Discrimisensation™
(dih-skrim-ih-sen-SAY-shun)
Definition:
A person who experiences discrimination and becomes a media sensation. Also: The incidence of this.
Sample Usage:
Professor Hartley says that discrimisensation happens to a variety of people who capture the public's interest.
Inspired by:
(Photo Credit: Saswat Pattanayak)
(NOH-voh-nim, NAHV-oh-nim)
Definition:
A new name or word used to give something a fresh, more favorable image. Such as a name introduced when rebranding a food product. (Novonym's linguistic recipe combines novo, from the Latin de novo meaning "anew," and the Greek nym, for "name" or "word.")
Sample Usage:
Do you know what the product with the novonym canola oil used to be called?
Inspired by:
The New York Times / Health / Tara Parker-Pope / "A New Name for High-Fructose Corn Syrup"
(Photo Credit: Life)
Virchandise™
(VUHR-chen-dice)
Definition:
Virtual merchandise – as found in virtual worlds, social games, smartphone apps, and other digital environments. Pretend items that range from H&M jeans, to Volvo sedans, to Beyonce bling, and beyond.
Sample Usage:
Ethan got his girlfriend a lot of virchandise at Second Life stores, but she still wants a ring to wear on her real-life finger.
Inspired by:
The New York Times / Advertising / "Marketing Fanciful Items in the Lands of Make Believe"
(Image Credit: Second Life)
(uh-MARE-uh-kih-nim)
Definition:
An Americanized name for a person or family – or an Americanized word for a place, brand, or everyday object. (Decreasingly) used to ease pronunciation and spelling by American English speakers, enhance American cultural assimilation, or convey a sense of being American in the U.S. or elsewhere.
Sample Usage:
Dunbar Ceanadach didn't change his last name to the Americanym "Kennedy," but he did put its phonetic pronunciation on his business cards.
Inspired by:
The New York Times / N.Y./Region / "New Life in U.S. No Longer Means New Name"
(Photo Credit: NJ.com)
Magacuisine™
(MAG-uh-kwih-ZENE)
Definition:
Magazine-inspired cuisine. Particularly that served at a magazine-themed restaurant, which cashes in on the cachet and style of a particular publication.
Sample Usage:
Francesca is a world traveler who loved the magacuisine at Moscow's Vogue Cafe – even more than the Condé Nast iPad apps she sampled in the U.S.
Inspired by:
The Wall Street Journal / Business / "Condé Nast Titles Morph Into Restaurants"
(Photo Credit: Italian Vogue)
Starousal™
(star-ROWSE-uhl)
Definition:
Arousal of brain activity, emotions, or whatever, due to seeing a celebrity.
Sample Usage:
Teralyn's starousal was so intense when she saw Sarah Jessica Parker that she went and bought the same shoes as hers.
Inspired by:
BBC News / Health / "Celebrity Endorsement 'Alters Brain Activity'"
Bondseum
(bond-ZEE-um)
Definition:
A nickname for a James Bond museum.
Sample Usage:
We considered calling a Bondseum a spyseum, but wanted something more "Bond-like" – especially after a Google search revealed spyseum in use by a Russian website.
Inspired by:
Frost Magazine / "Gensler Unveils Design for Bond Museum of Vehicles and Espionage"
(Photo Credit: Shipbright)
