Word Spy

libel tourist

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:14:28 EST

libel tourist
n. A person who sues for libel in a foreign country, particularly one that has libel laws favorable to the plaintiff.
—libel tourism n.

Example Citations:

The committee also wants it to be made more difficult for foreign "libel tourists" and big companies to bring British libel actions.
—David Leigh, "In the line of fire: 'toothless' PCC and the cost of libel," The Guardian, February 24, 2010

England has long been a mecca for aggrieved people from around the world who want to sue for libel. Russian oligarchs, Saudi businessmen, multinational corporations, American celebrities — all have made their way to London's courts, where jurisdiction is easy to obtain and libel laws are heavily weighted in favor of complainants....The justice secretary, Jack Straw, said recently that he was alarmed about 'libel tourism.'
—Sarah Lyall, "Britain, Long A Libel Mecca, Reviews Laws," The New York Times, December 11, 2009

Earliest Citation:

Prominent figures around the world, in the United States and especially Russia, are queueing up to bring defamation cases to Britain, even if the actions appear to have only a passing connection with this country. The attraction is the relative ease of success in English libel law.
—Michael Streeter, "'Libel tourists' come to sue, grab it and run," The Independent, December 7, 1997

Category:

Law and Order

Posted on February 24, 2010

Permalink: http://www.wordspy.com/words/libeltourist.asp

cyberdisinhibition

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:15:03 EST

cyberdisinhibition
n. A temporary loss of inhibition while online. Also: cyber-disinhibition.

Example Citations:

According to the study, their world is expanding and narrowing at the same time because of social media's hyperlocalization quotient. And "cyberdisinhibition" — being more willing to behave online in ways they wouldn't in person — has both emboldened users and led them to inappropriate behavior.
—"Americans redefining their lives online and offline with social media tools," RISMedia, November 23, 2009

A recent study confirmed what we all suspect: The anonymity afforded by the Internet emboldens people to spread their inner creepiness. The authors of the study, published by Euro RSCG Worldwide, even coined a new term, "cyberdisinhibition," to describe the phenomena.
—Joe Livernois, "Joe Livernois: Wild Web deserves to be tamed," Monterey County Herald, January 24, 2010

Earliest Citation:

For what you are describing is the well-researched but under-reported phenomenon of cyber-disinhibition. Psychologist Daniel Goleman explains that it was noticed in the first days of the internet, then known as the Arpanet and used by a small group of scientists. They noticed "flaming," the tendency to send abrasive, angry and emotionally wild cyber-messages.
—"Blame cyber-disinhibition for inflaming e-rage," Canberra Times, March 7, 2006

Categories:

Internet
Psychology

Posted on January 29, 2010

Permalink: http://www.wordspy.com/words/cyberdisinhibition.asp

cosmophobia

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:03:45 EST

cosmophobia
n. The strong and irrational fear that in the near future the earth will be destroyed by some cosmic event.

Example Citations:

There are 19 million 2012-related Google hits, and a vast number of those are concerned with a real world's [sic] and not the Roland Emmerich film that cashes in on rampant fear and on the tastes of those who enjoyed the way he destroyed the world in "Independence Day" and "The Day After Tomorrow."...This latest bit of cosmophobia is based on the Maya or Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, which, set up to run for 5,125 years, appears to terminate on or about Dec. 21, 2012, thus wrecking the key holiday shopping season.
—John Bogert, "Here comes the end of the world — again," Daily Breeze, October 22, 2009

Cosmophobia is the fear of the cosmos, particularly the terror that the world will end by means of some astronomical occurrence. Think 2012, for it seems the previews for the movie are causing quite a psychic ruckus, much more than a minor tremor in the force.
—Ralfee Finn, "Tame Your Cosmophobia," East Bay Express, October 21, 2009

Earliest Citation:

But I receive questions every day from people who have just become aware of some astronomical discovery and ask if it is dangerous to them or their families (or will be in 2012)....I call this new series of concerns "cosmophobia" — fear of the cosmos.
—David Morrison, "Doomsday 2012, the Planet Nibiru, and Cosmophobia" (PDF file), Astronomy Beat, September 21, 2009

Notes:

A more general sense of the term cosmophobia — fear of outer space — has been around since at least the 1920s.

Categories:

Diseases and Syndromes
Psychology

Posted on January 28, 2010

Permalink: http://www.wordspy.com/words/cosmophobia.asp

eco-bling

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:21:46 EST

eco-bling
n. Ineffective green technology, particular equipment added on to an existing building that does little to reduce the building's use of natural resources. Also: ecobling.

Example Citations:

Doug King, a visiting professor of building engineering physics at the University of Bath and author of the new report, said that it had become fashionable for people to install renewable energy at home but warned against it. "Eco-bling describes unnecessary renewable energy visibly attached to the outside of poorly-designed buildings - it's a zero-sum approach," he said. "If you build something that is just as energy-hungry as every other building and then put a few wind turbines and solar cells on the outside that addresses a few per cent of that building's energy consumption, you've not achieved anything.
—Alok Jha, "Eco-bling and retrofitting won't meet emissions targets, warn engineers," The Guardian, January 20, 2010

In new buildings, energy efficiency does not need to come at an additional cost, especially if it is introduced at the planning stage. Last minute eco-changes or later eco-additions tend to be ineffective, costly and often not very aesthetic. 'Eco bling' has had its day.
—Sibylle Clucas, "Sustainable building for the future," The Western Mail, April 29, 2009

Earliest Citation:

The time for knee jerk green tokenism and Eco-Bling are almost behind us as we begin to see clients taking a more mature approach to sustainability in the Built Environment.
—Jeremy Percy, "Sustainability: No time for eco-bling and sustaina-babble," What's New in Building, July 10, 2007

Notes:

Here's an earlier use of this phrase that refers to bling (shiny baubles and accessories) that have an ecological theme:

This campaign really has legs. Not only has the DPPEA Re3 team received sponsorship from nationally known corporate players and gotten nationwide participation in their contests, but they are showing up at street fairs and other special events around the state. They are showing off their new "eco-bling": T-shirts, stickers, bottle openers (what else do 20-somethings like more than fashion, surfing and TV?) and sharing recycling facts.
—Muriel Williman, "Recycling message hits Triangle airwaves," Chapel Hill Herald, July 16, 2005

Categories:

Environment
Technology (General)

Posted on January 21, 2010

Permalink: http://www.wordspy.com/words/eco-bling.asp

vegangelical

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:11:13 EST

vegangelical
n. An extremely zealous vegan who is eager to make other people believe in and convert to veganism. [Blend of vegan and evangelical.]

Example Citations:

Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero are vegangelicals with a sense of humor, a sense of proportion and a sense of adventure. What else would you expect from two gals who host a podcast called The Post Punk Kitchen (ThePPK.com)?
—Ted Scheffler, "Eat Your Veggies," Salt Lake City Weekly, January 31, 2008

Dynise Balcavage, 42, an associate creative director at an advertising agency and vegan who lives in Philadelphia, said she has been happily married to her omnivorous husband, John Gatti, 53, for seven years.

'We have this little dance we've choreographed in the kitchen,' she said. She prepares vegan meals and averts her eyes when he adds anchovies or cheese. And she does not show disapproval when he orders meat in a restaurant.

'I'm not a vegangelical,' she said. 'He's an adult and I respect his choices just as he respects mine.'
—Kate Murphy, "I Love You, But You Love Meat," The New York Times, February 13, 2008

Earliest Citation:

When I first made the step to becoming vegan, I was a militant little prick. Not in a bad way, I mean I wasn't a vegangelical, if that's what you're wondering.
—"The right reasons," The Smoking Vegans, April 15, 2005

Notes:

The way that the writer uses vegangelical in the earliest citation is quite matter-of-fact, as though the word was no big deal in his or her neck of the linguistic woods. Yes, maybe that person just happens to write in a relentlessly matter-of-fact style, but I think it's reasonable to assume that the term is older, perhaps much older, than 2005.

Categories:

Food and Drink
Lifestyles
People

Posted on January 21, 2010

Permalink: http://www.wordspy.com/words/vegangelical.asp

orphan cancer

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:05:51 EST

orphan cancer
n. A rare cancer that gets little attention and little funding for research.

Example Citations:

The treatment is being tested at Stony Brook University Medical Center as a therapy for cancer of the appendix, a malignancy so rare it is known as an orphan cancer.
—Delthia Ricks, "New York doctors testing heated chemo for rare cancer," Newsday, March 5, 2009

When Kate became ill, with a rare cancer called clear cell sarcoma, she reacted practically, and generously. She started a fund for research and treatment of "orphan" cancers like hers and played benefit concerts with her children Rufus and Martha Wainwright to swell its coffers.
—Robert Everett-Green, "Goodbye sweet harmony," The Globe and Mail, January 20, 2010

Earliest Citation:

He hates the thought of pet diseases, the idea that Americans whip out their checkbooks at the mere mention of some ailments while others go begging. Chest cancers, he says, are forgotten, orphan cancers.
—Claudia Feldman, "Chest cancers," The Houston Chronicle, November 28, 1993

Notes:

Here's a slightly earlier citation, but I'm not calling it the "earliest" citation because of the ambiguity of the phrase "orphan cancer drug" (is it a drug to treat an orphan cancer or, more likely, an orphan drug to treat cancer):

For an orphan cancer drug, which was left gathering dust on a shelf for 20 years until the Aids virus came along, [AZT] is the classic rags to riches story.
—Aileen Ballantyne, "Aids drug likely to offer HIV carriers a better life," The Guardian, August 19, 1989

Categories:

Diseases and Syndromes
Medicine

Posted on January 20, 2010

Permalink: http://www.wordspy.com/words/orphancancer.asp

robocall

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:01:39 EST

robocall
n. An automated phone call that plays a recorded message. Also: robo-call.

Example Citations:

Obama also recorded an automated robocall to urge Massachusetts voters to support the Democrat, and he cut a Web video with the same message.
—Janet Hook, "Healthcare overhaul may depend on Massachusetts Senate race," Los Angeles Times, January 16, 2010

These calls are nothing but political spam, and since it is possible to thwart computer-spam transmissions, surely the technology exists, or can be devised, to block robocalls. I am aware of the First Amendment implications of what I am proposing, and they weigh on me. But I should be able to keep my home free of robocalls — an odious invasion of privacy, a burden on my precious time and a barrier to real and possibly important phone calls — if I so choose.
—Howard Schneider, "Spam, When the In-Box Is My Ear," The New York Times, October 31, 2009

Earliest Citation:

For the Democrats, Vice President Al Gore is taping radio spots in Spanish and Hillary Rodham Clinton's voice is on the other end of thousands of "robo calls" placed to New Mexicans. Republicans want Democrats to stay home Election Day, she says, "but we can't let them get away with that."
—Rob Fournier, "It all comes down to which party can turn out voters on Nov. 3," The Associated Press, October 26, 1998

Notes:

Here's an earlier citation, but one that seems to be using the phrase, oddly, to refer to voice mail:

Cochrane's employer recently turned to robo-call. Last month, Montgomery Ward's credit department switched on an automated (800) 955-9273 number — and immediately heard the wrath of its customers.
—Laura Brooks, "Voice mail is a boon to some, but a hang-up for others," The Arizona Daily Star, September 14, 1995

Category:

Telephones

Posted on January 20, 2010

Permalink: http://www.wordspy.com/words/robocall.asp

email apnea

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:09:44 EST

email apnea
n. The unconscious and temporary suspension of regular breathing while checking and reading email. Also: e-mail apnea.

Example Citations:

Researchers say that the stress of not being able to process information as fast as it arrives, combined with the personal and social expectation that, say, you will answer every e-mail message, can deplete and demoralize you. ... Author Linda Stone, who coined the term "continuous partial attention" to describe the mental state of today's knowledge workers, says she's now noticing, get this, "e-mail apnea": the unconscious suspension of regular and steady breathing when people tackle their e-mail.
—Paul Hemp, "Death by Information Overload," Harvard Business Review, September 1, 2009

The idea is to develop better breathing habits, so your not experiencing apnea (holding your breath) in situations that you may not be aware of as stressful. These small situation or "pebble stones" never seem to register as something significant, however, collectively they add up. For example the dangers of email apnea (holding or shallow breathing, while doing email) have been warned against.
—Jayme Albin, "Breathing your way to a happier and healthier life," Ask the Cognitive Behavior Therapist, April 2, 2009

Earliest Citation:

I wanted to know — how widespread is "email apnea?" I observed others on computers and Blackberries: in their offices, their homes, at cafes — the vast majority of people held their breath, or breathed very shallowly, especially when responding to email. I watched people on cell phones, talking and walking, and noticed that most were mouth-breathing and hyperventilating.
—Linda Stone, "Just Breathe: Building the case for Email Apnea," The Huffington Post, February 8, 2008

Notes:

Categories:

E-mail
Diseases and Syndromes

Posted on January 19, 2010

Permalink: http://www.wordspy.com/words/emailapnea.asp

mommy card

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 06:18:12 EST

mommy card
n. A calling card that includes a mother's name and contact information. Also: mom card.

Example Citations:

Being a parent is a job in itself, which is exactly why Carrie Hendrix developed "mommy cards," business cards for parents....Depending on the design chosen, some mommy cards come with a bit of ribbon snaked through them. It makes them stand out from the everyday card, Hendrix said.
—Allison Miles, "Several Crossroads businesses jazz up their business cards," Victoria Advocate, July 26, 2009

In the past few years, "mom cards" of all description have been showing up at baby groups, soccer fields and playgrounds. Some are printed with cutesy one-liners ("Get your mommy to call my mommy") while others are emblazoned with damask or leopard prints. But the basic information is the same: the mother's name, phone number and a job title such as Rugrat Wrangler or Annabelle's Mom.
—Adriana Barton, "Networking mommies: Here's my card, let's do sandbox," The Globe and Mail, January 11, 2010

Earliest Citation:

Tracy Ottinger left behind her suits and business cards when she decided to become a stay-at-home mom. She didn't miss the suits, but she was frustrated at not having a convenient way to provide information about herself. She started making her own "mommy cards" that listed her job, "Mother of Jake and Eli," her address, phone numbers and e-mail address.
—Peggy O'Crowley, "Moms' formal introduction," The Star-Ledger, March 14, 2004

Notes:

Category:

Pregnancy and Parenting

Posted on January 15, 2010

Permalink: http://www.wordspy.com/words/mommycard.asp

obesogen

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:52:05 EST

obesogen
n. A chemical that leads to obesity by increasing the production and storage capacity of fat cells; a environmental trigger that causes obesity.

Example Citations:

In 2006 he fed pregnant mice tributyltin, a disinfectant and fungicide used in marine paints, plastics production, and other products, which enters the food chain in seafood and drinking water. "The offspring were born with more fat already stored, more fat cells, and became 5 to 20 percent fatter by adulthood," Blumberg says. Genetic tests revealed how that had happened. The tributyltin activated a receptor called PPAR gamma, which acts like a switch for cells' fate: in one position it allows cells to remain fibroblasts, in another it guides them to become fat cells... The effect was so strong and so reliable that Blumberg thought compounds that reprogram cells' fate like this deserved a name of their own: obesogens.
—Sharon Begley, "Born to be Big," Newsweek, September 21, 2009

Obesogen is a name we gave to chemicals that can inappropriately stimulate either the development of fat cells or the storage of more fat in pre-existing fat cells. This is a finding we first published in 2006, and it is starting to catch attention. We show that a class of chemicals called organotins are obesogens. Other labs have shown that Bisphenol-A and PFOA (a carboxylic acid used for such things as non-stick coating) are obesogens. There may be others. No one has really looked before. We encounter obesogens in a lot of different ways. They leach out of plastic food and beverage containers (things like plastic bottles that contain bottled water). So they enter our food supply.
—Gary Robbins, "Scientists explore whether plastics can make us fatter," Orange County Register, November 8, 2009

Earliest Citation:

Obesity is communicated from parents to children through many potential Obesogens' — from the choices available at breakfast, the transport to school, the contents of the lunchbox, the weekend activities, the rules on eating sweets or the presence of TV sets in the bedroom.
—Tim Lobstein, "Child obesity: public health meets the global economy," Consumer Policy Review, January 1, 2004

Notes:

Categories:

Health and Fitness
Medicine

Posted on January 14, 2010

Permalink: http://www.wordspy.com/words/obesogen.asp