Pay Attention, Mentee; It's Time to Upskill. You'd be a Plank Not to.

As a proof reader, it’s vitally important that you keep up with the latest neologisms. You don’t want to mark up a proof, confident that you’ve highlighted some real humdingers, only to discover the only thing you’ve successfully drawn attention to is your own inability to ‘get with the times’ (that’s how the kids put it, I believe).

Take a good look at your dictionary. If it looks like something that’s been rescued from a war zone (and smells like something from an Edgar Allen Poe story), it’s probably time to invest in a new one. New words are added to the English vocabulary every year. So, the older your dictionary, the more impoverished your vocabulary is likely to be.

There are a number of great (and entirely free) online dictionaries to choose from. If, like me, however, you gain a certain amount of comfort from the physical artefact of a ‘real’ book (the rustle of paper, the smell of ink and page preserver), why not pop along to our Amazon store and browse away.

The following neologisms are from the revised eleventh edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary.

abdominoplasty
n. Medicine a surgical operation involving the removal of excess flesh from the abdomen.

aerobicized or aerobicised
adj. (of a person's body) toned by aerobic exercise: aerobicized Hollywood women.

agroterrorism
n. terrorist acts intended to disrupt or damage a country's agriculture.
– derivatives: agroterrorist n.

bahookie
n. Scottish a person's buttocks.
– origin 1930s: prob. a blend of behind and hough + -ie.

best
– phrases: best of breed
– any item or product considered to be the best of its kind.

blowback
n.
2. chiefly US the unintended adverse results of a political action or situation.

celebutante
n. a celebrity who is well known in fashionable society.
– origin 1930s: blend of celebrity and debutante.

crunk
n. a type of hip-hop or rap music characterized by repeated shouted catchphrases and elements typical of electronic dance music, such as prominent bass.
adj. US, chiefly black slang (of a person) very excited or full of energy.
– origin 1990s: perh. an alt. past part. of crank1 or a blend of crazy and drunk.

elephant
– phrases: the elephant in the room a major problem or controversial issue which is obviously present but avoided as a subject for discussion because it is more comfortable to do so.

emulsion
n.
1.
– a fine dispersion of one liquid or puréed food substance in another: ravioli with pea and ginger emulsion.

hardscape
n. chiefly US the man-made features used in landscape architecture, e.g. paths or walls, as contrasted with vegetation.
– derivatives hardscaping n.

hoody (also hoodie)
n.
– informal a person, especially a youth, wearing a hooded top.
– origin 1960s: of unknown origin.

mentee
n. a person who is advised, trained, or counselled by a mentor.

mesotherapy
n. (in cosmetic surgery) a procedure in which multiple tiny injections of pharmaceuticals, vitamins, etc. are delivered into the mesodermal layer of tissue under the skin, to promote the loss of fat or cellulite.

mzee
n. (in East Africa) an older person; an elder.
– origin Kiswahili, 'ancestor, parent, old person'.

obesogenic
adj. tending to cause obesity.

plank
n.
3. Brit. informal a stupid person.

ponzu
n. (in Japanese cookery) a sauce or dip made with soy sauce and citrus juice.
– origin Japanese, from pon 'smack, pop' + zu, from su 'vinegar'.

radge Scottish informal
n. a wild, crazy, or violent person.
adj. wild, crazy, or violent.
– origin 1920s: appar. an alt. of rage.

rendition
n.
3. (also extraordinary rendition) (especially in the US) the practice of sending a foreign criminal or terrorist suspect covertly to be interrogated in a country with less rigorous regulations for the humane treatment of prisoners.

retronym
n. a new term created from an existing word in order to distinguish the original referent of the existing word from a later one that is the product of progress or technological development (e.g. acoustic guitar for guitar).
– origin 1980s: blend of retro- and -onym.

riffage
n. informal guitar riffs, especially in rock music.

shoulder-surfing
n. the practice of spying on the user of a cash-dispensing machine or other electronic device in order to obtain their personal identification number, password, etc.
– derivatives: shoulder-surfer n.

SIPP
n. (in the UK) a self-invested personal pension, a pension plan that enables the holder to choose and manage the investments made.

therapize or therapise
v. subject to psychological therapy: you don't need to therapize or fix each other.

tri-band
adj. (of a mobile phone) having three frequencies, enabling it to be used in different regions (typically Europe and the US).

twonk
n. Brit. informal a stupid or foolish person.
– origin 1980s: perh. a blend of twit1 or twat and plonker.

upskill
v. [often as noun upskilling] teach (an employee) additional skills.
• (of an employee) learn additional skills.

wedge issue
n. US a very divisive political issue, regarded as a basis for drawing voters away from an opposing party whose supporters have diverging opinions on it.

Yogalates (also trademark Yogilates)
n. a fitness routine that combines Pilates exercises with the postures and breathing techniques of yoga.
– origin 1990s: blend of yoga and Pilates.

zombie
n.
3. a computer controlled by a hacker without the owner's knowledge, which is made to send large quantities of data to a website, making it inaccessible to other users.