Thursday, March 8, 2007

Neologisms and the Attorney General

The Oxford Dictionary has recently added such new words to its collection as:
-adelic
suffix forming adjectives denoting musical genres or styles that incorporate psychedelic music with another element: sampladelic.
- ORIGIN from PSYCHEDELIC.

backstory
noun (pl. backstories) a history or background created for a fictional character in a film or television programme: a brief prologue detailing our hero's backstory.

I’m waiting for them to add "upside," as used in this observation over at Crooks & Liars:
Subpoena him. If he doesn't show, find him in contempt and lock him up. It's time to slap these people upside the head; they are not above the law, and if Gonzales wants some serious time in solitary to think over his contempt for the rule of law, it's time it was given to him.

Unfortunately, as the rest of the post shows, it's not going to be that simple to rein in the chipmunk-cheeked Albert Speer of the Bush Reich.

But that doesn't get around the basic point that "upside"--or any word that lets the writer express a similar sentiment about the constitutional offenses of the Bush Administration--is a fine word, although perhaps still a little too Americanized and of-the-people for the ODE.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is a difference between up side the head, and the upside of a pint of beer.

Nothstine said...

Well said, sir!

bn