial; those who use it (especially self-identified survivors) are often targets of ridicule, accused of "political correctness" and the like. But in a society in which NHI (for "No Human Involved") is sometimes stamped on the law enforcement case files of prostituted women who are victims of homicides, it's not, in my opinion, a trivial or merely "semantic" distinction, to employ language that specifically takes notice of their humanity, rather than simply discounting them as "prostitutes," "whores," and other (arguably) derisive terms.
Pidgin term popular in Hawai'i for, well, snot. As Jimmy Hapa explains in his definition for a related phrase, hanabata days at the Urban Dictionary, it is
derived from the Japanese word "hana", meaning 'nose', and the English word "butter", which in spoken in Hawaiian pidgin can sound like 'bata.'
Sounds like a urinary tract infection, I know! But really, it's just another belief system one may encounter among hippies and new agers. (Adherents are called "urantians.") For more, see the Wikipedia entry on The Urantia Book.
A handy alternative to calling trafficked women "prostitutes," which recognizes the humanity of the individuals concerned, and whose identities ought not to be conflated with what is, to many such women, an experience of ongoing serial rape, typically controlled by pimps.
Term of endearment (and sometimes antipathy) for rundown vehicles characteristic of ghetto life - e.g., my first car, the driver's side door for which would not close, and thus was fastened (mostly) shut via bungie cord.
Translation, per the Reef triggerfish entry at Wikipedia: "long-snouted fish shaped like a wiliwili leaf." As fish names in the Hawaiian language go, it's just a bit longer than humuhumunukunuku�?puaʻa, Hawaiʻi's state fish.
Comments by vmarinelli
vmarinelli commented on the user kalli
Oh zoinks, you just reminded me of how much I love Wordie. Really ought to be doing more w/ this account.
May 27, 2008
vmarinelli commented on the word pantsed
Most hilarious usage of "pantsed" (see the UD def if you really didn't know...) encountered recently (via another twitterite, of course):
(via)January 11, 2008
vmarinelli commented on the word recrudescence
First encountered this word in some column by George Will. Which just figures. (Both the fact that it was a George Will-dispatched vocabulary word, and the fact that I have zero recollection of the article save for said word.)
January 11, 2008
vmarinelli commented on the word wingbag
A wingnut who is also an exceptionally tedious windbag.
January 7, 2008
vmarinelli commented on the word twitterite
One who participates in the community of Twitter.
January 7, 2008
vmarinelli commented on the word brobdingnagian
For the best usage of this word, ever: see the haiku of this twitterite: here. (The brilliant mommy blogger behind same: here.)
January 7, 2008
vmarinelli commented on the word bloatware
Example sentence: It took me over two hours to remove only a small portion of the bloatware that ships with the computer.
November 19, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word exogeny
Of or pertaining to that which is foreign to an environment. Antonyms: autochthonous, indigeny.
May 14, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word indigeny
Infrequently used term for autochthonous, from which more oft-used indigenous is derived.
May 14, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word blanguage
The language of the blogosphere, including words like blogfodder, bloggernacle, antipornosphere, linkworthy, bligot, commentariat, and blognosticate.
March 9, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word pachyphobic
A term which apparently means fat-phobic, possibly coined by profeminist writer Jimmy Ho. (See, for example, in his comment here.)
March 5, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word transwomen
Generally, referring to male-to-female transsexual persons, whether pre- or post-op (or whether or not a transitioning surgery is intended by the person who self-identifies in this manner).
March 3, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word zwei pfennig
Apparently this is a German version of "two cents." Context in which encountered: The closing of this blog comment, which read "So, those are my zwei pfennig."
I am utterly mystified at the number of German terms I'm encountering on blogs lately (where there is no expressed German theme); see also my annotation for über alles.
March 3, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word paper bag test
Per the Wikipedia entry:
Context in which I encountered the term: A comment by Bint Alshamsa: (Comment found at this entry at the blog, Superbabymama.)March 3, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word über alles
Apparently this means "above everything else" and is derived from the German*, but one can only get at that definition via Merriam Webster by looking it up as "uber alles." Yet the definition there has the first character of as ü rather than u. Go figure.
Also, apparently if you have this capitalized, as Über Alles, it means something totally different (see the Wikipedia entry here).
* German language words (sorry) will always make me a bit nervous.
March 2, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word steez
Per Urban Dictionary: "style with ease." Context in which I encountered it:
March 2, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word diamantiferous
Ha! Why does the presence of other blamers here (or at minimum, those knowledgeable about the blamer phenomenon) not surprise me?
Perhaps, given what one blamer (not me) offered as an alternative URL for IBTP in this comment today: "isprinkleadorablevocabularylikefairydustwhileobstreperouslylayingbarethepatriarchy.com," Twisty's site attracts at least as many vocabulary fetishists as radical feminists. (Not that these are mutually exclusive identities... hardly!)
February 28, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word trope
The first time I encountered this word was in Adrienne Rich's poem, Poetry I:
Damn, but I love Adrienne Rich.February 27, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word diamantiferous
Evidently, this means "Diamond-bearing ground." Yet another word I had to look up in the course of reading Twisty Faster's blog, I Blame the Patriarchy - specifically, after this passage:
(And yes, I had to look up cherubim too. Also, to the best of my knowledge, the "obstreperal lobe" is a Twisty-Fasterism, that is, a word made up by the author because no existing word met her writing needs. See also blamer. Truly, this particular blogger's contributions to the modern lexicon are impossible to measure.)February 27, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word labyrinthitis
Ooh, that's where I heard it, too. (Somehow it comforts me to know that I'm not the only one who rushes to look up words in the middle of watching Law & Order.) I realize it has the literaly definition of inner ear inflammation leading to vertigo, but I'd like to see it used metaphorically. As in, the dizziness and loss of orientation one feels while wading through complex (indeed, labyrinthine) discussions of controversial subjects.
February 26, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word nosology
I love how this word, which describes the classification of diseases, has nothing to do with noses per se, but in some cases (diseases of the nose, obviously) might, just to keep things confusing.
February 26, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word transmogrify
Oh, excellent! Glad to know it wasn't just me. :)
February 8, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word fruititarian
Thanks ever so for the comment; indeed I simply misspelled my entry, and have since deleted it from my collection (adding the correct term, fruitarian).
(And yes, I do feel like an ass right now!)
February 7, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word prostituted woman
I do know that it makes a big difference to women I know who were coerced into the industry (whether as children or adults). Typically, once someone is described as a "prostitute," that is seen as the be-all, end-all of their identities, and it's dehumanizing. The thinking is: one wouldn't call someone who had been robbed "robbery," so in those situations where an individual has been forcibly prostituted, one shouldn't call them "prostitutes," either.
I'm not one for political correctness, to be sure. Rather, I'm for accuracy, and this is, in fact, a term in use by many women who have this shared experience. Which is not to say that all women in the industry use this language (plenty are more inclined toward the far more "politically correct" moniker of "sex worker," for example), either before or after their experience in the industry, but it is an important term among those who advocate for the needs and rights of such persons. (Often, of course, such advocates are themselves self-described survivors of the industry, or "formerly prostituted women," just as women working against domestic violence may describe themselves as "formerly battered women.")
I realize the term is controversial; those who use it (especially self-identified survivors) are often targets of ridicule, accused of "political correctness" and the like. But in a society in which NHI (for "No Human Involved") is sometimes stamped on the law enforcement case files of prostituted women who are victims of homicides, it's not, in my opinion, a trivial or merely "semantic" distinction, to employ language that specifically takes notice of their humanity, rather than simply discounting them as "prostitutes," "whores," and other (arguably) derisive terms.
Hope that clarification helps.
February 7, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the list seanahan-s-words
Great list. And thanks for the correction WRT fruitarian. I'd just spelled it wrong. Horrors!
February 7, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word fruitarian
A bizarre dietary dogma among some of the hippies and New Agers I grew up with.
February 7, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word amazaki
An almond-derived beverage one can sometimes get from health food stores.
February 7, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word blamer
An aficionado/ member of the commentariat corresponding to the blog, I Blame the Patriarchy. (See also: radfem.)
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word hanabata days
In a word, childhood. (See the Urban Dictionary entry for more.)
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word hanabata
Pidgin term popular in Hawai'i for, well, snot. As Jimmy Hapa explains in his definition for a related phrase, hanabata days at the Urban Dictionary, it is
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word trophology
A new age belief system revolving around a theory of food combining.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word urantia
Sounds like a urinary tract infection, I know! But really, it's just another belief system one may encounter among hippies and new agers. (Adherents are called "urantians.") For more, see the Wikipedia entry on The Urantia Book.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word frugivore
Animals whose natural diet consists chiefly of fruit. Not a recommended regimen for humans, despite the existence of self-described fruitarians.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word fruititarian
A bizarre dietary dogma among some of the hippies and New Agers I grew up with.
Doh! See instead the correct term, fruitarian.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word bonobo
One of the hornier species of primates, besides us humans (and with far fewer hangups about same-gender sexual relations). Remarkably peaceful apes.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word radfem
In the plural form "radfems," a term of endearment or abuse (depending on one's politics) for those who identify with radical feminism.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word prostituted woman
A handy alternative to calling trafficked women "prostitutes," which recognizes the humanity of the individuals concerned, and whose identities ought not to be conflated with what is, to many such women, an experience of ongoing serial rape, typically controlled by pimps.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word breaking luck
In the urban undergound of sex trafficking, a prostituted woman's first trick or john of the evening.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word transmogrify
For years, I thought this was a made-up word, because of the context in which I first encountered it: the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word hillbilly
The much-maligned, fiercely proud mountain people of Appalachia.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word postfeminist
A rhetorical product of postmodernism, to which thinking people may respond with, "I'll be postfeminist in the post-patriarchy."
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word hooptie
Term of endearment (and sometimes antipathy) for rundown vehicles characteristic of ghetto life - e.g., my first car, the driver's side door for which would not close, and thus was fastened (mostly) shut via bungie cord.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word pau
"Finished" in Hawaiian.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word kapu
Hawaiian term for taboo/forbidden.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word pornstitution
The controversial radical feminist term, meant to invoke the myriad ways in which prostitution and pornography are interdependent phenomena.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word metatron
The name of an angel in Judaism and some branches of Christianity. (Via the Wikipedia entry, not my own theological knowledge, I should specify.)
Context in which I encountered the term: watching Kevin Smith's film, Dogma, of course!
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word lauwiliwilinukunukuʻoiʻoi
Translation, per the Reef triggerfish entry at Wikipedia: "long-snouted fish shaped like a wiliwili leaf." As fish names in the Hawaiian language go, it's just a bit longer than humuhumunukunuku�?puaʻa, Hawaiʻi's state fish.
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word humuhumunukunuku�?puaʻa
Why, by cutting and pasting from where I found it published elsewhere, of course. I'm far too lazy to look up how to do that stuff manually!
February 6, 2007
vmarinelli commented on the word humuhumunukunuku�?puaʻa
Big word, tiny fish. From my old stomping grounds in Hawaiʻi.
February 5, 2007