Welcome to Word Buzz Wednesday, in which we round up our favorite buzzworthy words of the week. The latest: authentic chocolate; screen time senility; and the Donald gets disgusting.

bean to bar

“The best-known craft chocolate bar makers in the country—celebrity beardo Brooklyn chocolate sellers the Mast Brothers—admitted in the New York Times today they’d been remelting industrial chocolate from other vendors and reselling them as ‘bean to bar’ chocolate.”

Matthew Korfhage, “Portland Chocolatier Says Mast Brothers Bars Have Always Been Terrible and Everybody Knew,” Willamette Week, December 21, 2015

Willamette Week describes bean to bar chocolate as “the cacao equivalent of single-source coffee roasts.” As Slate describes it, the process starts with raw cacao beans and involves “painstakingly roasting, grinding, and tempering them into chocolate bars in small batches.”

The term is reminiscent of another foodie phrase, nose to tail, referring to eating every part of an animal, from snout to stub.

digital dementia

“Forgotten something? The problem may not be age but your smartphone or other similar device. And brain health experts have even coined a name for the condition: digital dementia.”

Jeanette Wang, “Web-mad Hongkongers have digital dementia — and we’re losing our memories,” South China Morning Post, November 2, 2015

The term digital dementia was apparently coined in South Korea by doctors who witnessed “young patients with memory and cognitive problems, conditions more commonly linked to brain injuries” — problems, presumably, linked to excessive screen time.

German neuroscientist Martin Spitzer, author of Digital Dementia: What We and Our Children Are Doing to Our Minds, says that using a computer is the equivalent of “outsourcing your mental activity.” While this might be fine in moderation for adults, children also need time for unstructured play.

irja

“Unless you have some knowledge of medieval Islamic theology you probably have no idea what irja means.”

Mustafa Akyol, “A Medieval Antidote to ISIS,” The New York Times, December 21, 2015

You’re right, Mr. Akyol! But luckily you’re here to tell us. Irja translates literally as “postponing,” and was a “theological principle put forward by some Muslim scholars” in the first century of Islam, as the result of a major civil war being fought during that time.

The proponents of irja — known as murjia, or “postponers” — asserted that the “burning question of who is a true Muslim should be ‘postponed’ until the afterlife.” In other words, true faith was something that could only be judged by God and not other humans. In the end, however, the murjia didn’t have enough influence in the Muslim world.

Jillennial

“The ready to radicalize population is overwhelmingly young and male. Usmani calls them ‘Jillennials’ — jihadis who are Millennials.”

Heather Long, “Who’s joining ISIS? It might surprise you,” CNN, December 15, 2015

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term millennial, which refers to those born between about 1980 and 1995, originated around 1991, while jihadi, one who advocates jihad, or a holy war against “infidels,” entered English around 1920.

schlonged

“In a long campaign that’s far from over, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s comment. . .that Hillary Clinton…’got schlonged’ in her 2008 primary run might be considered just another insult.”

Justin Wm. Moyer, “Donald Trump’s ‘schlonged’: A linguistic investigation,” The Washington Post, December 22, 2015

Schlong, a slang term for penis, may also refer contemptuously to a person. The word is Yiddish in origin and and translates literally as “snake.”

Linguist Steven Pinker told The Washington Post that “given Trump’s history of vulgarity and misogyny, it’s entirely possible that he had created a sexist term for ‘defeat,”’ and that as far as Pinker knew, “there is no such slang verb [as get schlonged] in Yiddish.” However, it may simply be a mistake, what with Trump’s track record of “sloppy language.” WaPo also points out that Trump used “get schlonged” at least once before, also in reference to a female political candidate.

Meanwhile, Clinton is “too disgusting” for having to use the ladies’ room.

Welcome to Word Buzz Wednesday, in which we round up our favorite buzzworthy words of the week. The latest: a military acronym; real-life Doctor Freeze; and a rare disease.

DUSTWUN

“DUSTWUN, a name taken from the clunky abbreviation for the term ‘duty status whereabouts unknown’, starts with Koenig describing the video of Bergdahl’s return.”

Lanre Bakare, “Serial recap – season two episode one: DUSTWUN,” The Guardian, December 10, 2015

Podheads everywhere can rejoice: Serial is back. This season takes a look at the case of Bowe Bergdahl, the American soldier captured in Afghanistan in 2009 and released in 2014 in exchange for five Guantánamo Bay prisoners. Bergdahl is also facing a court-martial on desertion charges.

The first episode of this season’s Serial is called DUSTWUN, an acronym that is basically the army’s version of “man overboard.” The term also evokes the image of the dust of the Afghan desert, as well as perhaps the idea of Bergdahl disappearing one day like dust in the wind (sorry Kansas haters).

geocryologist

“When I spoke with him at VICE’s Toronto office in October, the permafrost scientist—also known as a geocryologist, currently stationed at Moscow State University—told me that he’s feeling just fine.”

Jordan Pearson, “Meet the Scientist Who Injected Himself with 3.5 Million-Year-Old Bacteria,” Motherboard, December 9, 2015

Permafrost is “permanently frozen subsoil, occurring throughout the Polar Regions and locally in perennially frigid areas.” Geocryology is the study of those frozen subsoils and what may be found there, such as ancient bacteria. Anatoli Brouchkov, the geocryologist of the article, has injected himself with such a type of bacteria in order to study its effects on human longevity.

popcorn lung

“This week, new research from the Harvard School of Public Health suggests that the flavorings in some types of e-cigarettes contain chemicals that have been linked to a rare disease called ‘popcorn lung.’”

Julia Belluz, “Some e-cigarettes contain chemicals that cause ‘popcorn lung,’” Vox, December 9, 2015

Popcorn lung is so-called because it was first witnessed in people who worked in factories that made microwave popcorn. Symptoms included wheezing and shortness of breath, says Vox, which doctors found was due to “permanent lung damage” caused by diacetyl, “the chemical that adds that buttery flavor and smell to popcorn.” Now research is suggesting that some e-cigarette flavorings are causing the same damage.

slacktivism

“The researchers found that the power of this ‘slacktivism’ lies in the large number of users who engaged with the causes online.”

Kate Groetzinger, “Slacktivism is having a powerful real-world impact, new research shows,” Quartz, December 10, 2015

Slacktivism, a blend of slacker and activism, is a kind of 21st-century armchair activism very much tied to the Internet, says Quartz. A recent study showed that using social media tools like Twitter to carry out messages of protests such as Arab Spring and #BlackLivesMatter is integral to turning those protests into movements and prolonging their lifespans.

The term slacker might seem quintessential 1990s, but it originated in 1898 with basically the same meaning, someone who shirks responsibility. The word gained popularity during World War I when it came to mean a military draft dodger.

Softboy

“In typical Softboy fashion, [Zayn Malik is] generous — he bought his parent’s house for them, and he funds his cousin’s private school education. He prefers to call his fans ‘passionate’ as opposed to crazy.”

Fariha Roisin, “Soft Power,” Medium, December 8, 2015

The Softboy, a term coined by writer Alan Hanson, is in opposition to the Fuckboy, who’s all and only about — well you know. The Softboy is “Nice yet Complicated,” “sensitive yet amusingly crass,” artistic, aware, and “still a dick.”

Rosin asserts that the Softboy image of ex-One Directioner Zayn Malik is powerful because “Muslim men aren’t ever seen as Softboys.”

Welcome to Word Buzz Wednesday, in which we round up our favorite buzzworthy words of the week. The latest: an explosive Japanese buzzword; another kind of name calling; and a different kind of bird call.

allochtoon

“Growing up in Belgium, they had internalized the label: once an allochtoon, always an allochtoon.”

Chika Unigwe, “The Near-Impossibility of Assimilation in Belgium,” The New York Times, November 25, 2015

The term allochtoon translates from Flemish as “originating from another country.” Those who aren’t considered traditionally Belgian — in other words, non-whites — are referred to as such, even if they were born in the country.

bakugai

“The Japanese aren’t alone in experiencing bakugai, even if they’re unique in calling it that. Along with Japan, Europe is a major destination for Chinese shoppers.”

Steve Mollman, “Japan’s buzzword of the year means ‘an explosive shopping spree by the Chinese,’” Quartz, December 1, 2015

Bakugai translates from Japanese as “buying explosion,” and refers specifically to the “explosive shopping sprees carried about by Chinese tourists,” says Quartz. This is due in part to the rapidly expanding Chinese middle class.

Other 2015 Japanese buzzwords include Goromaru pose, a rugby’s star pre-kick signature stance, and doron, the Japanification of “drone.”

deadnaming

“Calling someone by their rejected birth name is termed ‘deadnaming’.”

Avinash Chak, “Beyond ‘he’ and ‘she’: The rise of non-binary pronouns,” BBC, December 7, 2015

Considered disrespectful, deadnaming refers specifically to transgendered people who have changed their names. Even after revealing her true name, some media outlets continued to call Caitlyn Jenner by her “dead name,” Bruce.

hybrid swarm

“Most biologists believed that hybridization in nature primarily resulted from human interference, when people remove a barrier between two closely related species, leading to a ‘hybrid swarm’ that obliterates the distinctiveness of one or both types of animal.”

Ben Crair, “What’s a Species, Anyway?” New Republic, December 6, 2015

The human interference in this case was the shooting of red wolves by ranchers, says New Republic, which lead to vastly depleted numbers in the population. The more wily coyotes survived and “encountered the last surviving red wolves, whose numbers were so depleted that they took the coyotes as their mates,” resulting in hybridized creatures that “bore little resemblance” to their fearsome parental predators.

pishing

“The difference between pishing and birdcalling might seem slight, until you hear them in action.”

Andy Wright, “How to Be a Bird Pick-Up Artist,” Atlas Obscura, December 1, 2015

Pishing, unlike bird-calling which involves imitating specific birds, is a more general “scolding call,” says Atlas Obscura. The sound is rapid and high-pitched, like “a mix between a sprinkler going off and a tire leaking.” The word is imitative.

Pish is also used to express disdain, and has been in use since at least the late 16th century, says the Oxford English Dictionary.

Welcome to Word Buzz Wednesday, in which we round up our favorite buzzworthy words of the week. The latest: impersonating a Roman officer; fleur-de-lis, not just for royals; can’t decide between pie and cake? you’re in luck.

centurion

“It spoke of the ‘inappropriate, insistent and sometimes aggressive’ behaviour of Centurions, who charge between €5 and €10 ($5.3-$10.6) for a photo.”

“Rome bans Centurions from tourist sites,” BBC, November 26, 2016

A centurion was a commander in the army of ancient Rome, so-called because he commandeered a company of 100 soldiers. The centurions of Rome today are impersonators of such soldiers and, as of this month, criminals in the eyes of the law.

circle

“She ignored me and passed right by. ‘What year were you born?’ I called to her back. She kept walking, and replied ‘I’m almost a circle older than you.’”

Zheping Huang, “I was a 23-year-old guy at a 4,000-person Chinese singles party,” Quartz, November 25, 2015

In this context, a circle refers to a full 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac animals.

fleurdeliser

“The practice of fleurdeliser (a verb meaning ‘to mark with the fleur-de-lis’) traveled across the waters to French-controlled colonies, including America.”

Anne Quito, “The secret history of spots, stripes and other everyday patterns,” Quartz, November 25, 2015

The fleur-de-lis wasn’t just an iris pattern used by the aristocracy (including the French royal family and government) but also a way to mark criminals or anyone “controlled by the French state,” says Jude Stewart in his book, Patternalia, An Unconventional History of Polka Dots, Stripes, Plaid, Camouflage, & Other Graphic Patterns.

piecaken

“When Kelly called restaurant David Burke Fabrick’s piecaken (created by Executive Pastry Chef Zac Young), ‘Pretty much the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, besides the birth of my children,’ the piecaken craze reached a fevered frenzy.”

Sarah Spigelman Richter, “You say piecaken, I say cherpumple. Can’t ridiculous dessert lovers just get along?” Mashable, November 26, 2015

The piecaken is a pie baked inside a cake. Its name is a play on turducken, a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey. While the piecaken recently gained popularity, Mashable says the word goes back at least three years.

The cherpumple, arguably the original turducken of desserts, originated as a three-layer cake baked with a cherry, pumpkin, and apple pie in each layer, and was invented by foodie mad scientist, Charles Phoenix.

taser

“The brand name Taser has become as synonymous with these devices as Kleenex or Xerox have to photocopies and tissues – a quirk of language known as a ‘proprietary eponym’.”

Jamiles Lartey, “Where did the word ‘Taser’ come from? A century-old racist science fiction novel,” The Guardian, November 30, 2015

The word for any high-voltage stun gun comes from the weapon’s original manufacturer, Taser International. However, “Taser” doesn’t refer to the inventor of the gun. That would be Jack Cover, who created the name as a “loose acronym” of Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle, an early 20th-century science fiction YA novel.

The book mentions a “less lethal” electric gun as well as descriptions of Africans as “hideous in their savagery, wearing only the loin cloth, and with their kinky hair stuck full of sticks,” and as “wild, savage and ferocious … like little red apes.” Swift and his companions decide that the blacks “need to be controlled, guided or killed as determined by the more ‘civilized’ white outsiders.”

Welcome to Word Buzz Wednesday, in which we round up our favorite buzzworthy words of the week. The latest: the science behind smiles; a non-mythical unicorn; and hooking users with cat videos.

disease model

“Besides using cloning technologies to improve livestock breeding, the new cloning factory, will be ‘the world’s only’ research institution to produce ‘disease models’ of large animals, Xu said.”

Zheping Huang, “China plans to clone everything from beef cattle to the family dog in this giant factory,” Quartz, November 23, 2015

A disease model is an animal that has been genetically engineered “to be predisposed to a certain human disease for research purposes.” For example, mouse models have been used to study a host of diseases, including Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s.

Duchenne smile

“Between two and six months, infants increasingly employ a so-called Duchenne smile—cheeks raised, eye muscles constricted—to respond to parents’ smiles, which researchers say indicates intense emotion.”

Melinda Beck, “What Your Baby’s Smile Can Tell You About Her Development,” The Wall Street Journal, November 23, 2015

The Duchenne smile is named for 19th century French physician Guillaume Duchenne, who studied facial expressions and found that while control of the zygomatic major, the muscles that raise the corners of the mouth, is voluntary, the contraction of the orbicularis oculi, those around the eyes, is involuntary.

Thus, Duchenne concluded that only “the ‘sweet emotions of the soul’ force the orbicularis oculi to contract,” and that “its inertia, in smiling…unmasks a false friend.”

Frankenfish

“While regulators maintain that they’re sure the fish is safe to eat, the salmon— which was dubbed ‘Frankenfish’ by its critics — has drawn much contention along its swim to approval.”

Becca Stanek, “For the first time ever, the FDA has approved eating a genetically modified animal: A fast-growing salmon,” The Week, November 19, 2015

Frankenfish plays off the general slang term for genetically modified food, Frankenfood, which originated in the early 1990s, says the Oxford English Dictionary. The Franken– prefix comes from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, in which Victor Frankenstein creates his “monster” through an “ambiguous method consisting of chemistry and alchemy.”

narwhal

“And unlike unicorns, narwhals, a type of toothed whales, actually exist.”

Alice Truong, “Canadian tech unicorns are called ‘narwhals,’” Quartz, November 20, 2015

In the startup world, a unicorn refers to company valued at $1 billion or more. Originally a rare occurrence — hence, the equating with the mythological, much sought after creature — unicorns are becoming more common.

The CEO of an advisory firm in Vancouver coined the term narwhal to refer to such a startup in Canada. The narwhal, sometimes called the sea-unicorn or unicorn fish due to the ivory tusk jutting from its head, can be found in the Arctic waters around Greenland, Russia, and Canada.

The word narwhal comes from the Norwegian or Danish narhval, which comes from Old Norse nāhvalr, where nār means “corpse” — named for the whale’s pale color — and hvalr, “whale.”

variable reward

“With [a slot machine], the longer you’re engaged by variable rewards, the more money you lose. For a tech company in the attention economy, the longer you’re engaged by variable rewards, the more time you spend online, and the more money they make through ad revenue.”

Michael Schulson, “User behaviour,” Aeon, November 24, 2015

A variable reward is like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get.

Hence, its appeal. On Facebook, for example, variable rewards might include a cute cat video, a moving news story, or someone’s bragplain post.

The variable reward is the third step in a four-step design model to get online users hooked. Step one is the trigger (whatever catches your attention), step two the action (the act of scrolling or clicking) which leads to the variable reward, and step four is making an investment such as Liking or sharing a post.

Welcome to Word Buzz Wednesday, in which we round up our favorite buzzworthy words of the week. The latest: helpful, non-crushing robots; a carbtastic religion; and it’s never too late for divorce.

cobot

“Collaborative robots — or cobots — need to be configured so they’re aware of their fleshy colleagues and slow or stop after an unexpected collision to avoid stabbing skin or slicing limbs.”

Stefan Nicola and Olivia Solon, “This German Machine is Hitting People to Make Tomorrow’s Robots Safer,” Bloomberg, November 11, 2015

Unlike regular robots which mostly work autonomously, cobots are designed to help or guide humans, for instance while working in a factory. Researchers at the Fraunhofer IFF Institute in Germany are trying to discover “what needs to be done to ensure robots don’t crush their human colleagues” in the process.

(H/t Edward Bannatt.)

Daesh

“Western governments are divided on what to call the Islamic extremists claiming responsibility for the attacks in Paris and other atrocities. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently began using the term ‘Daesh,’ adding to the confusion.”

George Petras, “‘Daesh,’ other Islamic State names explained,” USA Today, November 17, 2015

Daesh is a “disputed acronym” of the extremist group more commonly known the Islamic State, ISIS, or ISIL. Daesh might stand for Dawlat al-Islamiyah f’al-Iraq wa al-Sham, which translates as “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant,” which is “an area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates River.”

Although the French government began using Daesh in September, the group itself derides the name as “it sounds similar to the Arabic word for ‘sowers of discord,’ which are enemies of Islam.”

McRefugee

“Dubbed ‘McRefugees,’ they sleep in 24-hour branches of the fast food chain, which offer a clean, safe and free refuge found in few other places in the southern Chinese business hub.”

“Hong Kong’s McRefugees,” AP, November 12, 2015

McRefugees refer to homeless people who have taken refuge in McDonald’s. AP says the phenomenon goes back to at least 2007, and while it “has also been documented in Japan and mainland China,” it’s especially popular in Hong Kong, where rents are exorbitant.

Pastafarian

“[Lindsay] Miller claims she is a Pastafarian, also known as a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.”

“Pastafarian wins right to wear colander in driver’s license photo,” MyFox8, November 14, 2015

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster takes a “light-hearted” view of religion and is against the teaching of creationism in schools.

The term “flying spaghetti monster” was first used in 2005 in an open letter to the Kansas State Board of Education protesting its “decision to permit teaching intelligent design” — that is, nature designed by an intelligent being (such as God) rather than by natural selection and evolution — “as an alternative to evolution in public school science classes.” Pastafarianism is another term for the church, and combines pasta (referring to the spaghetti part of the FSM) and Rastafarian.

Lindsay Miller isn’t the first Pastafarian to win the right to wear the official Church of FSM headgear in a driver’s license photo. That honor belongs to Austrian atheist Niko Alm in 2011. Other notable colander-wearers include a member of the Pomfret, New York Town Council, and former porn actress, Asia Carrera.

twilight divorce

“Twilight divorces after 20 years of marriage are at a record in South Korea as the stigma of divorce wears off in a conservative society and court rulings make it financially viable for older women to go it alone.”

“It’s never too late: ‘Twilight divorce’ in South Korea at record,” Channel NewsAsia, November 13, 2015

Nope, not a legal split from a sparkly vampire. Twilight divorce refers to the end of marriage for couples in their “twilight” years.

Welcome to Word Buzz Wednesday, in which we round up our favorite buzzworthy words of the week. The latest: a disappointing magic word; a school nickname; and a boxing word for politics.

future shock

“Jet lag may be ‘future shock’ at its most tangible, but when did it first emerge as an affliction? At what point did people start moving fast enough that it became an issue?”

Joshua Keating, “When Did People Start Moving Fast Enough to Experience Jet Lag?” Slate, November 10, 2015

The term future shock comes from the 1970 book of the same name by futurist Alvin Toffler and his (uncredited) co-author and wife, Heidi Toffler. The Tofflers define future shock as “the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too short a time.”

gene drive

“Scientists have known about gene drives for many years. But they never had a good way to use them.”

Rob Stein, “Powerful ‘Gene Drive’ Can Quickly Change An Entire Species,” NPR, November 5, 2015

Gene drive refers to the inheritance of genetic changes made as a result of genetic engineering. In the experiment described by NPR, brown fruit flies genetically engineered to be blonde went on to produce blonde offspring.

Mizzou

“Wolfe’s failure to address racial issues on campus over the past few months prompted students, faculty and lawmakers to call for his ouster. Monday morning, Wolfe acquiesced, saying he was resigning ‘out of love’ for the Mizzou students.”

Mariah Stewart, “Mizzou Students Divided Over President’s Resignation,” The Huffington Post, November 9, 2015

Mizzou, the nickname of the University of Missouri, has been in use since at least 1905. The school is currently facing controversy with their treatment — or lack thereof — of racism on campus. A grad student went on a hunger strike while some football players threw their support behind him by “refusing to practice or play until [university president Tim] Wolfe was shown the door.” Wolfe resigned on Monday.

no-maj

“J.K. Rowling has revealed that non-magic Americans are called ‘No-maj’ (pronounced ‘no madge’).”

Aramide Tinubu, “We Doubt The American Word For ‘Muggle’ Is Going To Be Added To The Oxford Dictionary Anytime Soon,” Hollywood.com, November 4, 2014

No-maj is the American English equivalent of the (far more interesting) British English muggle, which also refers to an old-timey drinking contest and is slang for a marijuana cigarette.

undercard

“Those below the 2.5 percent average in the polls could qualify for the so-called undercard debate, as long as they hit at least 1 percent in at least one of the four most recent national polls.”

Ashley Parker and Nick Corasanti, “Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee, in Blow to Their Campaigns, Are Cut From Main Debate Stage,” The New York Times, November 5, 2015

Originating from boxing, undercard refers to a lower-profile event that takes place before the main event. The term came about around 1926, says the Oxford English Dictionary.