Definitions by JRob

grandiloquent 

gran-DIL-uh-kwuhnt, adjective:
Lofty in style; pompous; bombastic. Full of fine words and fancy expressions - marked by the use of impressive-sounding but mostly meaningless words and phrases.

He became more than usually grandiloquent as if to make up for the years of silence with words of gold.

grandiloquent by JRob July 26, 2006

lifehack 

A tool or technique that makes some aspect of one's life easier or more efficient.

Web sites now exist, where lifehacker (followers of the movement) can trade lifehacks - suggestions on how to reduce chaos and make their lives more enjoyable.

lifehack by JRob December 7, 2005

smoking memo

A memo, letter, or e-mail message that contains irrefutable evidence of a crime. Similar to finding the "smoking gun" at a murder scene.

The investigators were elated to find smoking memos showing that Enron plotted to manipulate Western electrical prices in last year's crisis.

smoking memo by JRob November 18, 2005

bait car 

A vehicle, monitored by the police, that is used to tempt a car thief into stealing it.

The Vancouver police operate with "bait cars" to trap car thieves. The vehicles, equipped with disabling devices and global-positioning equipment, are parked in a lot where thieves have been active. The bait-car program is well known to car thieves, who consider the practice unsporting,

bait car by JRob November 18, 2005

piss-off factor

An object's component or quality that has the potential to annoy or anger a person viewing or using the object.

Web browser pop-up ads tend to have a very high piss-off factor.

piss-off factor by JRob November 18, 2005

dread merchant 

A person who makes a living by predicting disasters and worst-case scenarios.

Guy1: What's the news, man?

Guy2: Bird Flu, terrorists, hurricanes, global warming, the price of gasoline and natural gas and electricity skyrocketing, death toll in Iraq . . .

Guy1: Boy, the dread merchants are busy lately!

dread merchant by JRob November 7, 2005

ransom factor 

The tendency for one party in a civil case to settle out of court to avoid the potentially high cost of fighting the case.

Newspaper publishers, when faced with a potential libel case, often try to settle out of court by paying a ransom factor rather than take their chances with a jury trial.

ransom factor by JRob November 3, 2005