Happy Word Buzz Wednesday! It’s that time when we round up five buzzworthy words we’ve noticed in the news recently. This week: a next generation hipster; what not to spread on the subway; and an Australian word of the year.

cutester

“Because cutesters are up on the latest technology, they are good at adopting hipster fashions — much in the manner that a cuckoo learns to mimic the call of the bird whose nest he has usurped.”

Richard Godwin, “The cutester: meet London’s latest social stereotype,” London Evening Standard, December 16, 2014

You heard it right. Not only do we have the hipster to deal with — now we have the cutester.

Richard Godwin at the London Evening Standard describes the cutester as the hipster’s “younger sibling,” a “juvenescent” who is “unwilling to give up childish things such as Nintendo games, Halloween costumes and breakfast cereal,” but at the same time is more “technologically minded.”

The word cutester is a combination of cute and –ster, a suffix that means “a person who…” The Online Etymology Dictionary says -ster was once used primarily as a “feminine agent suffix” (e.g., spinster).

The word cute was originally a shortened form of acute meaning keen, perceptive, or quick, and came to mean pretty or attractive around 1834, coming from U.S. student slang. Cutesy meaning artificially or annoyingly cute is from 1968.

manspreading

“It is manspreading, the lay-it-all-out sitting style that more than a few men see as their inalienable underground right.”

Emma G. Fitzsimmons, “A Scourge Is Spreading. M.T.A.’s Cure? Dude, Close Your Legs,” The New York Times, December 20, 2014

Manspreading refers to a style of sitting, primarily by men, on subways and other public transportation in which the sitter spreads his (or her) legs very wide, taking up more than his (or her) fair share of seat space. The MTA of New York has begun putting up posters requesting manspreaders to please “stop the spread.”

However, manspreading isn’t the only form of bad subway etiquette. There’s leaning, pole hugging, and many others. Gothamist also makes the distinction between horizontal and vertical spreading.

Panic Saturday

“Black Friday was followed by Panic Saturday as shoppers thronged town centres preparing to spend an estimated £1.2bn on last-minute gifts before Christmas Day.”

Ashley Cowburn, “Retailers report a shopping bonanza on ‘Panic Saturday,’” The Guardian, December 20, 2014

Panic Saturday is, as Quartz says, “the last major shopping day before everything shuts down and Christmas kicks in with full force.”

Other popular shopping days in Great Britain include Boxing Day, Black Friday (despite the fact that Brits don’t celebrate Thanksgiving), and Cyber Monday. An immensely popular shopping day in China is Singles Day.

paper bag party

“We see it too in the ‘​paper bag parties’ held by some upper-class black people who wouldn’t let anyone in who was darker than a paper bag.”

Alexis Barnes, “Artist Nate Hill’s New Website Asks Users to Judge Skin Color,” Vice, December 12, 2014

The brown paper bag principle is related to colorism or shadism, which is discrimination within a race based on the darkness of one’s skin.

This kind of discrimination began during slavery times, say historians, because “light-skinned blacks, often the children of slaves and their white masters, got better treatment.”

Later, lighter skin became associated with privilege and beauty, and light-skinned blacks even began forming exclusive clubs. For instance, Blue Vein societies only accepted members who were light enough to show blue veins through their skin.

shirtfront

“When Prime Minister Tony Abbott pledged to ‘shirtfront’ Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit over the MH17 tragedy, it set the scene for an epic showdown between the two leaders.”

Judith Ireland, “‘Shirtfront’ wins Australian National Dictionary Centre’s word of the year award,” The Sydney Morning Herald, December 10, 2014

Shirtfront, the Australian National Dictionary Centre’s word of the year, is an Australian Rules football term that means “a fierce tackle, usually delivered by the shoulder to the chest of an opponent,” or “the act of delivering such a tackle.” Shirtfront is also a term in cricket that means “a pitch that is easy to bat on.”

In recent years, says the Australian Broadcasting Company, shirtfront in Australian Rules football has become less popular, being replaced by “the less colourful term, ‘bump’.” A synonym for shirtfront might be body check.

[Photo via Flickr, “Sailor Girl,” CC BY 2.0 by Lorena Cupcake]

Buzz, buzz, it’s that time again! Our picks for most buzzworthy words of the week. The latest: what to call a big rainstorm in NorCal; how not to react to macadamias; and what not to name your PR firm.

cromnibus

“And with Capitol Hill again scrambling to find a way to fund the government before leaving town for the rest of the year, the cromnibus is the country’s best hope of avoiding a shutdown.”

Andrew Rafferty and Luke Russert, “Washington Speak: What Is the ‘Cromnibus’?” NBC News, December 9, 2014

The cromnibus is, as NBC News puts it, “the love child of a ‘continuing resolution’ (CR) and ‘omnibus’ spending bill,” D.C. terms for “measures Congress has approved to keep the government funded” and avoid a government shutdown.

A continuing resolution is an appropriations bill that sets aside money for “specific federal government departments, agencies, and programs.” An omnibus spending bill — where omnibus translates from Latin as “for all” — packages many smaller appropriations bills into “one larger single bill that could be passed with only one vote in each house.”

This recent legislation was nicknamed cromnibus, says NPR, because “it combines the traditional sweeping scope of an omnibus spending bill with a continuing resolution,” in this case for the Department of Homeland Security, which “would only be funded through February, in a move that seeks to limit President Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration.”

Also, don’t miss Fritinancy’s write-up on this Washington-esque word of the week.

hellastorm

“Even though it’s still raining, the worst of #hellastorm is over. While many Bay Area residents lost power or the will to work yesterday, we didn’t lose the ability to find humorous aspects of the storm.”

Ann-Marie Alcantara, “The Most Bay Area Images from #Hellastorm,” The Bold Italic, December 12, 2014

Hellastorm refers to severe rainstorms that hit much of northern California late last week. Hella is a slang intensifier meaning “a lot” and seems to have originated in the Bay Area in the 1970s although the Oxford English Dictionary’s earliest citation is from 1987 in the Toronto Star: “The horse went hella whoopin’ down the trail, trailing 50 feet or more of the best Berkley Trilene Monofilament line.”

Last week’s hellastorm was a result of the Pineapple Express, the “jetstream and accompanying strong, moist airflow from the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands” — home of the pineapple industry —  to the U.S. west coast. It’s also a marijuana strain and “stoner action comedy.”

Also last week Scotland suffered a weatherbomb, a storm which originated in the Arctic “where it had rapidly developed in strength in a process known as explosive cyclogenesis.” Lightning struck areas of Scotland 5,000 times (also known as hella lightning although that’s not the technical term).

nut rage

“‘Nut rage,’ as it was soon dubbed, seemed a truly remarkable tale of arrogance and entitlement, the story of one first-class passenger with powerful connections inconveniencing more than 200 others over a bag of nuts.”

Adam Taylor, “Why ‘nut rage’ is such a big deal in South Korea,” The Washington Post, December 12, 2014

Nut rage refers to an incident in which former Korean Air vice-president Heather Cho berated an airline employee for serving macadamia nuts “incorrectly” and forcing “the taxiing plane to return to the gate so that the chief flight attendant could be kicked off.” He was also apparently forced to kneel “to apologize for the transgression.” Cho has since resigned and apologized.

Other types of rages — or bursts of anger often out of proportion with the “transgression” — include road rage, air rage, and roid rage.

Strange Fruit

“That seems to be the lesson of ‘Strange Fruit Public Relations,’ an Austin, Texas-based PR firm that has committed to rebranding after being informed—or reminded—that it takes its name from a famous 1930s song about African-American lynchings.”

Zach Schonfeld, “Twitter to ‘Strange Fruit PR’: Maybe Don’t Name Your PR Firm After a Song About Lynchings,” Newsweek, December 9, 2014

Billie Holiday first recorded the song Strange Fruit in 1939. Written as a poem by teacher Abel Meeropol, it “protested American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans.” The “strange fruit” of the song refers to the hanging bodies of lynched African Americans.

Strange Fruit PR — which recently changed its name to Perennial Public Relations — was aware of the name’s troubling historical associations, says The Root, but thought the 1939 song would not “be top of mind in the public consciousness.”

white marriage

“Sarah’s decision to enter into what is known in Iran as ‘white marriage’ would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.”

“Can Iran ‘control’ its cohabiting couples?” BBC News, December 9, 2014

A white marriage in Iran refers to a couple living together before marrying. As BBC News says, “in a country where strict Islamic laws mean shaking hands with the opposite sex is illegal, cohabitation is a crime that risks severe punishment.”

White marriage — not to be confused with mariage blanc or a white wedding — is so-called “because of its association with the western world.”

[Photo: “Angry Squirrels,” CC BY 2.0 by Asta Adamonyte]

Welcome to the latest installment of Word Buzz Wednesday, in which we bring you the latest words that have caught our eye. This week: a troubling policing policy; a shaky method for cyber-security; and a fishy commute.

broken windows

“‘Broken windows’ is an order-maintenance strategy that encourages cops to enforce quality-of-life laws on the grounds that, essentially, nits breed lice.”

Justin Peters, “Loose Cigarettes Today, Civil Unrest Tomorrow,” Slate, December 5, 2014

The broken windows theory suggests that “conspicuous signs of social disorder, such as graffiti and vandalism, create a climate of neglect in which serious crime can flourish,” says the Oxford English Dictionary.

The theory was put forth by social scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling in a 1982 article for The Atlantic: “One unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing.”

This theory, says Slate, “presumes that a disorderly environment where small laws are broken with impunity leads to bigger problems,” which was “the mindset that led the police to approach [Eric] Garner for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes.” While the NYPD commissioner is a “big proponent” of this type of policing, “there’s no evidence that the policy is effective in reducing violent crime.”

die-in

“Demonstrators staged a ‘die-in’ in Brooklyn, New York, late Thursday. They lay in the middle of Atlantic Avenue. An eerie silence descended as the protesters, who had cardboard coffins, stopped chanting.”

Dana Ford, Greg Botelho and Ben Brumfield, “Protests erupt in wake of chokehold death decision,” CNN, December 4, 2014

A die-in, says the OED, is “a political demonstration in which people play dead.” The term first referred to demonstrations specifically against “nuclear and other fatal weapons,” and seems to have originated in 1970.

Die-in plays off of sit-in, “an organized protest demonstration in which participants seat themselves in an appropriate place and refuse to move,” and originally “designating a communal act of protest by African Americans against racial segregation in the United States,” according to the OED.

Recent die-ins have been demonstrations against the decision by a grand jury not to indict the police officer who put Staten Island man Eric Garner in an illegal chokehold, causing his death.

marsala

“The color specialists at Pantone, a subsidiary of color-science group X-Rite Inc., have announced that ‘marsala,’ a reddish brown, will be the color of the year in 2015.”

Meghan DeMaria, “‘Marsala’ is Pantone’s 2015 color of the year,” The Week, December 3, 2014

Marsala, in addition to being a Sicilian city, a kind of wine, and something, like chicken, cooked with that wine, is also now apparently a color. But not just any color: marsala is the “it” color of 2015.

A reddish-brown, we’re assuming the color is named for the sauce of the same name.

[Image via Jessica Yu]

patch and pray

“Nonetheless, at every level, there has been an awakening that the threats are real and growing worse, and that the prevailing ‘patch and pray’ approach to computer security simply will not do.”

Nicole Perlroth, “Hacked vs. Hackers: Game On,” The New York Times, December 2, 2014

A patch in computer science is “a piece of code added to software in order to fix a bug, especially as a temporary correction between two releases,” while to patch as a verb means to insert such a fix. The patch and pray method refers to continually implementing ad hoc fixes — rather than making design decisions based on “known properties and and well-understood analyses” — and hoping for the best.

upstreamer

“There are two types of upstreamers. The opportunists time their rides backward so they still catch the same train they would have caught had they waited. The die-hards, meanwhile, ride back and catch a later train, trading time for comfort.”

Libby Rainey, “BART’s ‘upstreamers’ chase rare commodity: an open seat,” SFGate, December 1, 2014

Upstreamers, like salmon swimming against the stream, ride the BART in the opposite direction of rush hour traffic, as well as their destination. Their goal, however, isn’t to spawn and die but to snag an empty seat before the cars fill up. BART calls this backriding.

Welcome to the latest installment of Word Buzz Wednesday, in which we bring you five buzzy words in the news. This week: a dehumanizing descriptor; throwing password caution to the wind; and when pigs (don’t) fly.

demon

“To Wilson, who stopped and scuffled with the 18-year-old on the morning of Aug. 9, 2014, Brown was a ‘demon,’ a monster with terrible resilience and incredible strength.”

Jamelle Bouie, “Michael Brown Wasn’t a Superhuman Demon,” Slate, November 2014

A demon is “an evil supernatural being; a devil.” The word is very old, originating in the 13th century from the Greek daimōn, “divine power,” says the Online Etymology Dictionary.

Dehumanization of African Americans has a long history, says The Washington Post, “from slavery to the Constitution’s three-fifths clause to aspects of race relations today.” However, “another type of dehumanization persists as well — one in which people see blacks not as subhuman, but as more than human.”

Other meanings of demon include “a persistently tormenting person, force, or passion,” and “one who is extremely zealous, skillful, or diligent.”

digital nudist

“The digital nudists were well represented. At least one of every 10 users chose a name or a name plus a year for his password. Two of every thousand passwords were the word ‘password.’”

Ian Urbina, “The Secret Life of Passwords,” The New York Times, November 19, 2014

Digital nudists are people who adopt “intentionally insecure passwords,” says Urbina, having “given up on the whole notion of online security.” A keepsake password is one associated with personal significance, whether a “motivational mantra, a swipe at the boss, a hidden shrine to a lost love, an inside joke with ourselves, a defining emotional scar.”

(H/t Nancy Friedman.)

emotional support pig

“The 29-year-old woman who was escorted off a US Airways flight after her ’emotional support’ pig started defecating on the floor and squealing uncontrollably has been identified by MailOnline.”

Sophie Jane Evans and Wills Robinson, “The woman who found out her pig CANNOT fly,” Daily Mail, November 30, 2014

An emotional support animal is “a companion animal that provides therapeutic benefit” to those with psychiatric disabilities. These type of animals are usually cats and dogs but may include others.

The emotional support pig’s owner had gotten permission to take her animal onto the plane “for ’emotional support’ based on guidelines released by the Department for Transportation,” says Daily Mail. Before take-off, however, the pig “started screaming ‘three times louder than a child’ as his owner coaxed him down the aisle with her feet because he struggled to move on his own.”

sideshow

“Police and Alameda County Sheriff’s officers raided a large sideshow event Wednesday on Maritime Street in Oakland. More than 100 vehicles were trapped when law enforcement blocked both ends of the street, preventing vehicles from escaping.”

“Over 100 vehicles caught after sideshow in Oakland,” SFGate, November 27, 2014

A sideshow in this context refers to “an informal and illegal demonstration of automotive stunts.” Sideshows are often held in vacant lots or public intersections, and are apparently common in the San Francisco East Bay.

A sideshow also refers to “a small show offered in addition to the main attraction, as at a circus,” as well as, figuratively, “a diversion or spectacle that is incidental to a larger set of circumstances or a bigger issue of concern.”

webrooming

“They found that ‘webrooming’ — the process of looking at a product online and then buying later at a store — is actually the more popular way to shop.”

Taryn Luna, “‘Webrooming’ shoppers research online, then buy in stores,” The Boston Globe, November 28, 2014

The word webrooming plays off showrooming, which is when “customers whip out their smartphones in the middle of a store, check the Internet to match an item right in front of them, then buy it online at a better price.”

The original meaning of show room is “a large room in which merchandise is displayed.” The verb showroom implies using a brick-and-mortar store as a display for merchandise only while purchasing the items for cheaper elsewhere. Webrooming is the opposite: researching online and then purchasing in a store.

[Photo via Daily Mail]