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Ooooh Potty-mouth is finally a word --

New English words just 'lush'

Quote:

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Do chuggers bother you when you want to rock up to a restaurant with your cockapoo to hoover a supersized ruby murray?

Confused? Then you need to refer to the new Oxford Dictionary of English to understand a host of new words that appear for the first time in its latest edition.

Among the new entries are "potty-mouthed" (meaning using or characterized by bad language), "lush" (very good) and "scopophilia" (sexual pleasure derived chiefly from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity).

Some words, such as "demographic" (a particular sector of a population) have become commonplace but only now make it into the dictionary.

They are joined by those emerging from new technology like "phishing" (fraudulently sending e-mails purporting to be from reputable firms to get individuals to reveal personal details).

Many of the new words are simply formed by mixing two others together, such as charity and mugger making "chugger" (someone who approaches passers-by in the street asking for donations for a charity) and "labradoodle" (a cross between a Labrador retriever and a poodle).

"To suit the pace of our lifestyle today there is a growing tendency to mix words together to make entirely new ones called blends," the dictionary researchers said.

They also said there were now 350 ways of insulting someone -- from "chucklehead" to "muppet" -- ten times more than there were complimentary expressions, while there were 50 words for good-looking women, there were only about 20 for men.

And for those without a dictionary to hand, "rock up" means arrive, "cockapoo" is a mix between a cocker spaniel dog and a poodle, "hoover" means to eat something quickly, and "ruby murray" is rhyming slang for a curry.

Wow, 350 words to insult someone... 50 good looking words for women and only 20 for men - -that seems a bit sexist :)

I'm amazed that demographic has only just made it into the dictionary...

I'm irritated that they feel the need to include any slang and regional dialect they see into the dictionary.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suave

I'm irritated that they feel the need to include any slang and regional dialect they see into the dictionary.

This isn't just ANY dictionary, though, it's the OED. This is a dictionary that takes up several volumes. It is meant to be the definitive source on the English language, providing not only the meaning of a word, but a comprehensive history. A sample entry, for your perusal:

Quote:

suave, a. (adv.)

1. Pleasing or agreeable to the senses or the mind; sweet.

c1560 A. SCOTT Poems (S.T.S.) vii. 29 Adew {th}e fragrant balme suaif, And lamp of ladeis lustiest! 1598 QUEEN ELIZABETH Plutarch ix. 3 The suafes thing that Silence dothe Expres. 1694 MOTTEUX Rabelais v. Epist. 251 These Times..alterate the suavest Pulchritude. 1849 C. BRONTË Shirley xxvi, To whom the husky oat-cake was from custom suave as manna. 1859 MISS MULOCK Life for a Life xvii, To break the suave harmony of things. 1878 H. S. WILSON Alpine Ascents iii. 99 The suaver white hoods of snow summits.

2. Gracious, kindly. Also advb. Sc. Obs.

1501 DOUGLAS Pal. Hon. III. ii, Thir musis gudelie and suaue. c1550 ROLLAND Crt. Venus II. 76 The nine Musis sweit and swaue. c1560 A. SCOTT Poems (S.T.S.) i. 214 Resaif swaif, and haif ingraif it heir. Ibid. xxxvi. 73 Sweit Lord, to Syon be suave.

3. Of persons, their manner: Blandly polite or urbane; soothingly agreeable. (Cf. SUAVITY 4.)

1831 F. REYNOLDS Playwright's Adventures iv. 63 St Alm was anything but suave. 1847 C. BRONTË J. Eyre xiv, He..showed a solid enough mass of intellectual organs, but an abrupt deficiency where the suave sign of benevolence should have risen. 1853 {emem} Villette xxi, The rare passion of the constitutionally suave, and serene, is not a pleasant spectacle. 1853 LYTTON My Novel III. xxvi, A slight disturbance of his ordinary suave and well-bred equanimity. 1863 GEO. ELIOT Romola xxxi, Doubtless the suave secretary had his own ends to serve. 1898 J. A. OWEN Hawaii iii. 55 Oahumi was quite captivated by the plausible, suave manners of the ingratiating southern chief.

Comb. 1894 ‘MAX O'RELL’ J. Bull & Co. 30 These suave-looking people, far away in the Pacific Ocean.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suave

I'm irritated that they feel the need to include any slang and regional dialect they see into the dictionary.

Language grows, shinks and changes all the time... No need for irritation. The OED is what Webster wants to be when it grows up... :lol:

I wish they would include the cockney rhyming slang in the OED or at least build an appendix with it. Then when Martin (a friend of mine) says something like "I'm up the apples and pairs because the trouble and strife is calling" I'll have some way of figuring out what the hell he's talking about.

I refuse to use the word 'Lush' for anything but referring to a drunk person.

Personally, I think it's awfully neat that we are still updating our language, helping it to stay a living, breathing part of our culture.

Well, I really do learn something new everyday. However, if I ever begin to speak like that quote at the beginning of the article:

Quote:

Do chuggers bother you when you want to rock up to a restaurant with your cockapoo to hoover a supersized ruby murray?

shoot me. :crazy:

I remember that I was devastated when they put ain't in the dictionary. I used to tell my students that ain't isn't a word because it isn't in the dictionary. That doesn't work anymore. Oh well, life goes on.

The OED, like most dictionaries, is descriptive, no prescriptive. It isn't meant to describe how people should use words, but how they do. The inclusion of slang in the dictionary does not mean that its use is appropriate in most situations.

Using "ain't" is a problem not because it isn't a word, but because it's status marking slang. In other words, in a formal context, its frequent use may mark the user as uneducated.

I like the approach taken by the American Heritage Dictionary, which lists the slang terms, but clearly identifies them as slang or non-standard usage, and which has usage notes, which are boxes discussing and explaining proper usage according to a panel of language experts.

Including slang doesn't legitimize its use, it merely reflects that people are using the words in a particular way.

Gilda