al-in-chgo's definitions
.
Altering or adding to a prior word or term term that must be further defined in the light of later developments or technical innovation.
Example: No one called "World War One" that until there was a "World War Two" with which to contrast it. The going term during the 1914-1918 war and up to 1939 was "The Great War."
Altering or adding to a prior word or term term that must be further defined in the light of later developments or technical innovation.
Example: No one called "World War One" that until there was a "World War Two" with which to contrast it. The going term during the 1914-1918 war and up to 1939 was "The Great War."
.
Other employment of term retronym:
Telephone becomes "rotary-dial phone" to distinguish it from the push-button phones that became widespread in the 1970s and early 1980s (although rotary-dial phones still work if all you want to do is place a call and don't need to access features like querying a bank account balance).
Similarly, telephone also becomes "corded phone" to distinguish the traditional hard-wired telephone from those that are wireless in some way, such as cordless phones.
"Regular" coffee to distinguish it from decaffeinated coffee; some people say "caffeinated" coffee but strictly speaking this is a grammatical back-formation, not a retronym, because "to caffeinate" would mean to ADD caffeine to traditional coffee.
Note, though, that Coca-Cola is a "caffeinated" or "caffeine-containing" soft drink in its usual red-can form. Now that there is a Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola "caffeinated" could find use as a retronym for "the real thing."
"Manual" or "standard" or "stick" transmission on a car, none of which terms was necessary before automatic transmissions on cars became widespread and assumed to be the norm.
And, of course, "acoustic" guitar.
Other employment of term retronym:
Telephone becomes "rotary-dial phone" to distinguish it from the push-button phones that became widespread in the 1970s and early 1980s (although rotary-dial phones still work if all you want to do is place a call and don't need to access features like querying a bank account balance).
Similarly, telephone also becomes "corded phone" to distinguish the traditional hard-wired telephone from those that are wireless in some way, such as cordless phones.
"Regular" coffee to distinguish it from decaffeinated coffee; some people say "caffeinated" coffee but strictly speaking this is a grammatical back-formation, not a retronym, because "to caffeinate" would mean to ADD caffeine to traditional coffee.
Note, though, that Coca-Cola is a "caffeinated" or "caffeine-containing" soft drink in its usual red-can form. Now that there is a Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola "caffeinated" could find use as a retronym for "the real thing."
"Manual" or "standard" or "stick" transmission on a car, none of which terms was necessary before automatic transmissions on cars became widespread and assumed to be the norm.
And, of course, "acoustic" guitar.
by al-in-chgo March 6, 2010
Get the retronymmug. Erotic magazine advertisement, ca. 2004: "You can go from knob slob to blow job champ (by buying this book) . . . "
by al-in-chgo June 16, 2011
Get the knob slobmug. Roughousing, sometimes mock-wrestling, usually between two boys of similar age. "Horseplay" at first glance looks like actual fighting or wrestling until the more playful "fooling around" element become visible, but horseplay sometimes can deteriorate into real fighting.
A Midwestern urban regionalism means the same but includes a "get your back" connotation: grabass. No one considers that homoerotic.
A Midwestern urban regionalism means the same but includes a "get your back" connotation: grabass. No one considers that homoerotic.
"I told you, boys, no horseplay standing in line. You're not getting into the theater if you don't stop fooling around like that."
by al-in-chgo August 18, 2010
Get the horseplaymug. 1. Southernism. Adds a certain repugnance to describe an idea, remark or occurrence that fell flat, killed conversation, was socially unacceptable, or went over like the proverbial lead balloon.
2. Similarly, a gauche, socially inept or unwelcome person who has a stultifying effect on social gatherings, or, by extension, was involved in some futile or hugely unpopular effort.
2. Similarly, a gauche, socially inept or unwelcome person who has a stultifying effect on social gatherings, or, by extension, was involved in some futile or hugely unpopular effort.
.
1. -- "All I did was tell one harmless little dirty joke and the whole room went silent. Apparently I had crossed some kind of taboo. No one even chuckled at the joke; it was a veritable turd in the punchbowl. I felt like one too, since the whole party immediately seized up and everyone stared at me."
2.(a) -- "There we were discussing local politics, and who shows up uninvited and parks himself right in the middle of our group? Little Georgie, the mayor's brat, who has an unerring sense of inappropriateness. I'd rather see a turd in the punch bowl than have to deal with that nuisance."
(b) "Practically everyone in town was in favor of a weeknight youth curfew, but as usual our "freethinking" pastor went contrary and opposed it. He didn't change anyone's mind. I think he's a jinx! A turd in the punch bowl of civic affairs."
1. -- "All I did was tell one harmless little dirty joke and the whole room went silent. Apparently I had crossed some kind of taboo. No one even chuckled at the joke; it was a veritable turd in the punchbowl. I felt like one too, since the whole party immediately seized up and everyone stared at me."
2.(a) -- "There we were discussing local politics, and who shows up uninvited and parks himself right in the middle of our group? Little Georgie, the mayor's brat, who has an unerring sense of inappropriateness. I'd rather see a turd in the punch bowl than have to deal with that nuisance."
(b) "Practically everyone in town was in favor of a weeknight youth curfew, but as usual our "freethinking" pastor went contrary and opposed it. He didn't change anyone's mind. I think he's a jinx! A turd in the punch bowl of civic affairs."
by al-in-chgo February 28, 2010
Get the turd in the punch bowlmug. Piss Hard-On (or Hardon):
A graphic way to describe the male condition of waking up with a very stiff erection coupled with a need to urinate.
The leading causes of this syndrome are thought to be:
1) a full bladder rubs against the prostate gland which then arouses the rest of a man's sexual machinery as though getting ready for intercourse; or the more recent theory, that
2) during a routine night's sleep, a man will have four or five erections but usually they don't awaken him. This is probably the body's way of running "routine diagnostic checks" on his various systems, including sexual readiness. The one that wakes you up either because it's time to wake up or because you're dying to go to the bathroom is the P.H-O.
A graphic way to describe the male condition of waking up with a very stiff erection coupled with a need to urinate.
The leading causes of this syndrome are thought to be:
1) a full bladder rubs against the prostate gland which then arouses the rest of a man's sexual machinery as though getting ready for intercourse; or the more recent theory, that
2) during a routine night's sleep, a man will have four or five erections but usually they don't awaken him. This is probably the body's way of running "routine diagnostic checks" on his various systems, including sexual readiness. The one that wakes you up either because it's time to wake up or because you're dying to go to the bathroom is the P.H-O.
I hate the term "Piss Hard-On". It's ugly. Much better to me are "morning wood" or the evocative "morning glory," which is the term we used in the (USA) South.
For a funny look at how difficult it is to pee with an erection, look at the DVD outtakes of Steve Carrel's movie THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN.
For a funny look at how difficult it is to pee with an erection, look at the DVD outtakes of Steve Carrel's movie THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN.
by al-in-chgo February 24, 2010
Get the Piss Hard-Onmug. "Economic moat" is a term coined by investor Warren Buffet. It means how susceptible a company is to competition by other companies. Coca-Cola and Phillip Morris (Marlboro cigarettes) are companies with wide economic moats because of the popularity and consumer loyalty of their marquee brands. Boeing has a narrow but deep economic moat because its 777 and 787 aircraft are not subject to immediate displacement, but companies like Airbus and Bombardier could play catch-up over the course of several years by developing similar models that would threaten their primacy. That would close the moat.
-- "Give me an example of a company with a wide economic moat."
-- "The local water company, because no competitor can rush right in with a distribution system (pipes)."
-- "Besides, who else is gonna fill that moat? lol."
-- "The local water company, because no competitor can rush right in with a distribution system (pipes)."
-- "Besides, who else is gonna fill that moat? lol."
by al-in-chgo May 3, 2013
Get the economic moatmug. Plural of gay man. In early 21st Century USA usually refers to men who are same-sex in sexual orientation and (generally) out of the closet; that is, self-identified as "gay." Gay men may live in partnership, or may be single. "Gay men" as a term is generally preferred by the relevant group over the more clnical "homosexual" or slur words.
.
.
'Oscar, do you really think all gay men march in lockstep? Go ask a lot of them their opinions about the president. Or read THE ADVOCATE.'
by al-in-chgo May 29, 2010
Get the gay menmug.