The Oxford Dictionary of New Words [Paperback]

Elizabeth Knowles (Editor), Julia Elliott (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198602359 | ISBN-13: 978-0198602354 | Publication Date: April 1, 1999 | Edition: 2

New words are the footprints of time. To recite some of the phrases that have become popular in the 1990s--Generation X, Prozac, road rage, shock-jock, voice mail--is to fast-forward through our recent history. Now, in the second edition of The Oxford Dictionary of New Words, readers can savor a smorgasbord of new words and phrases that have been coined--or popularized--in the last ten years.

Here are hundreds of intriguing, informative articles that provide the pronunciations, definitions, sample sentences, origins, and informal histories of over 2,500 new words and phrases. The editors have drawn words from politics, the environmental movement, technology, business, sports, and entertainment; politically charged terms such as tree-hugger, feminazi, and lipstick lesbian, and popular expressions such as "the ULULULULUL from hell" (waiter from hell, dentist from hell) and "been there, done that." Two-thirds of the articles are new to this edition, and the others--on still-prominent words included in the first edition--have been either revised or newly written. This useful and engaging resource is the first place to turn for information when faced with new words and phrases, and will be a gold mine of language for word lovers everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The image of the linguist as a stodgy old stick-in-the-mud, circling misplaced commas and mumbling in dead tongues, is just not true--at least not entirely. Any linguist worth her salt knows that languages change and keeps up with those changes. To make that task easier, the folks at Oxford University Press have put out a dictionary of more than 2,500 new words and phrases that have been popularized since the late 1980s. Editors Elizabeth Knowles and Julia Elliott provide definitions, usage notes, and etymologies for jelly shoes, road rage, and hot-desking, not to mention tree-hugger, feminazi, McJob, get a life, and not! The English language is alive and kicking, and Oxford has its finger on the semantic pulse. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The extensive use of citations makes this collection of neologisms fun to peruse."--William Safire, New York Times Magazine

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198602359
• ISBN-13: 978-0198602354
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,787,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars How to Rejuvenate Your Vocabulary?, March 13, 2009

By 

Jusuf Hariman (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Oxford Dictionary of New Words (Paperback)

This book covers new words which have been 'in the news' in the decade and a half between the beginning of the eighties and the mind-nineties. The book follows the patterns set by the ground-breaking first edition, published in 1991, in aiming to provide an informative and readable guide to about two thousand high-profile words and phrases which have come to public attention in the past fifteen or sixteen years. The purpose is to tell the story of each item treated, by explaining the events that brought it to prominence. Each story is illustrated by examples of actual use in journalism (including electronic publications and outline postings) and fiction. The vocabulary covered provides an overview of the given period, by highlighting historical, cultural, and social concerns and by reflecting the effects of technological development and scientific discovery. For the purposes of this dictionary, a 'new word' is any word ,phrase, or sense that came into popular use or enjoyed a vogue in the given period. Vocabulary thus covers completely new coinages such as Aga saga and pharm, and new uses of existing terms, such as dragon and rage. A minority of terms covered in the first edition claim a place here because their stories have continued to develop(BSE is an example of this). If your work involves the use of words, by keeping this vocabulary within reach, you will have a helping hand indeed.

5.0 out of 5 stars 2,000 New Words & The Story Behind The New Word, January 9, 2005

By 

G. Reid (Roseland, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Oxford Dictionary of New Words (Paperback)

This fun dictionary holds the intriguing stories behind 2,000 new words in the news. For each word there are entertaining quotations that put the words in context. Quotations come from a wide variety of sources - from books, newspapers, journals, magazines, advertisements, and the internet.

Here is a sampling of the new words:

1. misper - a missing person
2. FAQ - frequently asked questions, mostly on web sites
3. cashback - cash requested with a debit card purchase
4. spin doctor - political spokesperson who bends the truth
5. loyalty card - a retail card tracking customer purchases
6. drop-dead - referring to an attractive stunning person