Whoever wrote “The Book of Love” neglected to include the handy emoticon <3, which looks like a heart if you turn your head sideways. Grant and Martha talk about how that bit of affectionate shorthand can function as a verb, and about...
In this week’s episode: Just how far back could you go and still understand the English people were speaking? We crank up our trusty time machine to find out. Hint: You’d probably have a tough time getting around in the eighth century...
It started as a typo for “own,” now it’s entrenched in online slang. A Kentucky caller is curious about pwn. It rhymes with “own” and means “to defeat” or “to triumph over.” Our hosts talk about...
playtron n.— «I love to “people-watch,” be they participants or just playtrons and patrons who show up in bizzare attire.» —“Re: What do you value?” by AuroraeB (Tracy) Usenet: alt.fairs...
mpreg n.— «I don’t know when or where I first heard of something called “mpreg,” although I know it was online. I didn’t know what it was, and oh, how I long for those innocent days of yesteryear. “What do you mean...
finger trouble n.— «Sure we have all had disk problems, but what percentage of these were not associated with writing/deleting/finger-trouble/bad-handling—extremely small!» —“Re: software protection – dongles & other...