Neologisms #2

Can you guess these words that have entered the lexicon in the last 20 years or so?

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Last updated: January 2, 2020

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First submitted	September 1, 2013
Times taken	43,044
Average score	65.0%
Rating	3.64

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Definition	Word
A post on Twitter	Tweet
Smiley face or other ideogram such as 😀 or ❤️	Emoji
To spoil a photograph by unexpectedly appearing in it	Photobomb
To send someone a text of a sexual nature	Sext
Leggings that resemble jeans	Jeggings
To dance in a provocative manner, with thrusting hips in a low stance	Twerk
Hypothetical future robot of incredibly small size	Nanobot
The practice of dressing up like a character from a movie, video game, or anime	Cosplay
Three-letter expression of disinterest, popularized by the Simpsons	Meh
To look something up using a search engine	Google
To participate in live-action role-playing	LARP
Word used to denote the action of eating, similar to zzz for sleeping	Nom
To put one's hand to one's face in an expression of dismay	Facepalm
"Landscaping" of a man's body hair	Manscaping
An overly sensitive person who might "melt"	Snowflake
Three-letter word similar to "bro", but more inclusive	Fam
The wife or girlfriend of a prominent athlete	Wag
To suddenly cut off all contact with someone, particularly as a means of exiting a relationship	Ghost
To use an electronic cigarette	Vape
Muscular to the point of looking swollen	Swole

Level 77

Oct 14, 2013

oh...put one's hand to one's OWN face...i was trying to think of the term for "talk to the hand"

Level 67

Jan 25, 2014

That was my 1st thought too, but even before I began to write I figured it out.

Level 75

Mar 3, 2017

Same here.

Level 66

Jun 9, 2020

I prefer the less popular "dopeslap" for this one.

Level 31

Jan 29, 2014

I wouldn't say twerking is provocative xD

Level 91

Mar 21, 2014

Are you under 25? Cuz that's why you don't think twerking is provocative.

+12

Level 74

Aug 1, 2014

It certainly provokes a reaction in me when that Cyrus creature does it. Not a good reaction, but definitely a reaction...

Level 62

Mar 4, 2017

Lmao

Level 62

Mar 10, 2019

Sorry grandad

+22

Level ∞

Jan 1, 2020

Lol at the all the people who think that twerking is just a normal everyday occurrence for people under 25.

Level 52

May 7, 2019

You haven't seen it in a rap video

Level 75

Mar 4, 2015

Never heard of half of these. I have enough trouble remembering the words I already know without adding to the list, but I'll do my best to catch up.

Level 72

Apr 26, 2016

I'm with you, I have never heard the term wag before

Level 69

Mar 5, 2017

Wives And Girlfriends

Level 67

Dec 16, 2018

I did but had no idea what it stood for, thanx @ruudsje

Level 75

Jun 9, 2020

I always thought wag meant wild a** guess.

Level 64

Jan 16, 2024

It might be more famous in the UK, there was a period where our tabloids were obsessed with the term for the partners of England footballers.

Level 83

Dec 1, 2015

So THAT'S where the word "meh" came from. I picked it up off my sister a while back. She's never watched the Simpsons either, so I have no idea where she got it from.

+19

Level 72

Apr 26, 2016

I never thought of it as coming from the Simpsons. They certainly used it but I had no idea they "popularized" it

Level 60

Mar 16, 2017

A LOT of words and phrases have come from The Simpsons. The show's been running since 1989 and it's still going, making it the longest-running TV show in history. It's therefore not surprising that many folks (myself included) use phrases from The Simpsons without knowing that's where they came from, since they've become part of the general lexicon (same with Star Trek and Star Wars).

Level 46

May 4, 2017

MasterKenobi:

"The show's been running since 1989 and it's still going, making it the longest-running TV show in history. "

Sorry Man, but Coronation Street has been on since 1960 and Guiding Light went from 1952-2009. Hell, As the World Turns was on for 54 years.

Sure they are soap operas, but they are still television shows.

Level 76

Dec 17, 2017

It is the longest running American sitcom, the longest running American animated show, and the longest running American scripted primetime show. But yeah, there are a bunch of other shows -- daytime soap operas, talk shows, and news shows especially -- that have been on longer. I believe Meet the Press is the current champion, having run continuously since 1947.

Level 78

May 7, 2019

I mean... good for Coronation Street, As The World Turns, and Guiding Light, but I somehow doubt any of them introduced any words or phrases that have gone on to enter the common lexicon! :-)

Level 75

Jan 11, 2020

How about "soap opera" and "soaps"?

Level 72

Jun 9, 2020

My favourite examples of simpsonisms that are now in the dictionary are "embiggen" and "cromulent" which both come from the same episode.

Level 67

Jun 9, 2020

I don't think it made the dictionary, but "malparkage," referring to parking one's car terribly or illegally, is my favorite Simpsonism, among many great ones.

Level 57

Jun 13, 2020

@ cyclonus that wasn't the point though- the point was the utter disrespect to call the simpsons the longest running programme in history! Corrie is a national treasure and deserves better than to be snubbed like that

(please know I'm only teasing, but I am also deadly serious xD)

Level 47

Apr 22, 2016

???????

Level 58

Aug 22, 2016

Loving the description to explain language that seems so familiar to us.

+12

Level 90

Oct 9, 2016

Never heard of Google. I bing things up.

+11

Level 74

Jan 3, 2020

Yahoo for you!

Level 69

Jun 9, 2020

I Ask Jeeves. He's not very responsive of late.

Level 84

Jun 9, 2020

I ask my mother-in-law. She knows everything. (rolls eyes)

Level 73

Sep 23, 2022

I just post the wrong answer in the comments on this site

Level 84

Nov 17, 2016

Any chance on accepting nanite?

Level 7

Nov 27, 2016

kind of hard

Level 84

Jan 21, 2017

Got everything but wag, which I had never heard of. I looked it up, I get that it's an acronym for "wives and girlfriends", read about the origin on Wikipedia... and I still don't understand why it only applies to the wives and girlfriends of athletes. Why are all other wags not wags?

Level 47

Mar 3, 2017

love this quiz

Level 47

Mar 3, 2017

i had to search up what a neologism was though...0

Level 75

Jun 9, 2020

I'd never heard the word until I saw it on this site so I wondered if neologism was also a neologism, but according to Merriam-Webster the first known use of the word was in 1772.

Level 63

Mar 3, 2017

I've only used "nom" when the food was actually delicious.

Level 87

Sep 9, 2023

I've never used just "nom" as I've always used "nomnom" but also in agreement that it means you're eating something delicious.

Level 55

Mar 3, 2017

This was fun and so easy. I got 17/20 and my 11 year old got them all but whipits which I'm ok with lol

Level 61

Mar 3, 2017

Proud to say I only got 9

Level 75

Mar 4, 2017

I find it interesting that cavemen communicated by drawing pictures on their cave walls. Eons later we are again communicating with pictures, only we call them emojis. :)

+10

Level 84

Apr 27, 2017

This quiz sadly reminds me how stupid the world is getting. Mindless slang is taking over, terrible diction/grammar gets validated instead of corrected, since anyone who DARES offer any sort of correction whatsoever is immediately branded a grammar-Nazi or some such thing.....*sigh*

People could care less about what word they should of used, irregardless of whether or not it jives with what proper verbage would dictate. Their just so careless with there grammar, that when you hone in on the problem, its just heart-wrenching and leaves a pit in your stomach too see hear, they're and everywhere.

Okay, that was cathartic.

Level 55

Jul 21, 2017

People don't type perfectly on the internet to save time. Get over it.

Level 47

Jan 30, 2018

Yes, but I, along with many others, would also prefer understanding what people are saying.

Level 47

Jan 30, 2018

Now that you mention it, don't they teach you how to type in school? If it is all about saving time, shouldn't one be proficient it typing, considering how much technology rules our world today? If I were some teenager whose world is controlled by a smartphone, surely I would take time to actually learn how to use the keys.

Level 76

Dec 6, 2018

How would learning typing help on a smartphone? You're not exactly gonna be using the home keys and all ten fingers.

Level 77

Jan 2, 2020

All that about spelling and grammar and then you use "irregardless" ? That rather invalidates your point.

+11

Level 82

Jan 2, 2020

Probably intentional, just look carefully at the whole penultimate paragraph.

Level 67

Jan 15, 2020

That is the only one you spotted?? He tried to make as many errors in that paragraph as he could. There are atleast 8 of them. (Perhaps more, but english isnt my mother tongue, so maybe missed other stuff.)

Level 75

Jun 9, 2020

I counted twelve, and I probably missed some, too. (Thirteen if you count the slang use of jive.) I almost missed verbage for verbiage. Well done, Don.

Level 67

Jan 15, 2020

People have sure missed the joke on this one..

Level 71

Jun 9, 2020

ok snowflake

Level 74

Jun 9, 2020

Does no one on Jetpunk understand sarcasm...

Level 69

Jun 9, 2020

Nice! Particularly 'heart-wrenching' included in the penultimate paragraph. I had to forget you were being sarcastic at that point and screamed "It's heart-rending" at the screen!

Level 84

Jun 9, 2020

To borrow a quip from Keith Olbermann: 14 errors, for those of you scoring at home. (or even if you're alone)

Level 77

Jan 26, 2023

@ Don: Couldn't care less, and should have, not should of. And your one "their" should be "they're." Also, irregardless is redundant. If you drop the "ir," it means the same thing. And it's "jibes," not "jives." Jive is a dance and/or an English dialect spoken mainly by black Americans. I get called a grammar Nazi all the time.

If I had to guess, I'd say you did that intentionally.

Level 79

Oct 17, 2023

Did you read any of the comments that people posted before you?

Level 51

Jul 25, 2017

I wrote num instead of nom...seriously, this isn't a proper word so some flexibility should be allowed in the spelling

Level 83

Oct 28, 2017

Look it up, it is now in the dictionary so it counts as a proper word.

Level 67

Jan 15, 2020

I have never ever seen it written as num. Perhaps you had only heard it before and never seen it and made up yourself/assumed it was spelled num?

Level 75

Jun 9, 2020

I hear num num all the time, but Cookie Monster says nom nom, and he's the expert. (I don't know what was wrong with plain old yum, but that's just me.)

Level 76

Jun 10, 2020

"Nom" represents the sound/act of eating itself. "Yum" is what you say after you eat something you liked.

Level 79

Oct 17, 2023

You can definitely say nom in place of yum, I don't think there are hard and fast rules when it comes to slang related to eating

Level 83

Jan 4, 2018

Curious how the word creation tradition at the moment is very much in the realm of portmanteaux. My own habit is to create words out of Latin roots, French words, and things that sound like they should be English words but probably aren't.

Level 82

Nov 8, 2018

I guessed flexivore.

Level 82

Jun 9, 2020

for a word that's no longer on the quiz

Level 30

Jul 21, 2019

Huh, I guessed 'trophy wife' for wag.

Level 76

Jan 3, 2020

Spelling: sensitive

Level 76

Jan 4, 2020

Just a while ago read U of Michigan release on which age group of people are the most sensitive (and selfish/self centered, narcissistic, controlling and other negative traits). Turns out it's the people born between 1929 and early 60s. The study was US population only and based on psychological profiles collected by said university.

Personal observation in Europe says it's roughly the same around here. So called "boomers" (years vary depending on country) generation would seem the most sensitive of all. Coincidentally, the timing seems to be related to WW 1 & 2 fallout, e.g. childhood abandonment and war crazy ("shell shocked" = PTSD) parent(s).

Just an interesting detail...

Level 79

Oct 17, 2023

Source? In my experience, the younger generation (of which I'm a part) is pretty high in all those traits. I think most people are more sensitive than they let on and try to hide that by calling other people sensitive instead.

Level 72

Jan 9, 2020

Never heard of "Fam" or "Swole" before. Are they US words, any other Brits heard them used over here? Could well be

I am just auld and out of touch with the yooof of today.

Level 75

Jan 11, 2020

I'm American and I've never heard of them either, but I don't watch a lot of TV and when I do watch it's usually British shows.

Level 67

Jan 15, 2020

Not us or uk. I have heard of fam, but I wouldnt have considered it a word. Plus I hate, I dont know why but it turns my guts and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. (Dont think I have that with any other word though bae is rathrr creepy too..)

So I was rather well, shocked and appaled? haha to see it being used in dr who last week !! Not in a convo between 15 year olds hanging in the streets, but by the dr herself !! So no idea how prevalent it is in real life in the UK but you certainly could have heard about it.

Edit: there is even a wikia entry about it. https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Fam (had to check if I wasnt seeing/hearing things haha)

Level 67

Jan 15, 2020

Auld and yooof haha that made me smile :)

Level 69

Jun 9, 2020

I'd say 'fam' is very much a UK thing. I love it personally although being middle-aged I don't use it in public, as I would look like a right melt.

Level 59

Jun 9, 2020

The clue for snowflake reads "sensitve" instead of "sensitive."

Level ∞

Jun 9, 2020

Fixed

Level 68

Jun 9, 2020

I didn't get 'Fam' I kept trying 'Pal' and 'Guy'

Level 69

Jun 9, 2020

Love 'fam'. Been around for years in the UK. Also 'famalam' was around for a bit.

Level 82

Jun 9, 2020

Never heard of the athlete wife. The clue for "fam" was confusing for me but I get it now that I see the answer.

Level 60

Jun 10, 2020

Same.

Level 66

Jun 9, 2020

Just fyi, the Simpsons took meh from old school NY talk. It's Yiddish and if you grew up in or around the city in the 50s thru 70s, you knew it well.

Level 67

Jun 9, 2020

I actually think most of these are good additions...not the acts they represent, but the words themselves are fun. Vivid, playful, some good portmanteaus in there. Not crazy about "swole," "wag" is both stupid and a word we absolutely do not need, and I think "snowflake" is just about the dumbest, laziest appellation I've ever heard, but the other words are really good additions.

Level 79

Oct 17, 2023

Good job looking on the bright side

Level 65

Jun 9, 2020

Alternate spellings of "swole"? For example, "swol" (not very aesthetically pleasing either way).

Level 62

Jun 9, 2020

Possibly include manscape (the infinitive/unconjugated form) for manscaping? I almost didn't get it at first.

Level 55

Jun 10, 2020

I don't think that "To dance in a provocative manner, with thrusting hips in a low stance" is a good clue for "twerk", even if it's in the dictionary. The dictionary being euphemistic, because they don't want to say "women shaking their buttocks as hard/fast as possible". There are a lot of other dance moves that do actually involve thrusting hips, like grinding, hip rolls, the sway, etc.

Level 41

Jun 11, 2020

lol I don't know why I couldn't think of photobomb. I kept typing in Rick Roll

Level 47

Oct 6, 2021

Never heard of jeggings, twerking is not dancing, just a handy way for us to recognise people with a distinct lack of class.

Level 48

Dec 3, 2022

lol

Level 79

Oct 17, 2023

'Classless' as it may seem, it has rather interesting roots in African diaspora communities and New Orleans in the late 20th century, it's not like the zoomers invented it in 2009 to piss you off

Level 65

Aug 19, 2023

This whole time I thought I was staying current with the kids by using "cuz" (as in "cousin"). Turns out it's old news.

Level 55

Oct 30, 2023

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