Peter Kobs's definitions

Degifting

1. A mutual agreement to suspend holiday gifts for at least one season, usually within a single family or circle of friends.

2. The act of replacing useless and pointless merchandise with something more meaningful, such as a charitable donation, service project or holiday party.

3. Wal-Mart's biggest nightmare.

Due to the recession, we've decided that Degifting is the best plan for Christmas this year. Instead, we're all getting together to serve food at the homeless shelter. I really don't need another Salad Shooter. Do you?

by Peter Kobs December 21, 2009

Twitter Critter

1. A person who spends WAY too much time on Twitter, to the detriment of his or her job, family, friends and/or mental health.
2. A cell-phone Twitter texting maniac.
3. Someone who believes they are the center of the universe, despite abundant evidence to the contrary.

Tim has become a Twitter Critter. He can't keep anything private anymore. I wish he'd get a life!

by Peter Kobs August 5, 2009

Class Morphing

1. The downward transformation of one economic class into another.

2. The gradual descent from relative prosperity to grinding poverty, usually among formerly middle-class families.

The whole city of Detroit is class morphing into a ghetto.

by Peter Kobs February 6, 2009

GD2

This acronym stands for "Great Depression #2." It's shorthand for the seemingly imminent collapse of the global economic system starting in late 2008 and continuing into 2009. Some professional economists, as well as ordinary working people, are fearful that the spiralling financial meltdown will lead to a decade-long repeat of the 1930s, complete with bread lines, soup kitchens, radical uprisings and the possibility of global violence. "Happy times are here again!"

"The collapse of AIG is just one more sign that GD2 is here, my friends."

by Peter Kobs December 22, 2008

Gifted Child

1. An average student with insecure parents.

2. The elitist notion that only some children have "gifts" or talents worthy of attention.

3. A hollow form of "self-praise by proxy" that snobby parents use to bolster their social standing.

Our son Timmy is a Gifted Child. He should be in a special school to nurture his extraordinary talents - at taxpayer expense. Did I tell you that I drive a BMW?

by Peter Kobs December 10, 2009

Paygo

1. Shorthand for "pay as you go." This zippy little term was used by President Obama in February 2010 to describe his new approach to federal spending and fiscal discipline.

2. The opposite of "buy now, pay later."

3. An idea whose time has not yet come, at least not on Capitol Hill.

"Let's invest $58 billion in a new Highway to Nowhere up there in Alaska. It'll stimulate the economy for sure!"

"No way, buddy. We're on the Paygo plan now."

by Peter Kobs February 14, 2010

Slumburbia

1. A derisive term for older suburbs that are declining into poverty. The word is a combination of "Slum" and "Suburbia."

2. The bleak future for many aging American suburbs.

3. What happens when people refuse to take urban planning seriously.

Slumburbia is almost always found in large metro areas. As middle-class residents move farther and farther away from the urban core, the closer-in suburbs start to deteriorate. Property values fall leading to reduced local tax revenue, decreased public services, declining schools and increasing crime, especially gang activity. This vicious circle continues for years until the suburb itself is no longer distinguishable from the large city it borders.

Examples of Slumburbia: Hamtramck, Michigan; Somerville, Massachusetts; Camden, New Jersey; and Compton, California.

My hometown is turning into Slumburbia. You can hear gunfire there almost every night.

by Peter Kobs March 9, 2010