June 29, 2010
Baader-Meinhof is the phenomenon where one happens upon some obscure piece of information– often an unfamiliar word or name– and soon afterwards encounters the same subject again, often repeatedly. The phenomenon bears some similarity to synchronicity, which is the experience of having a highly meaningful coincidence… such as having someone telephone you while you are thinking about them. How the phenomenon came to be known as ‘Baader-Meinhof’ is uncertain. It seems likely that some individual learned of the existence of the historic German urban guerrilla group which went by that name, and then heard the name again soon afterwards.
Posted in Language, Science |
Leave a Comment »
June 28, 2010
Wolf ticket (or woof ticket) is a slang term meaning a verbal threat, criticism, or insult used to intimidate an opponent. The term originates from ‘woofing,’ meaning aimless talk, an onomatopoeic reference to the sound of dogs barking. The term is usually used as a part of the phrase ‘to sell wolf tickets,’ meaning to bluff or threaten someone in a boastful way, or ‘to buy wolf tickets,’ meaning to call the bluff or accept the implied challenge.
Professor Emeritus Herbert L. Foster noted in the first edition of his book ‘Ribbin’, Jivin’, and Playin’ the Dozens: The Unrecognized Dilemma of Inner City Schools’ that his students, in New York City Public School 613, about 1964, started using the expression ‘woof’ or ‘wolf’ ticket interchangeably. Since he was teaching graphic arts, his students, at first, printed wolf tickets. As Foster became more astute about his students’ street culture, he created the woof ticket that was used on the street and discussed further in his book.
read more »
Posted in Language |
Leave a Comment »
June 28, 2010
Slash fiction, or slashfic, is a genre of fan fiction that focuses on the depiction of romantic or sexual relationships between fictional characters. While the term was originally restricted to stories in which male media characters were involved in an explicit adult relationship as a primary plot element, it is now often used to refer to any fan story containing a pairing between same-sex characters, although many fans distinguish the female-focused variety as a separate genre commonly referred to as ‘femslash.’
Posted in Language, Love, Sex |
Leave a Comment »
June 24, 2010
The English language makes a distinction between blue and green, but some languages do not. Of these, quite a number do not distinguish blue from black either. In languages that do not have separate terms for blue and green, one word applies to both (when the issue is discussed in linguistics, this cover term is sometimes called grue or bleen in English).
Posted in Language, World |
Leave a Comment »
June 24, 2010
In disc golf or other disc-related sports, a hyzer [hahy-zer] is a throw which curves in the direction opposite of the arm used to throw. For a normal straight shot, you release the disc flat. To throw a hyzer, simply tilt the edge of the disc opposite your grip toward the ground. The more you tilt this edge toward the ground at release, the faster the disc will curve off in the hyzer direction. For an anhyzer, the edge is tilted up, and the disc curves in the same direction as the arm used to throw.
The terms are similar to hook and slice in golf. Hook shots curve in the direction opposite of the player’s handedness (i.e. right-handed players hook left), and slices do the opposite (i.e. right handed players slice right).
Posted in Games, Language |
Leave a Comment »
