Merriam-Webster Unabridged, the largest, most comprehensive American lexicon currently available, has just added 1,700 new words to its dictionary. Making waves is hsaing-waing, which is a Burmese way of saying it with gongs.
Also on the list are FWIW, which stands for "for what it's worth", WTF (What’s the F? you needed to ask), NSFW, which is an acronym for "not safe or suitable for work”, chilaquiles and crema (that’s coffee to you and me).
These may be NSFW, but WTF. Not so is a Bloomberg list of favourites in certain sectors. Information Technology is led by cloud, an apt choice considering that under the new dispensation, it is raining visas in that arena. In fact, sponsorship visa is the fifth most popular term according to Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, the 2015 Collins Scrabble Dictionary permits 6,500 new words. They include thanx (in short supply these days), obvs (obviously short for obviously), grr (“Grr,” said the polar bear to the walrus as he lost his cool; the carpenter had already had the oysters for supper), and ridic (How ridic to talk about gay days when you mean merry and happy times).
Trending now is Y2K on which several Indians made their fortunes and H2G, the short form of had to go, like a US president needing a comfort break.
But of greater interest to our readers will be job slang. Beijinger gives a few synonyms: Office worker: paper pusher; Accountant: number crusher; Psychiatrist: (head) shrink; Doctor: quack; Policeman: cop; and Boss: bigwig.
Others have added a few more. Waitaitai offers the examples of Office worker: drone; Accountant: bean counter; Assistant: gopher; and Stay-at-home-mom: word game loving geek.
On second thoughts, he proffers Writer: hack; Lawyer: ambulance chaser; and Bartender: drink slinger. He must have got up on the wrong side of his wife (the stay-at-home-mom) that day. His third thought is domestic engineer equals domestic goddess.
Why do titles and words matter? Because, as we have said before, it gives a person a sense of identity and, more importantly, a sense of belonging. Take Macavity. He scores over Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer and Griddlebone. Macavity is a triple pun too complicated to explain here. Rumpleteazer suffers from two different spellings of his name. Griddlebone is a companion of Growltiger the roughest cat that ever roamed at large: “From Gravesend up to Oxford he pursued his evil aims, Rejoicing in his title of The Terror of the Thames.”
The best job title substitutes include: dispatch services facilitator — post room worker; media distribution officer — paper boy; crockery cleansing operative — dish washer; revenue protection officer — ticket inspector; cash relations officer — banker; coin facilitation engineer — toll booth collector; petroleum transfer engineer — petrol pump attendant; head of verbal communications –secretary / receptionist; stock replenishment advisor — shelf stacker; flueologist — chimney sweep; knowledge navigator — teacher; waste removal engineer — bin man; education centre nourishment production assistant — dinner lady; vision clearance engineer — window cleaner.
Titles can be interpreted in various ways. People thought Richard Branson had named his airline and group Virgin because he wanted to create an image of chastity and perfection. But, as he confessed in an interview later, while they were brainstorming for a name, his secretary said: “We should call it Virgin because there are so few of them around”. The name stuck.
BEES’ BUZZWORDS
Popular 2015 jargon in key sectors
Information Technology
Cloud, Females (they have IT)
Intelligence
EEO (equal employment opportunity)
affirmative
Sponsorship visa
Finance
Investment, Mortgage, Portfolio,
Asset, Series
Energy
Oil, Gas, Drilling, Chemicals, Reservoir
Source: Bloomberg & others
