'Sound Blast'
A supersize sound bite, blasted over the internet by a tech-savvy politician (see Barack Obama). The average sound bite is 10.3 seconds long. The typical sound blast is 10 minutes or more.
Source: Wired
'Ocean Deserts'
Desolate zones in the world's oceans. These regions are expanding with global warming, which has dampened the circulation of marine nutrients and lowered the oxygen content.
Source: Wired
'Popcorning'
A chain reaction in which the accidental explosion of one nuclear warhead causes others in the vicinity to detonate.
Source: Wired
'Green Crude'
A new type of crude oil harvested from genetically engineered algae, one that burns cleaner than petroleum fuels.
Source: Wired
'Voggy'
Smoggy weather caused when a volcano releases sulfur dioxide that combines with dust and sunlight.
Source: Wired
'Flight Insurance'
Payment in cash or stock options to high value employees following a takeover, offered as an incentive not to leave the company.
Source: Wired
'Nomophobia'
Nomophobia is the anxiety some feel when they lose cell phone contact, either because they've entered an area with poor coverage or their battery has died. A recent survey in the United Kingdom estimates that half of Britain suffers from Nomophobia.
Source: Wired
'Dark Marketing'
More companies are turning to dark marketing by sponsoring online and real-world entertainment intended to reach audiences, usually young hipsters, who ordinarily shun traditional advertising. As an example, McDonald's is sponsoring an alternate reality game called The Lost Ring.
Source: Wired
'Dogfooding'
'Dogfooding' is a term used in business, especially the high tech industry, to indicate when a company is using its own product. The term's origins are said to trace back to Alpo dog food commercials with Lorne Greene, who thought the product so good, he would feed it to his own dogs. The term was allegedly first used in the high tech industry in 1988 inside the walls of Microsoft when the company attempted to increase internal use of Microsoft's LAN Manager product.
Sources: Wikipedia, Urban Dictionary
'Filibuster'
Filibuster was first used to describe adventurers who fomented revolution in the Spanish colonies of Central America and the Caribbean. These adventurers were reputed to harangue their listeners with partisan rhetoric. Eventually the term was used to describe legislators who avoid action by engaging in prolonged, blustery monologues.
'Eggs Benedict'
One morning in 1894, a member of New York Cafe society named Samuel Benedict staggered into the Waldorf-Astoria and ordered an antidote for his hangover. Charles Earle Funk reports that Benedict "ordered bacon, buttered toast, two poached eggs and a hooker of hollandaise." The maitre d'hotel, the renowned Oscar, decided to improve on this new entree by substituting ham for bacon, and an English muffin for toast, naming the dish in Benedict's honor.
'Jeeps'
During World War II, the jeep was developed by the United States as its basic military car. Its official designation was General Purpose Vehicle. Jeep comes from combining the initial sounds of General Purpose. Prototypes of the jeep were called beeps, peeps and blitz buggies.
'Three Sheets to the Wind'
The 'sheet' is the rope or chain attached to the lower corner of the sail. By shortening or extending the sheet, one can determine the angle of the sail. If one loosens the sheet completely, the sail flaps and careers. If one loosens all three sheets, the ship would reel like a drunken person. 'In the Wind' has long referred to a ship out of control so 'three sheets to the wind' became the perfect way to describe a drunk.
'Flak'
Flak was first used during World War II to describe the anti-aircraft fire Allied pilots encountered while flying bombing missions over Germany. The word is formed by the contraction of the first letter or letters of three German words: FLieger ("aviator"), Abwehr ("defense), and Kanonen ("guns"). The term is now used to describe any unwanted opposition.
'Getting Down to Brass Tacks'
In the 19th century, most tacks were made of copper, but not those found in English fabric stores. Retailers placed brass tacks on the inner edges of their sales counters, exactly one yard apart. When a customer finished browsing and selected a skein of cloth or other fabric, she was literally getting down to brass tacks - read to measure the length of fabric and pay for it.
'Beyond the Pale'
In the 12th century, the Norman Conquerors of England decided to set their sites on neighboring Ireland. They managed to capture much of the area around Dublin and some other coastal cities. For protection from Irish attacks, the Normans fenced off their property with pales (from the latin palus) or 'stakes.' The region around Dublin became known as "the pale." The expression beyond the pale was originally applied to an untamed Irishman and later was popularized by the Rudyard Kipling story of the same name.
Source: Who Put the Butter in Butterfly? by David Feldman
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