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...
There are nearly 7,000 languages in the world today, and by some estimates, they’re dying off at the rate of one every week. What’s lost when a language dies? Martha and Grant discuss that question and efforts to record some endangered...
cruisy adj.— «That bathroom is listed on sex websites as “cruisy,” which is Internet lingo for a great place to meet other men for anonymous sex in public.» —“Sex in a Cruisy Lifestyle” by C.J. Ward KEYT...
butthurt adj.—Gloss: angry, indignant, offended, or outraged. Note: Dates to at least as early as 1996. «Oh my. dont get so butthurt…i cant even remember what i wrote.» —“Re: Writers With Half A Brain” by...
nutpicking n.— «I held a contest to create a name for the moronic practice of trawling through open comment threads in order to find a few wackjobs who can be held up as evidence that liberals are nuts. It’s both lazy and self-refuting...
zot v. to strike or destroy, especially with lightning or other beam or jolt of energy; in slang usage on the Internet, to remove, censor, or ban material or participants. Etymological Note: Imitative of lightning. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)