You Want To Save Some Money?

Then get to know your coupon slang.

• http://myfave4letterfword.com/for-the-rookie/coupon-slang/
• http://www.abuggyfull.com/p/coupon-slang.html
• http://weshopdeals4you.blogspot.com/2011/06/commonly-used-coupon-slang-acronyms.html
• http://blessedbybargains.com/?page_id=75

Waterworld ...

hypaquacy

[hip-ah-kwuh-see]

n., the act, often intentional, of filling up an empty premium spring water bottle (Evian, SmartWater, et al) with regular old tap water, so as to impress friends, colleagues and strangers with your superior taste and your refined palate

According to the International Bottled Water Association (yep, they exist), the 'domestic non-sparkling' (still) segment of the US bottled water market had a volume of over 8.1 billion gallons in 2009.

Rawhide, Cowhide, Manhide?

Wow, it's been a while since my last post.

I've been watching a decent amount of tv lately and, consequently, have sat through my fair share of commercials.

As a fan of the loofah/body wash approach, (Hey, don't hate! Exfoliate!), one ad in particular has stood out recently - a Dove commercial for a gender-specific body wash that refers to men's skin as "manhide"

Here's a link to the Dove commercial -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdOS74nzsmQ

I'm fine with the word hide. It actually means "human skin," but adding the "man" to it gives it a vaguely disturbing quality. And why equate men's skin with tanned leather? Are we that derelict as a gender in our personal care that the closest analog to our skin is a bomber jacket? Or does the "macho-fying" of the product make it more palatable to use than if we just called it "body wash" and didn't make it so rugged-sounding?

Apparently, I'm not the first or second one to notice this quirky advertisement.

Now, if we allow for the usage of the phrase manhide, by extension, does that mean that there's also a womanhide? And what would we use a proxy for women's skin?

In the man-time, I'll just continue to use my Irish Spring body wash.

Clean as a whistle

I've Seen That Once or Twice Before ...

saw and order

n., the collection of plot devices and time-worn cliches frequently employed by procedural legal/police television shows

Examples include, but are certainly not limited to, the following:

a) the classic good-cop bad cop gambit

b) the shadowy Internal Affairs investigator

c) always just missing being able to trace a call by mere seconds

d) when the judge says "I'll allow it, but tread lightly counselor ..."

e) overuse of cop jargon ("perp," "skel," "I need a bus")

f) the job's workaholic nature and the tendency to take one's work home

g) lab scientists and technicians only being able to speak in highbrow. scientific terms and force the layperson detective/attorney/agent to look confused and say "In english?"

h) the dreaded psychological assessment after a shooting (also must call all mental health professionals "shrinks)

i) the two-handed lapel shake of a suspect up against a brick or concrete wall

j) a maverick yet successful cop/crimesolver locking horns with a straight-laced, by the book supervisor, but ultimately coming to a grudging and heartwarming acceptance of each other's

k) deus ex machina -- the highly improbable "god out of a machine" endings that either save of the day or defy all probability

l) eating a hot dog at a busy streetside stand

m) Continuing to "work" a case after being suspended or taken off the case

n) Melodramatic "turf war" between cops/lawyers from competing jurisdictions/agencies

o) Visiting a retired cop to have another look at an old case

Don't get me wrong. I love cop and courtroom shows. In fact, I watch several of them a week. But, they typically don't stray too far from many of the time-honored tools of the trade.

Make It Go, Make It Go, Make It Go

flake-out

[fleyk out]

n., when a snowstorm begins to loses its cozy, storybook appeal and becomes more of a nuisance; often accompanied by billowy pillows of snow turning into diamond-cutting spears of jagged ice, 15-foot berms of brownish-grey slush and a layer of dried-salt film covering every flat surface

... I also like how people who come from different parts of the country tend to brag about how much snow they have there ('They'll cancel school for two inches here. I'm from XXXXX, so this doesn't faze me at all'). For some reason that irks me, like the ability to handle weather conditions or turn out of a skid is something worth arguing about.

frumple

[fruhm-puhl]

n., a permanent wrinkle or crease, especially in a garment of clothing, viz., pants

Despite his many efforts -- the ironing board, the steam cleaner, a hot shower -- the pants would not hold a crease. The pants held the frumple, like a badge of disheveled honor

Heads Up ...

crown molding

[kroun mohl-ding]

n., the undulating folds of extra skin on the back of a person's head, often giving the back of the skull the contoured appearance of rolling hills

Yes, I'm OK. I took a year off from posting new words. I've been storing them up for a while

For the last 18 months, I've continued to publish a word an issue in The South Magazine

Wow, That's Ripe ...

rare essence
[rair es-uhns]

n., a pervasive, pungent and unrepentantly flagrant body odor

I stopped at the video store to drop off some movies. As soon as I made my way through the door, a wall of the foulest, most dank rare essence greeted me. My mouth agape and my nostrils burning, I placed the DVDs on the counter and returned to my car with the utmost haste.

also may be used to converse with another person in the presence of a strong odor without the offending party's knowledge

Guy #1: Man, that guy has some rare essence going on

Guy #2: Yeah, it's heinous.

Medically speaking, body odor is also known as bromhidrosis and gets its pungent, vinegar-like smell from the presence of propionic acid.

Did you know it's possible to 'hallucinate' smells? This type of olfactory hallucination is known as phantosmia.

Drop that bit of knowledge at your cocktail parties later this evening ...

Until 2009,

Quixotica

I Need A Word for ...

this situation ...

in football, a skill position player on offense (especially a wide receiver) will often imitate a referee's flag-throwing motion following an especially contested play in order to persuade one of the nearby officials into throwing the flag himself; if successful, the duper is usually awarded a pass interference, holding or illegal contact penalty 

I feel like there should be a name for this athlete? Or the act itself?