Wordspy

Logophiles, rejoice! This site tracks newly coined words and phrases, as well as creative recent usages of older language. Ever wondered what to call that impulse to mess with the perpetrators of the Nigerian e-mail con? It’s called “scam-baiting.” Each listing includes definitions, background, earliest citations (just like the Oxford English Dictionary) and a list of related words and terms. Though it’s possible simply to search the words alphabetically, it’s so much more fun to follow the links of related words into, well, what’s definitely a web of interrelated linguistic ideas. And that brings us to “linguistic profiling,” which is the practice of determining a person’s background, education and social status by examining his or her use of language. Or “dog watching TV,” which describes those of us who view or work with something we don’t really understand. Or “word burst,” or … well, you get the idea.