Joe Rodolico's definitions

karaoke

Singing without a live orchestra or band. Originally meaning "without orchestra," it is a combination of Japanese "kara" meaning "empty/bare-handed" as in "karate", and the "okee" sound from the first syllable of "orchestra" as pronounced by Japanese.

The guy who thought up karaoke created a bar owner's dream, because as patrons provide their own entertainment by singing along with a machine, management saves a fortune by not hiring talented musicians.

by Joe Rodolico February 11, 2007

WDI

World Depression One. What the world will experience in the coming years, if the global financial meltdown is not stopped.

No one could have imagined that the great prosperity of the early part of this century was just an illusion and would end in WDI (World Depression One).

by Joe Rodolico March 18, 2009

H-Hour

A redundancy in military jargon signifying the exact hour for an operation to begin. Big "H" for "big hour".

The invasion of the enemy held island began at H-Hour, 05:00.

by Joe Rodolico February 10, 2007

two-thousandaire

A member of America's class of home-owning families with only two thousand dollars in savings. Deeply in debt, they live from paycheck to paycheck dreading any unforseen financial catastrophies such as a sudden illness or unemployment. First coined by Karen De Coster and Eric Englund.

Taking out a home equity loan might seem like a good idea to a two-thousandaire, unless one gets laid off and ends up penniless.

by Joe Rodolico July 1, 2006

toxic wife

A woman who only marries for financial gain. Once the money is gone, she quickly leaves her husband and takes what little money is left with her.

After Howard lost everything in the stock market bust, he realized what a toxic wife Wanda really was when she emptied out their joint bank account and split.

by Joe Rodolico December 19, 2008

sudden jihad syndrome (SJS)

A feeling of sympathy for al Qaeda that inspires local terrorists to carry out attacks on the U.S., even though there was no previous affiliation between the groups.

When the local terrorist group saw al Qaeda getting pounded on TV, they were overcome with an attack of sudden jihad syndrome (SJS), and decided to strike the nearest soft target.

by Joe Rodolico January 8, 2009

Tierney

A title of honor for an extremely attractive, single female in sixth-century Ireland. Voting was held in small villages.

Her beauty, charm and innate breeding won her the title of Tierney of the village.

by Joe Rodolico January 31, 2007