New words in the dictionary — a quiz (part 2)

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At the Get Published Writers Conference in Bozeman this past June, where I was a speaker, my friend Lynn Kinnamon, the conference chair, shared these new words. All were published in the Merriam Website Online Dictionary in the last year or so. How many can you define?

 

8. sriracha (n)

9. vocal fry (n)

10. dark web

11. dox (v)

12. hyperlocal (n, adj)

13. lifehack (n)

14. microaggression

Part 1 last week

ANSWERS:

8. a hot sauce made of chile peppers, often used in Thai food; said SEE-rah-chah

9. the break in a voice when it drops to the lowest register; women tend to be criticized for it, and NPR reports that researchers have found some people view it as a sign of being untrustworthy

10. online, the hidden web, operating with masked ISPs and false, sometimes stolen, user names, usually for illicit ops, such as the child porn ring that stole a local man’s id, triggering a search warrant and much agony

11. to publish private info on line, without consent, to harass or cause trouble

12. not, as you might think, a very specific location or small community, but the practice of focusing on information directed at a specific community, such as a weekly newspaper that publishes info aimed at residents of a specific community and rarely comments on regional or national news

13. a tip for making life easier, like using plastic tags from bread bags to label power cords in the tangle behind your desk

14. In the words of Columbia University professor Derald Wing Sue, “the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.”

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