The Ultimate Slang Dictionary - 2 May 2011

<p>SUMMARY<br /><br />When it comes to language, who's the decider? Grant explains how grammar rules develop. Also, what's tarantula juice, and what's the difference between a muffin top and a smiley? The hosts discuss these and other terms from Jonathon Green's new Dictionary of Slang. Why do we call a waste of taxpayer money a boondoggle? What does it mean to be cotton to someone? And what's happening if we have a touch of the seconds? Plus, funny movie mistakes, a quiz in limerick form, regional terms for lanyards, and a new spin on the musical joke brown chicken, brown cow. <br /><br />FULL DETAILS<br /><br />Can you guess what a smiley is? Or how about tarantula juice? You could, of course, happen upon someone with a muffin top drinking inferior whisky, or you could look these terms up in Jonathon Green's new Historical Dictionary of Slang. Green spent decades assembling this three-volume collection of slang from the United States, Great Britain, and every other nook and cranny of the English-speaking world. Grant explains what has linguists so excited about its publication.<br /><br />http://bit.ly/ienVE3<br /><br />If you preface a statement with "I'm not trying to be racist, but," does that then make it okay? And is there a term for such disclaimer?<br /><br />It's always fun to catch moviemakers' blunders. Say you're watching an epic about ancient Rome and spot a toga-clad extra who forgot to remove his wristwatch. That's an anachronism. But what do you call something that's geographically incorrect. Take, for example, an exterior shot of what's supposed to be Dunder Mifflin's Scranton office, but includes a fleeting glimpse of a palm tree? That's called an anatopism (accent on the second syllable), from the Greek topos, meaning "place." <br /><br />For an excellent timewaster along these lines, Grant recommends moviemistakes.com. (Yo, "The Nativity Story"! Everyone knows maize wasn't grown in Nazareth during the time of Christ. Anatopic FAIL!)<br /><br />http://bit.ly/39Ji<br /><br />Understandings aren