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The Oxford Dictionary of New Words

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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.

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