Po Slovensky

New words, or neologisms, are growing like mushrooms these days. There are even people who coin them for fun, with the prospect of being used only once, i.e. when they are written down on their blogs. Lots of terms arise out of necessity, being required by new lifestyles and conditions. Hardly do we realize that many present, commonly used words were once formed this way, completely fresh and fascinating for the users. But fast food, UFO, sci-fi, Lego etc. won’t raise eyebrows any longer. I will show you what might. All expressions below have appeared in the press although not yet in dictionaries.

* Amazon v. To take away business from a more established rival by being the first to build an online presence. [From e-commerce pioneer Amazon.com.]

* E.T. application n. A software program that “phones home” by secretly sending data to an online destination.

* hand-me-up n. A used object, especially an article of clothing, passed from a younger person to an older person. [Opposite of a hand-me-down.]

* himbo n. A man who is good-looking, but unintelligent or superficial. [From the feminine insult bimbo.]

* nag factor n. The degree to which parents’ purchasing decisions are based on being nagged by their children.

* ninja loan n. A loan or mortgage given to a person who has no income, no job, and no assets. [From the phrase, No Income, No Job or Assets.]

* sticky software n. Software that users stick with over the years because the programs fulfill a need or perform a service.

* Triple-u n. A verbal shortcut for the always awkward “www” part of a Web address. For example “triple-u dot wordspy dot com” from where I’ve taken all these examples. Check it out for more!