-con

Modeled after lolicon; ultimately from clipping of complex (“abnormal mental condition”).

clip

(chiefly anime and manga) Forming terms for abnormal sexual attractions.


cyborgized

She is almost totally cyborgized except for a small number of human brain cells. Her apparently female body is a mere shell to encase a cybernetic entity.

2011, Donna Spalding Andréolle, Veronique Molinari, Women and Science, 17th Century to Present: Pioneers, Activists and Protagonists, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, →ISBN, page 233:

(science fiction) Having been made into a cyborg.


coreward

en-adj

coreward (comparative more coreward, superlative most coreward)

more coreward (comparative)
most coreward (superlative)

(science fiction) Close to or travelling towards the galactic core.


coreward

The first colonisation efforts went coreward from the Blue Planetary Nebula with worlds like Sirona Prime, Xalau III and Usinnia being discovered and settled.

2018, James E Taris, The Venality Effect: Two Clients, Xlibris, →ISBN:

(science fiction) Towards the galactic core.


cyborgization

(science fiction) The act of converting something into a cyborg.


Earthish

Earthish (comparative more Earthish, superlative most Earthish)

more Earthish (comparative)
most Earthish (superlative)

(science fiction) Relating to or originating from the Earth.


Earthish

(science fiction) A hypothetical universal language of Earth.


eetee

A pronunciation spelling of ET (“extraterrestrial”).

(science fiction) An extraterrestrial being; an alien.


Earth normal

atmospheric pressure
atmospheric pressure

(science fiction) The standard conditions (especially of gravity and atmospheric pressure) found on Earth.


Earthfolk

(science fiction) People from planet Earth.


Earthsider

(science fiction) An inhabitant of Earth.


empathist

extrasensory perception
extrasensory perception

(science fiction) Someone able to sense the emotions of others through extrasensory perception; an empath.


kiloday

(science fiction, rare) A period of one thousand days.


Earth-normal

Earth-normal (comparative more Earth-normal, superlative most Earth-normal)

more Earth-normal (comparative)
most Earth-normal (superlative)

(science fiction) Of a condition, similar to that found on Earth (especially describing gravity or atmospheric pressure).


gyrobus

The gyrobus touched down on the commercial side of the spaceport, not far from a row of hangars where several shuttles were parked.

2007 December, Allen Steele, “Galaxy Blues”, in Asimov's Science Fiction, volume 31, number 12, →ISSN, page 102:


otherspace

(science fiction) A type of space with different physical laws than ordinary space, often permitting faster-than-light travel.


Martianess

Coordinate term: Martian

(science fiction, rare) A female Martian.


Earthside

(science fiction) The planet Earth or (synecdochically) a group or organization based on Earth.


talking picture

en-noun

talking picture (plural talking pictures)

(cinematography, dated) A motion picture that features an audio accompaniment, thus allowing the characters' speech to be heard by the audience (as well as a musical score).


Schwabacher

(typography) A style of black letter typeface that evolved from Gothic Textualis (Textura) under the influence of Humanist type design in Italy during the 15th century.


sheetwise

(printing, historical) Printed one side of a sheet at a time, with the form replaced on the press between sides.


geezer teaser

First known reference to the term was in a March 2021 Vulture article, in which film distribution executive Adam Champ attributed it to a client.

One of my clients calls it a ‘geezer teaser’: You have Bruce Willis at the intro of the movie, so people are like, Great, this is a Bruce Willis movie. But he’s actually a secondary character who shows up sporadically.

2021 March 31, Joshua Hunt, quoting Adam Champ, “The King of the Geezer Teasers”, in Vulture:

These low-budget affairs are called Geezer Teasers. They're genre movies that star older actors and cater to the direct-to-video (or streaming) market.

2022 January 6, “What Is a Geezer Teaser? And Why Do They Make Money?”, in No Film School:

5. Crackle
Good for: Fans of classic TV, British television, geezer teaser action movies
Crackle is a collection of on-demand TV and films, with a few originals included in a library that leans heavily on BBC content such as “Midsomer Murders” and such classic shows as “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “What's Happening,” “The Little Rascals” and “Barney Miller.”

2022 November 20, Kelly Lawler, “Free your mind: The best free streaming services, ranked”, in Detroit Free Press, page E.1:

(film, neologism, derogatory) A film, most often an action film released direct to video and primarily distributed via video on demand (VOD), for which older, well-known male actors ("geezers") are billed in lead or co-lead roles and prominently featured (teased) in promotional material, but only appear sporadically during the film itself.


panoram

Such a panoram should be used only on distant objects. It should be executed slowly and evenly. It should always conclude, not start, with the most interesting objects within view.

1938, Popular Mechanics, volume 69, number 1:

For one thing, the rate at which a panoram is swung depends generally on a much slower motion of the hand controlling the turntable handle than the regulation twice a second which must always be given to the camera handle.

2000, Stephen Herbert, A History of Early Film, volume 2, page 104:

(film, informal, dated) A panoramic view.

Panoram

trade name of a visual jukebox that played short films


Truck-kun

What if I was walking across the street when I was summoned, only to be dropped back in front of a speeding truck. Lots of dodgy stories start with Truck-kun, and I don't want mine to end with it.

2022, Dean Henegar, “The Summoned Life”, in Legendary LitRPG: An All Genres LitRPG Anthology, unnumbered page:

While Truck-kun does cause one form of ending—the character is dead in their original world—it's an integral part of the main character's transportation to a new world, one where they can explore, learn, and grow.

2022, Natasha Yglesias, Anime Tarot Deck and Guidebook: Explore the Archetypes, Symbolism, and Magic in Anime, page 29:

So I figure I might as well chuck a "Truck-kun" into my own story too! Gotta get in while the getting's good!!

2023, Shizuki Fujisawa, translated by Cerridwyn Graffham, The Transcendent One-Sided Love of Yoshida the Catch, volume 3, unnumbered page:

(chiefly Japanese fiction, fandom slang, humorous) In the isekai genre, a truck that sets off the plot by hitting the protagonist, transporting them into the fantastical setting (typically by killing them in the real world).


instant loss 2koma

instant loss 2koma (plural instant loss 2komas)

Partial calque of Japanese 即堕ち2コマ (soku-ochi ni-koma, “instant fall 2-panel”).

pcal

The cereal spitting guy was the original instant loss 2koma

2022 August 17, TripleKyun, Twitter, archived from the original on 2022-11-17:

A two-panel comic depicting a character who displays smugness or overconfidence in the first panel, only to be defeated or humiliated in the second.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:instant loss 2koma.

A pornographic variant of this type of comic, in which the losing character is sexually dominated in the second panel.


Ascapart

(European folklore) A legendary giant in English folklore.


gallitrap

(folklore, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset) Grass growing in a circle that possesses the magical power of compelling anyone standing within it to confess their wrongdoings.

(folklore, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset) A magical circle of grass believed to have been created by pixies, that causes any mortal stepping into it to believe they are continuing to walk forward when they are actually walking in a circle.


Lilliput

John Hardesty Bland (1971) Forests of Lilliput The Realm of Mosses and Lichens: “(book title)”

(fiction) An imaginary island populated by tiny people, in the book Gulliver's Travels.


Skutnik

The name is thought to derive from Romanian scuti (“to absolve”); compare Romanian Scutelnici. The common noun comes from Martin Leonard Skutnik III, a guest at the 1982 State of the Union address; see quotations below.

When CNN’s Jeff Greenfield assured the crowd, “I haven't planted a skutnik here,” I stopped him: I had heard of a sputnik, the Russian word for the first Soviet satellite, but what was a skutnik? […] In 1995, the columnist William F. Buckley was one of the first to use the name as an eponym: “President Clinton was awash with Skutniks.”

2001 July 8, William Safire, “On Language”, in New York Times Magazine, The Way We Live Now, page 15:

The likes of Shea got added by the Great Communicator, Ronald Reagan, who started what came to be called the Lenny Skutnik Moment, where an everyday person is plucked from the populace and placed in the first lady’s gallery. Martin L. Skutnik earned a seat in the gallery on Jan. 13, 1982, when, on the way home from work at the Congressional Budget Office, he jumped into the freezing Potomac River to save Priscilla Tirado, a passenger on an Air Florida plane that had crashed just after take-off.

[2003 January 28, Susan Campbell, “The Real State of the Union”, in Hartford Courant, page D2:

Since that time, people recognized by the president during the State of the Union address have been known by insiders as “Lenny Skutniks.” As in: “Who are the Lenny Skutniks tonight?” There's even an online quiz that invites you to guess who will be tonight's Lenny Skutniks (the list had not yet been revealed Monday). Skutnik, it seems, is a brand name.

2006 January 31, Richard Halicks, “STATE OF THE UNION: In the gallery tonight...”, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, page A1:

Lenny Skutnik moments have been called “human props”, “gimmicks”, “practiced stagecraft”, but the virulence of the criticism from a president’s political opponents only serves to prove the effectiveness of the strategy.

2011, Stephen Frantzich, Honored Guests: Citizen Heroes and the State of the Union, →ISBN, page 22:

Ever since then, almost every State of the Union address has featured one or more “Skutniks,” or Americans who somehow embody everyday heroism, stoicism, victimhood, or identity politics.

2018 January 29, Nick Gillespie, “All the President’s Human Props”, in Reason.com:

Among Parson’s Skutniks this week were Mayor Lyda Krewson and the other mayors of Missouri’s four largest cities. They sat in the audience while the Republican governor talked about doing something about inner-city violence, but refused to outline any specific gun proposals.

2020 January 17, Tony Messenger, “Missouri has a Medicaid crisis involving 100,000 children, and Parson ignores it”, in St. Louis Post-Dispatch, page A2:

(US, jargon, politics, media) A guest at the State of the Union address or a similar political event.


McJournalism

From Mc- + journalism, by association with the McDonald's fast food chain.

The Inquirer finds itself out there in the real world, with a far broader mix of readers. The readers it wants to grab now, in its post-Alpha era, are the middle-brow, middle-class, highly transient denizens of the outer suburbs. They seem more likely candidates for the McJournalism of USA Today than for an Inquirer committed to taking new strides toward seriousness and solidity.

1983 April, Paul Taylor, “Gene Roberts: Down-Home Editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer”, in Washington Journalism Review, volume 5, number 3, →ISSN, page 41:

The result is a reader-friendly McJournalism, with material in nuggets, created not out of any misplaced notion that the reader is stupid and needs spoon-feeding, but out of awareness of the reader’s severe time limitations and respect for her ability to choose what and how much she needs.

1995, Marshall Cook, Leads and Conclusions (Elements of Article Writing), Cincinnnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books, →ISBN, pages 93–94:

(journalism, sometimes derogatory) A style of mainstream journalism characterized by superficiality, predictability and the lack of in-depth reporting, most commonly applied to increase profits and appeal to a wide readership.


queercoded

en-adj

queercoded (comparative more queercoded, superlative most queercoded)

more queercoded (comparative)
most queercoded (superlative)

(fiction, slang) Portrayed in a way that suggests or implies LGBTQ+ identities or characteristics, without explicitly stating so; Hinting that something (a character, a relationship, a situation) is LGBTQ+.


tamanoas

(folklore) Magical power, in the Chinook culture.


element zero

From being a chemical element with zero protons.

(informal, nuclear physics, science fiction) Synonym of neutronium (“material composed of neutrons”)

(science fiction) A fictional chemical element with element number/atomic number/proton number zero (0), often with unrealistic properties.


thionite

From thio- (“containing sulphur”) + -n- + -ite. Coined by American author E. E. Smith in 1937.

coinage

(science fiction) A fictional addictive drug said to induce euphoric dreams.


time barrier

(science fiction) A barrier or obstacle preventing time travel, especially one resulting from technological limitations.


time cop

(science fiction) A member of the time police.


time crime

en-noun

time crime (countable and uncountable, plural time crimes)

(science fiction) The violation of time travel law (especially referring to an attempt to change the past).


time police

(science fiction) An organization which regulates time travel, especially with the purpose of preventing the past from being changed.


torch drive

(science fiction) A spacecraft engine which produces thrust by nuclear fusion.


Titanese

(science fiction) Relating to Titan (the largest moon of Saturn) or to its inhabitants.


Titanese

(science fiction) The language spoken on Titan.


time-binding

Coined by Polish-American philosopher Alfred Korzybski in 1921.

coinage

(especially general semantics, science fiction) The act of transmitting knowledge and experience from one moment and person to other moments and people using written information (e.g., written language, images, symbols), whether in mundane instances or (especially) from one generation to the next.


time-binding

(general semantics, science fiction) Engaging in time-binding.


torchship

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-torchship.wav

Compound of torch (“a torch drive”) + ship.

com+

(science fiction) A spacecraft propelled by a torch drive (“spacecraft engine which produces thrust by nuclear fusion”).


seetee

Spelling out of CT, initialism of contraterrene. Coined by American science fiction author Jack Williamson in 1942.

coined

He followed her slowly into the empty hallway, announcing flatly, “I never made a seetee weapon. I don’t intend to start now.”

1949, Jack Williamson, “Seetee Shock”, in Astounding Science-Fiction, volume 42, number 4, page 149:

He gritted his teeth as another bolt of seetee matter exploded against the energy screen.

1960, John Glasby, Black Abyss, e-book edition, published 2014, →ISBN:

She inferred what happened: the atmosphere of Yuggoth was composed of SeeTee matter. ¶ SeeTee. CT. ContraTerrene. Antimatter.

2010, Richard A. Lupoff, “Nothing Personal”, in Darrell Schweitzer, editor, Cthulhu’s Reign, →ISBN:

(science fiction) Synonym of contraterrene (“made of or pertaining to antimatter”).


legacy Oscar

Scanning the recent slates of winners, the legacy Oscar appears more and more frequently; even the most dedicated Jessica Chastain fans (also known as “Chastainiacs”) would have a hard time calling The Eyes of Tammy Faye her finest hour, but she’d accrued a reputation as an altogether deserving thespian by that point in her career, and that was enough.

2023, Charles Bramesco, A brief history of the “legacy Oscar” and its winners, Little White Lies:

(film) An Academy Award perceived to have been given in recognition of the awardee's career and performances in prior films, rather than for the performance specifically nominated.


subbullet

Type the following subbullets. Press ENTER after each of the first two lines.

1996, Lynn Marie Bacon, Wiley Getting Started with Powerpoint 7.0 for Windows 95, page 78:

(typography) A bullet that is hierarchically nested under another bullet.


cinephobe

(film) A person who detests films and the cinema.


majokko

Unadapted borrowing from Japanese 魔女っ子 (majokko), composed of 魔女 (“witch”) + っ子 (“person having a certain quality”, also diminutive suffix).
This term is sometimes also glossed in English as “little witch”, the word 子 (ko) meaning “child” or “small”.

affix

The viewer is normally treated to the transformation from the point of view of the majokko herself - the other people around her basically would see a "flash of light" and (poof!) she's changed.

1999 July 13, Animeg3282, “The magical girl thread”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):


photoblocker

(biochemistry, lithography) A substance that stops light.


punch hole

(film) A marker on a frame of film, originally a hole literally punched through the film, signalling to the projectionist that the reel is due to be changed.


cigarette burn

(film, slang) Synonym of punch hole (“marker indicating that the reel is due to be changed”)


compound point

(typography) An obsolete typographical construction made up of more than one punctuation mark, such as the comma dash (,—) or semicolon dash (;—).


Monk's Tale stanza

en-noun

Monk's Tale stanza (plural Monk's Tale stanzas)

As used in The Monk's Tale, one of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

(poetry) An eight-line stanza with the rhyme scheme ABABBCBC.


shriker

(folklore) Synonym of shuck (“supernatural black dog”)


MMFF

Metro Manila Film Festival
w:Metro Manila Film Festival

(Philippines, film) Initialism of Metro Manila Film Festival.


appointment TV

Users are no longer passive watchers on appointment TV with schedules fixed by TV stations.

2002, Hari Om Srivastava, Interactive TV Technology and Markets, page 100:

(television) Television that is broadcast at a particular time, rather than being made available on demand.


middle article

(journalism) A light essay of less seriousness than editorial matter.


Milesian tale

(literature) A genre of fictional story prominent in ancient Greek and Roman literature: a short story, fable, or folk tale featuring love and adventure, usually of an erotic or titillating nature.


heptasyllable

(poetry) line of verse with seven syllables


enneasyllable

(poetry) line of verse with nine syllables


homeworlder

(science fiction) An inhabitant of the homeworld.


live actor

In this film, the live actors interact with cartoon characters.


majestrix

(fiction) A title granted to a female ruler.


star base

(science fiction) Alternative form of starbase


fankind

From fan + -kind, possible punning on mankind.

As most of you are, I'm sure, award, Harry [Broertjes] and his LEGION OUTPOST are well known throughout fankind.

(science fiction fandom slang) Fans collectively.


fanarchist

During the 1950s Dave was active in the Fanarchist crowd—those largely New York fans who avoided both fannish and mundane politics on the grounds that fanning should be fun.

1975 February, John Boardman, “In Memoriam: David Mason”, in Science Fiction Review, volume 4, number 1, page 13:

(science fiction fandom slang) A fan who rejects organized fandom, often as being motivated by anarchist thought.


fanarchistic

en-adj

fanarchistic (comparative more fanarchistic, superlative most fanarchistic)

more fanarchistic (comparative)
most fanarchistic (superlative)

From fanarchist (“a fan who rejects organized fandom, often as being motivated by anarchist thought”) + -ic.

suf

I am particularly struck with your underlying attitude that all these projects must be sponsored by the NFFF or some similar organization in order to be successful. Now I realise that my own personal fanarchistic attitude may perhaps be coloring my views, but I honestly cannot see the utility of the NFFF in such a connection.

1944, F. T. Laney, Fan-Dango, volume 2, number 3, page 9:

(science fiction fandom slang) Characteristic of a fanarchist; rejecting organized fandom.


gyrocab

They were not there waiting for her, after all. She came upon them getting out of a gyrocab just as she emerged from the tubes a on to street level. The gyrocabbie, wide-eyed, gazed after his fares for a moment, then hovered upward and away.

1951, Isaac Asimov, “Hostess”, in Nightfall and Other Stories, Green City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., published 1969, page 76:


helicab

She'd insisted on creeping out of a back exit and we took three different helicabs.

1999, Phyllis Gotlieb, Violent Stars, New York, N.Y.: Tor Books, →ISBN, page 182:

(science fiction) A helicopter used as a taxicab.


groundlubber

So might I ask just what exactly groundlubbers like you are doing in the Roofdom?

2007, China Miéville, Un Lun Dun, London: Macmillan Children's Books, →ISBN, page 86:

(science fiction, derogatory) Someone who does not regularly travel to space.


glassite

One of those cyclopean cylinders could, conceivably, miss the guiding beam and crash half a mile from its expected landing point—through the glassite roof of the immense waiting room perhaps—so that only a thin organic vapor and some powdered phosphates would be left behind to mark the passing of a thousand men.

1953, Isaac Asimov, Second Foundation, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, page 135:

(science fiction) A fictional material, typically described as being transparent like glass.


holocam

He kept up his cheerful demeanor. It wouldn't do for any of the holocams to see him looking irritable, for any recordings of such a response would appear on the news broadcasts.

2009 April 12, Aaron Allston, Outcast, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 27:

(science fiction) A device capable of capturing three-dimensional images in the form of a hologram.


groundside

Even then she gave them quite a battle. It was like a pair of minnows landing a four-foot bass, but they hauled her down and booted her groundside with a skill that eventually got the two pilots a citation.

1951 November, Paul W[arren] Fairman, “Proud Asteroid”, in Amazing Stories, volume 25, number 11, page 46:

(science fiction) Towards or on the surface of a planet.


gravitied

heavily-gravitied

non-gravitied

(in compounds) Having a specified type or strength of gravity.

It was designed to be accessible while in a gravitied environment, thankfully, even if far too many of the other amenities on board this class of ship were dependent on a lack of gravity to easily access.

2016, Jean Johnson, Blockade: First Salik War, New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN, page 95:


hubward

en-adv

hubward (comparative more hubward, superlative most hubward)

more hubward (comparative)
most hubward (superlative)

From hub (“the central part of a wheel”) + -ward.

suf

At 1700 station time, he headed hubward to where Captain Arran Syke, formerly captain of Mother Ramona's private guard, now head of Crossways Militia, had his office.

2017 October, Jacey Bedford, Nimbus: A Psi-Tech Novel, New York: DAW Books, →ISBN, page 55:

(science fiction) Towards the center (of a rotating spaceship or space station).


gravitics

I scan the Imperial Journal of Physics and the Borshallan Physics Review every day. Nobody's doing comparable work. They're all concerned with gravitics and field dynamics.

2014 October, Don Sakers, Children of the Eighth Day, Linthicum, M.D.: Speed-of-C Productions, →ISBN, page 186:

The fictional science of studying and controlling gravity.

I'll adjust the computer to our assigned radio beam and it can use the gravitics to mimic conventional flight.

1982, Isaac Asimov, Foundation's Edge, London, […]: Grafton Books, →ISBN, page 213:

Devices able to control gravity or gravitational waves, considered collectively.


groundcar

This had footpaths worn into it alongside the buildings, while its centre had been tiled level with slabs of hard white ceramic to carry the few groundcars here.

2015, Neal Asher, Dark Intelligence, London: Pan Books, →ISBN, page 368:

(science fiction) A car unable to fly (as opposed to a flying car).


Didot

(typography, historical) Short for Didot point.


visiplate

The glare of a searchlight splashed against his visiplates. Simultaneously, the ship jumped like some toy that had been struck an intolerable blow.

1940, A[lfred] E[lton] van Vogt, Slan, Garden City, N.Y.: Nelson Doubleday, Inc., published 1946, page 101:

(science fiction) An electronic screen capable of displaying images or data.


visiscreen

An image of Abby appeared on visiscreens at the front of the room.

2010, David Gregory, The Last Christian, Waterville, M.E.: Thorndike Press, →ISBN, page 611:


visiphone

During the late 21st century, the wide-spread use of portable voice-activated interactive computers and visiphones brought communications to their zenith.

2010, Eileen Siedman, The Faithful: 23rd Century Morality: A Mystery Novel, Bloomington, I.N.: Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 25:

(science fiction, dated) A telephone capable of making video calls.


visiphone

en-verb

visiphone (third-person singular simple present visiphones, present participle visiphoning, simple past and past participle visiphoned)

visiphones (present singular third-person)
visiphoning (participle present)
visiphoned (participle past)
visiphoned (past)

"Plum, try viziphoning them." / Plum pushed a key and said, "CQ, this is the starship Shillelagh of the Asteroid Federation, calling CQ."

1987, Thomas R. McDonough, The Architects of Hyperspace, New York, N.Y.: Avon, →ISBN:

(science fiction, dated) To call someone using a visiphone.


viewplate

Then the skeleton flitter moved to the left—out into the glare of the early day, a light too bright, even through the shielded viewplates of his helmet.

1956, Andrew North [pseudonym; Andre Norton], Plague Ship, New York, N.Y.: Gnome Press, page 146:

(science fiction, now rare) An electronic screen capable of displaying images or data.


transhumanity

From transhuman + -ity or trans- + humanity.

It was a way, Sean, of interrogating our very humanity—and our transhumanity; a way of enquiring what we might change into. That's the only possible true deep reason for colonization.

1980, Ian Watson, The Gardens of Delight, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, →ISBN, page 163:

You don't need me to safeguard the future of Carter-Zimmerman on your behalf. Or the future of transhumanity. You can do it in person.

1995, Greg Egan, “Wang's Carpets”, in Greg Bear, editor, New Legends, New York, N.Y.: Tor Books, →ISBN, page 361:


spacehound

"I'll be very glad to show you around," he said, "but I must confess I was a little surprised when Rupert passed on your request. I couldn't understand why one of you spacehounds should be interested in our work. Aren't you going in the wrong direction?"

1953, Arthur C[harles] Clarke, Childhood's End, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., →OCLC, page 116:

(science fiction, now rare) A person experienced in space travel.


spacewrecked

To relieve the solitude of the spacewrecked crew, they decide to send presents, which they wrapped in layers of paper that would burn up in the atmosphere, leaving the contents intact.

2000, Giovanni Caprara, translated by David Climie, Living in Space: From Science Fiction to the International Space Station, Toronto, O.N., Buffalo, N.Y.: Firefly Books, →ISBN, page 11:

(science fiction) Having been wrecked in space.


starway

I slept peacefully that night, dreaming of cruising the starways with Andrea. The next morning, I awoke feeling reinvigorated, revitalised, and many years younger.

2015, Frank George, Time's Well: A Chronicle in Three Parts, Bloomington, I.N.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 23:

(science fiction) A route or pathway between stars.


spacegram

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-spacegram.wav

From space + -gram (“something written, drawn or otherwise recorded”).

suf

Several times during their work and breaks to eat, Versha had received spacegrams or messages through the comcaller.

2006, Andre Norton, Lyn McConchie, Beast Master's Quest, New York, N.Y.: Tor Books, →ISBN, page 65:

(science fiction) A short written message physically sent through space.


spacegram

en-verb

spacegram (third-person singular simple present spacegrams, present participle spacegramming, simple past and past participle spacegrammed)

spacegrams (present singular third-person)
spacegramming (participle present)
spacegrammed (participle past)
spacegrammed (past)

"We'll spacegram the specifications as soon as this call is finished," said Jerry. "How soon can we have a shipment?"

1952 March, Kendell Foster Crossen, “Things of Distinction”, in Startling Stories, volume 25, number 2, page 115:

(transitive, intransitive, science fiction) To send by spacegram.


starfleet

I couldn't sense net-based operations behind the doors, but if the records were correct, Ell Control had once been the central operations focus for the starfleets of the Rebuilt Hegemony, and had hummed with activity.

1996, L[eland] E[xton] Modesitt Jr., Adiamante, New York, N.Y.: Tor Books, →ISBN, page 63:


starfarer

In many ways, it was lucky for starfarers that the same basic DNA code and biochemistry had been found on placets all over the known galaxy, for it meant that habitable environments and edible foods were easy to find.

2017, Christopher L. Bennett, Patterns of Interference, New York, N.Y. […]: Pocket Books, →ISBN, pages 150–151:

(science fiction) Someone who travels between stars.


ultrawave

There were short intervals between the reports, for ultrawaves, though traveling at the speed of light, still needed some time to span the tremendous distance.

1969, K[arl] H[erbert] Scheer, Walter Ernsting, translated by Wendayne Ackerman, Enterprise Stardust, London: Severn House, published 1977, →ISBN, page 28:

A type of radiation, often described as allowing for faster-than-light communication.

Of course, the radio signals came through on the ultrawave every so often, but the pep-talk description of the thrilling contest for endurance racing didn't mean much when I put it up against the facts.

1975, Lester del Rey, “Habit”, in Early Del Rey, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., →ISBN, page 41:

A device capable of receiving or producing ultrawaves.


spaceboat

Compound of space + boat, modelled after spaceship.

Twelve robot spaceboats emerged from the midst of the retreating armada and streaked toward the glowing bubble, which was expanding more rapidly.

1996, Julian May, Magnificat, London: Pan Books, published 1997, →ISBN, page 551:


saucerman

To convince Sam Arkoff to put House of Usher — a film devoid of atomic mutants, bug-eyed saucermen, werewolves, vampires and other poster-friendly manifestations of the fifties' sci-fi boom — into production, Roger Corman had famously informed the joint head of American International that the house was the monster.

2003, Denis Meikle, Vincent Price: The Art of Fear, London: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, →ISBN, page 76:

(science fiction) Someone who travels in a flying saucer.


spindizzy

From spin + dizzy. The science fiction sense was coined by American author James Blish in 1950 for the Cities in Flight series of books (published 1950–1962).

coinage

So the twin scientific themes of the first book are the development of antigravity technology called spindizzies that enable whole cities to lift into space, and the production of "anti-agathic" drugs that can extend life indefinitely, necessary for the immense journey times in interstellar space.

[2014, Brian Clegg, Final Frontier: The Pioneering Science and Technology of Exploring the Universe, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 26:

(science fiction) An anti-gravity propulsion system capable of faster-than-light travel, powered by the hypothetical Blackett effect.


shapechange

en-verb

shapechange (third-person singular simple present shapechanges, present participle shapechanging, simple past and past participle shapechanged)

shapechanges (present singular third-person)
shapechanging (participle present)
shapechanged (participle past)
shapechanged (past)

He clapped the big man on the shoulder and quickly left. In the shadows of the bridge he shapechanged and headed for Greenvale.

2004, Keri Arthur, Generation 18, London: Piatkus, published 2009, →ISBN, page 161:

(science fiction, fantasy) To shapeshift.


shapechange

I watched Michael's face and asked, "Why was he there then? I'd have put down money that it was a demon, but it was just a shapechange. There was a mortal inside it. Who was he?"

2003, Jim Butcher, Death Masks, New York, N.Y.: Roc Books, →ISBN, page 78:

(science fiction, fantasy) An instance of shapechanging.


redemptive arc

A grim social-realist drama from New Zealand that labors to twist its narrative into a redemptive arc, “The Justice of Bunny King” has an unsteady tone to match its ungainly title.

2022 September 29, Ben Kenigsberg, “‘The Justice of Bunny King’ Review: No Way Out”, in The New York Times:

(literature) Synonym of redemption arc (“story arc wherein an immoral character redeems themselves and makes right for their wrongdoings”).


NYP

(publishing) Initialism of not yet published.


hamsterization

From hamster + -ization, in allusion to a hamster wheel.

Hamsterization / As newsrooms have shrunk, the job of the remaining reporters has changed. They typically face rolling deadlines as they post to their newspaper's website before, and after, writing print stories. Some are required to blog and tweet as well, some to produce videos.

2011, Steven Waldman, Information Needs of Communities, page 55:

One can see the possibility for limitless content for a 24/7 world: churnalism, hamsterization, the news cyclone—names to describe the condition keep coming.

2014, Nikki Usher, Making News at The New York Times, page 232:

Long-standing concerns about journalism's “stopwatch culture” and the negative impact of time pressures on newswork have been exacerbated in the digital age by growing demands for multi-platform technological proficiency, resulting in “hamsterization” of journalistic work.

2017, Bob Franklin, The Future of Journalism:

Dean Starkman famously likened this news work to the “hamster wheel,” and others have referred to it as the “hamsterization” of journalism, by which news workers have to continuously take on more digital labor.

2019, Victor Pickard, Democracy Without Journalism?, page 84:

(journalism, informal) A tendency whereby journalists are expected to take on increased responsibilities relating to 24/7 digital publishing.


rgr

(radio telecommunications) Abbreviation of roger.


MGN

(UK, journalism, historical) Initialism of Mirror Group Newspapers.


Lunarite

From Lunar (“pertaining to Luna”) + -ite.

Although his achievements were not numerous, he was able to hammer out a successful trade agreement with the Moon. The Lunarites were certainly pleased that their rich mining resources, needed by the Earth, were traded practically straight across for the air and water which they so desperately needed.

1993, Linda Hall, The Josiah Files, Nashville, T.N.: Thomas Nelson Publishers, →ISBN, page 132:

(science fiction) Synonym of Lunarian (“inhabitant of the Moon”).


Lunite

"Our situation," Lamar remarked, "is similar to that which a Lunite might have encountered had he visited New England in 1690. Any wretch who claimed ancestry among the people of the moon in those days, would have been convicted of witchcraft and burned at the stake without mercy."

1933 February, Julian Kendig, Jr., “The Eternal Mask”, in Amazing Stories, volume 7, number 11, page 1036, column 2:

(science fiction, now rare) Synonym of Lunarian (“inhabitant of the Moon”).


rimworld

The traffic chief shook his head. "You're making a mistake. You should stay up in the rimworlds where the Orchestra is loved. Downsystem you're nothing."

1985, Kim Stanley Robinson, The Memory of Whiteness: A Scientific Romance, New York, N.Y.: Tor, →ISBN, page 91:

(science fiction) A planet located near the edge or rim of a galaxy.


planetman

Compound of planet + man, modelled after countryman.

One does not disturb a dreamer. It would be dangerous for both your planetman and the dreamer herself.

1976, Andre Norton, “Get Out of My Dream”, in Perilous Dreams, New York, N.Y.: DAW Books, Inc., page 130:

(science fiction, now rare) Someone from one's own planet.


lifeship

You target our habs and lifeships, you slaughter us in our millions. We attack your military and infrastructure. And you call us the terrorists.

2004, Iain M. Banks, The Algebraist, London: Orbit, →ISBN, page 459:

(science fiction) A spaceship serving as an emergency medical center.


robotrix

The black man paced about across the oil-streaked cement, his arms folded, an absent expression on his face. Evidently he waited for the robotrix attendant to finish fueling up his ship.

1974, Philip K[indred] Dick, Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, New York, N.Y.: DAW Books, Inc., published 1975, page 198:

The decor was different in every bar — there were chrome-plated Metropolis joints with dancing robotrixes, and sawdust-on-the-floor Western saloons with gunfights and can-can girls — but the faces were the same.

1989, Kim Newman, The Night Mayor, London […]: Pocket Books, published 1999, →ISBN, page 132:

(science fiction) A female robot, or one with feminine characteristics.


jumpspace

The Fergus entered jumpspace, but never emerged. The Scandyans were kind enough to let us check their records, and they show a clean drop.

2003, L[eland] E[xton] Modesitt Jr., The Ethos Effect, New York, N.Y.: Tor Books, →ISBN, page 176:


jumpship

Ben stared at the hologram. "The megacorps don't have quite the monopoly on fast transit that they think they have," he said. "But it would certainly help if we had a few more jumpships. That would solve a lot of transit problems."

2015, Jacey Bedford, Crossways, New York, N.Y.: DAW Books, Inc., →ISBN, page 59:

(science fiction) A spaceship able to instantaneously move large distances through space by traveling through hyperspace or jumpspace.


rocketport

This time, he knew for whom he was asking: they waited—as they've always waited, at rocketports, pneumatique stations, in delousing sheds and hand-out queues; in the greasy front offices of courts and refugee camps and detention bureaus—tired and grimy and stoned.

1974, M[ichael] John Harrison, The Centauri Device, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., →ISBN, page 178:


moonman

In this manner did I discourse with the Moonmen while taking my repast; after which they told me, if I had no objection, that they intended taking me to Moontown, to introduce me to their king […]

1863, William George Caldcleugh, “Story of Chico Capaac, or the Man in the Moon (the Story of the Moonmen)”, in Eastern Tales, James Challen and Son, retrieved 2023-05-10, page 230:

On the floor the Moonman's body shivered again.

1954, Catherine Lucile Moore, Northwest of Earth, Gnome Press, retrieved 2023-05-10, page 54:

As the first moonmen worked to set up their rudimentary base, supply ships would have to be sent periodically with additional provisions for more permanent materials for the eventual large lunar base. Meanwhile, the moonmen would continue to live in their pressurized domes. As supplies accumulated, construction of the permanent base would begin.

1958 March 14, William Leavitt, “Man in space”, in Air Force Magazine, retrieved 2023-05-10, page 122:

en:member of a nation of fictional moon dwellers

(science fiction, dated) Synonym of Lunarian (“inhabitant of the Moon”).


jonbar hinge

A reference to the 1938 novel The Legion of Time, in which the character John Barr having the choice of picking up of one of two objects (a magnet or a pebble) marks a major turning point in history: one will lead to the utopian empire of Jonbar (named after John Barr himself), while the other leads to the rise of the tyrannical state of Gyronchi. Further etymology at John, Barr.

(science fiction) In time travel stories: a seemingly trivial event which ultimately marks the point of divergence between two radically different timelines.


Luna City

From Luna (“the name of Earth's moon”) + city.

(science fiction) The name of a major colony or city on the Moon in various science fiction works.


threedy

From the pronunciation of 3D (“three-dimensional”).

"Nothing else. We don’t know anything... at all... about what brings St. Andrews into this. But she knows too much, Benny. Lots and lots of stuff that didn't appear—and never will appear—in the newspapes, or on the threedies."

1994 February, Earthsong: Native Tongue III, New York, N.Y.: DAW Books, Inc., →ISBN, page 176:

(science fiction) A three-dimensional movie or television program.


mindlink

"No," Bean replied. "More likely, the Minkowski Line would learn how to create more efficient mindlinks than the one that the Martians developed without access to advanced technology. But that would be enough."

2009 July, Lawrence Barker, Blood Red Sphere, Arlington, Tex.: Swimming Kangaroo Books, →ISBN, page 231:

(science fiction) A telepathic link or connection between separate minds.


xenological

"I don't think they'll be in any mood to trade xenological theory, Oma. They might not be so lenient with us now we've put up a fight."

2017, Eric Brown, Binary System, Oxford, Oxforshire: Solaris, →ISBN, page 226:

(science fiction) Relating to xenology ("the study of alien life").


ultradrive

Politically, the assistance Marius provided was subtle and invaluable, allowing Ethan to build alliances within the Council and among the Clerics of the Orchard Palace, propelling him to a position where he could put himself forward for election with a great deal of confidence. Included with that was the offer of ultradrives for the Pilgrimage ships, a gift that would generate a near-certain success.

2008, Peter F. Hamilton, The Temporal Void, London: Macmillan, →ISBN, pages 358–359:

(science fiction) A spaceship drive capable of travelling faster than the speed of light.


ultraphone

Amalfi wondered if the Hruntans understood English; not that he was worried about the present interchange being overheard—the giant planet would block that most effectively, since the Utopians used ordinary radio rather than ultraphones or Dirac communicators—but it was of the utmost importance, if Hazleton's scheme was to be made workable, that the Hruntans should have heard and understood the warning the Earth police had issued to the city.

1955, James Blish, Earthman, Come Home (Cities in Flight; 1), New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, published 1958, page 29:

(science fiction) A telephone capable of transmitting communications faster than the speed of light.


vibroblade

Perhaps the last sound they heard was each other's laughter; or perhaps it was the hum of vibroblades in the seconds before death.

2010, John Meaney, Absorption, London: Gollancz, →ISBN, page 129:

(science fiction) A weapon or tool with a rapidly vibrating blade.


vibroknife

Beneath my jacket, I tugged the vibroknife from its sheath in the small of my back and activated the motor. With my free hand I pressed down hard on the dead man's spine and started cutting.

2003, Richard Morgan, Broken Angels, London: Gollancz, →ISBN, page 75:

(science fiction) Synonym of vibroblade (“a weapon or tool with a rapidly vibrating blade”).


tri-V

Moki and Ukatonen weren't supposed to go out without Eerin or Analin, so they spent most of the day watching the Tri-V or listening to Analin and Eerin talk about them. It was fun at first, seeing themselves on the Tri-V, but they only showed the same few pictures and words.

1999, Amy Thomson, Through Alien Eyes, New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN, page 85:

(science fiction) A system capable of recording or displaying three-dimensional video.


trideo

en-noun

trideo (countable and uncountable, plural trideos)

Getting Karissa back to her cabin had been fairly easy, encountering only a few passengers along the way, who were too surprised by the chance encounter to ask for autographs or personal trideos with the star, especially as Grant kept her moving with a firm hand on her elbow.

2017, Veronica Scott, “Star Cruise: Songbird”, in Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2, →ISBN, page 381:

(science fiction) A three-dimensional video.

His father had been Prime Minister for the last twelve years. There had been puff pieces about Randal on the trideo since he was a child.

2011, J. Wesley Bush, Knox's Irregulars, →ISBN, page 78:

(science fiction) Synonym of tri-V (“a system capable of recording or displaying three-dimensional video”).


tri-vid

There should have been women in silver suits taking in a show at the tri-vids before indulging in a spot of lunch, the kind that came in three-course pills, great big subservient robots trailing behind them. Instead there was a brown man in overalls collecting rubbish with a long stick outside an adult cinema, and the cars were halted, bumper-to-bumper, beside a traffic light that seemed to be stuck permanently on red.

2011, Lavie Tidhar, Osama: A Novel, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Solaris, published 2012, →ISBN, page 233:


mutie

Manuel waded through rivulets of the dirty water. It steamed away or gurgled into cracks. Some muties were so addled that they kept slurping at the runoff even though the hunt was storming past, the thumps and snaps of men firing clear in the air.

1983, Gregory Benford, Against Infinity, New York, N.Y.: Avon Eos, published 1998, →ISBN, page 108:


urban fantasy

urban fantasy (countable and uncountable, plural urban fantasies)

(literature) A subgenre of fantasy which takes place a contemporary urban setting.

More recently, Amanda Hocking, author of young adult paranormal romance and urban fantasies, self-published nine of her own novels, several of which made the New York Times best-seller list.

2012, Andrea Lunsford, Lisa Ede, Beverly J. Moss, Carole Clark Papper, Everyone's an Author, New York, N.Y., London: W. W. Norton and Company, →ISBN, page 666:

(literature) An individual work in this genre.


future war

Other late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century novelists utilized thinly disguised Edison-surrogates in a range of future war books.

1997, Brooks Landon, Science Fiction After 1900: From the Steam Man to the Stars, New York, N.Y.: Twayne Publishers, →ISBN, page 44:

(literature) A subgenre of science fiction which involves warfare and how it might be conducted in the future.


neurolink

The clone soldiers were given basic cognitive advancement via neurolinks while they were still in the tanks.

2010, Alex Irvine, Iron Man: Virus, London: Titan Books, →ISBN, page 32:

(science fiction) A technology that allows the human brain to communicate directly with a computer.


tridim

By the time they got to the Wrapateria the line of kids snaked down the block. The usual jokers were taking tri-dims of the crowd and playing them back to each other.

2005, Karen Haber, Crossing Infinity, New York, N.Y.: ibooks, →ISBN, page 51:

(science fiction) Synonym of trideo (“a three-dimensional video”).

I entered theaters where the happy lotus eaters sat slumped in their massage chairs, transfixed by the glowing tridim images—and capered down the aisles. No one grumbled at me.

1963, Robert Silverberg, “To See the Invisible Man”, in Earth in Transit, New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., published 1976, page 59:


plastiskin

Gavin's supple, plastiskin face was somber, his voice subdued. Ursula could tell that he had been doing a lot of thinking.

1986, David Brin, “Lungfish”, in The River of Time, Niles, Illinois: Dark Harvest, →ISBN, page 340:

(science fiction) synthetic skin, especially that of an android.


organlegger

Blend of organ + bootlegger (“an illegal trader of goods, especially of alcohol”).

blend

Owen lay dead in the bloody snow, his noble body gashed and punctured in many places, and soaked in his own gore. And that was how the organleggers found him.

2004, Simon R[ichard] Green, Deathstalker Return, New York, N.Y.: Roc Books, →ISBN, page 404:

(science fiction) Someone who illegally harvests and sells human organs.


Loonie

"I used to hate Loonies. All Odans do. But in my opinion, only the Jupiters and generals and Committee members are truly awful. The rest of you are . . . tolerable. And you? Definitely more than tolerable."

2015, Karen Bao, Dove Arising, New York, N.Y.: Viking, →ISBN, page 309:

(science fiction) An inhabitant of Earth's Moon.


prespace

"No way to tell now," Miram admitted. "Lots of space junk around the second planet, though. Could be native, an example of a prespace culture making the transition, but the debris could also be the results of a mining operation or something else I have no frame of reference for."

2016, Evan Currie, Warrior King, Seattle, O.R.: 47North, →ISBN, page 233:

(science fiction) Of a civilization: having yet to develop space travel.


VOV

(Vietnam, radio) Initialism of Voice of Vietnam.


telekineticist

"Kids—like girls and boys?" Squid asks. "I've only ever heard of female telekineticists."

2017, Corey J. White, Killing Gravity, New York, N.Y.: Tom Doherty Associates, →ISBN, page 67:

(science fiction, fantasy) Someone who has the ability to move objects with their mind; a telekinetic.


telescanner

"If you or Dr. Rankin cares to start a search program with the telescanner, you have my blessing."

1985, Michael P[aul] Kube-McDowell, Emprise, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Books, →ISBN, page 259:

(science fiction) A scanner, especially one able to collect information from far away.


telempathy

"Telempathy is a skill that so far exists only in legends and rumors," Sue says. "To be able to master it would be something immensely valuable to the Sekhem."

2013, C[ynthia] J[aynes] Omololu, Intuition, New York, N.Y. […]: Walker Books, →ISBN, page 213:

(parapsychology, science fiction) The paranormal ability to sense the emotions of others; empathy.


sub-ether

en-noun

sub-ether (countable and uncountable, plural sub-ethers)

(science fiction) Alternative form of subether


telempath

"Very brave of you, but the ancient dragons of the Circle are very powerful telempaths and often use mind control on dragons untrained in mental battle. I will teach you how to protect your mind and fight a telepathic battle just in case you ever encounter one of their enforcers, or a human wizard."

2010, Susan Trombley, Princess's Dragon, New York, N.Y., Bloomington, I.N.: iUniverse, Inc., →ISBN, page 60:

(parapsychology, science fiction) Someone able to sense the emotions of others by paranormal means; someone who has the power of telempathy.


subetherics

That surprised Ariel. ""We don't even know how he died." / "Gruesomely, according to the subetherics. Crushed." He glanced sidelong at her. "Sound familiar?"

2002, Mark W. Tiedemann, Aurora, New York, N.Y>, →ISBN, page 32:

(science fiction) Devices able to communicate using the subether ("a fictional medium through which faster-than-light signals are able to travel"), considered collectively.


threevee

The demon paused before answering, as though listening to an internal voice. Seen up close, he too was slightly blurred — like a threevee picture in the middle of a bad day for sunspots, Kin thought.

1981, Terry Pratchett, Strata, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 157:

She loved to sit with me when three or four of us went to the Blue Sea, to the Bay of Lue, to threevees in the city, to musical shows, or just to eat iced meloncolion on the showy balconies of the comiche.

2016, John Argo, Moon Berry Wine: A Far Future Science Fiction Novel, San Diego, C.A.: Clocktower Books, →ISBN, page 38:

(science fiction) A screen or television able to display a three-dimensional image.


subether

subether (countable and uncountable, plural subethers)

Her instrument panel was dead, not a single light across the con- sole on. Evidently the bdellium dish wasn't working. Either that, or the subether was still. Though the subether was never still, filled with voices from unimaginable distances.

1996, Michael Kandel, Panda Ray, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 134:

(science fiction) A fictional medium through which faster-than-light signals are able to travel.


planetographer

From planet + -o- + -grapher, perhaps modelled off of cartographer.

In the century-plus since Eris was settled, we have already raised the temperature of its lithosphere by several degrees, just as we've thickened the atmosphere ot Callisto a thousandfold: if this goes on, the more annoyingly farsighted planetographers warn, we can look forward to an increased incidence ot icequakes and the threat of a year-round atmosphere.

2008, Charles Stross, Saturn's Children: A Space Opera, New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN, page 269:

(chiefly science fiction) Someone who studies planetography ("the branch of astronomy concerned with the description of the physical features of planets").


Terranian

Possibly Terra + -an + -ian, thus making the term redundant.

"How we've all longed for this glorious day! And thanks to our glorious Fire Reaper techno, all Terranians can join with us in our final triumph!"

2013, Patricia Robertson, The Fire Reapers, Whitehorse, Y.T.: Linnaea Press, →ISBN, page 370:

(science fiction) An inhabitant of Earth.


Terranian

The first operator spoke no Terranian languages at all. The second one could only speak French and German.

1954 May, Bill Wesley, “The Primus Curse”, in Planet Stories, volume 6, number 6, New York, N.Y.: Fiction House, page 53:

(science fiction) Relating to Earth or its people.


Tau Cetian

(science fiction) Relating to the Tau Ceti system or its people.


Tau Cetian

(science fiction) An inhabitant of the Tau Ceti system.


Tau Cetian

(science fiction) The fictional language spoken in the Tau Ceti system.


telempathic

I did a telempathic analysis of Leo a few weeks back. He was in a difficult situation. Easily twice as intelligent than his family and school mates. I knew he was desperate for just about any kind of change in his life.

2007, Hugh A[lan] D[ouglas] Spencer, “When Bloomsbury Fails”, in Why I Hunt Flying Saucers & Other Fantasticals: A Science Fiction Short Story Retrospective, Milton, O.N.: Brain Lag, published 2016, →ISBN, page 218:

(parapsychology, science fiction) Relating to or involving telempathy ("the paranormal ability to sense the emotions of others").


spacedog

But Station Yorick's customers liked that first interview. The grizzled old spacedog, pipe in mouth, glass in hand, spinning a yarn.... […]

1980 April, A[rthur] Bertram Chandler, Asimov's Science Fiction, New York, N.Y.: Davis Publications, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 97:

(science fiction) A person experienced in space travel.


Hooperating

(US, broadcasting, historical) A radio or television audience rating determined by the C. E. Hooper Company during the Golden Age of Radio.


slipstreamer

"Britain is soaring into the future with a wealth of talented science fiction writers”—Zenith's blurb overstates the case; but it could be truthfully said that "Britain is motoring sedately into a retro-eclectic fantasyland with a talented clique of slipstreamers and true-quill weirdos."

1989 September, Bruce Sterling, “Zenith: The Best in New British Science Fiction”, in The New York Review of Science Fiction, number 13, Pleasantville, N.Y.: Dragon Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10:

For the rest of us — slipstreamers, alpha males, difficult women, neophytes, neighbours, expats — it's down the long chute together, into a heap at the heart of a late year.

1993, John Clute, “Science Fiction Novels of the Year”, in New Worlds 3, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 203:

In his provocative 1998 essay, "The Squandered Promise of Science Fiction", sometime slipstreamer Jonathan Lethem proposed an alternate history of our genre.

2004 February, James Patrick Kelly, “On The Net”, in Asimov's Science Fiction, volume 28, number 2, Norwalk, C.T.: Dell Magazines, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 14:

(literature) Someone who writes slipstream fiction ("a genre of fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries").


wilamowitzianus

Named after the German classicist Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff.

(poetry, Ancient Rome) a meter consisting of two choriambs, used in Attic tragedy and in Roman comedy, used by Plautus and Terence.

Metres of Roman comedy#Wilamowitzianus
Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff


fairy hill

On this Hill [...] are the Remains of a CAMP, and where the Ground has suffered no Rupture are to be seen Tokens of circular Tents, called Fairy Hills, round which the vulgar report these Sylphes were wont to dance.

1754, Thomas Gardner, An Historical Account of Dunwich, Antiently a City, Now a Borough, page 189:

Their Fairy hills were called Tomhans and Shian, and were supposed to possess great internal comforts, with doors and windows that could only be discovered on dark evenings, by the bright light of the fairy fires shining through the artfully-constructed apertures.

1865, Cuthbert Bede, The White Wife: With Other Stories, Supernatural, Romantic and Legendary, page 189:

Finally, as regards the places in which these rites and mysteries may have been held, certain writers believe them to have been the "Fairy Hills" or "howes" in various parts of Scotland.

1928, Lewis Spence, Mysteries of Britain, page v. 136:

(folklore) A hill, barrow (tumulus), or other circular eminence, beneath which fairies live.


Ken Burns effect

Ken Burns effect (plural Ken Burns effects)

The technique was used extensively by American documentarian Ken Burns.

(film) A filmmaker's technique of panning and zooming over still imagery such as photographs.


groundsider

Near the main airlock she foimd Tregare arguing loudly with persons she had never seen—groundsiders here, she thought.

1976, F[rancis] M[arion] Busby, Rissa Kerguelen, Berkley Publishing Corporation, →ISBN, page 67:

Coming back groundside, you always felt the dissociation. They shouldn't have brought him all the way back here; they should have left him out at a Jupiter station, or somewhere his own kind were. These groundsiders were the real aliens. He couldn't make any connections with contemporary Earth—this wasn't the America he remembered.

1988, Janet Morris, Chris Morris, Outpassage, New York, N.Y.: Pageant Books, →ISBN, page 7:

Trinli paused a second, holding his place with one hand while his whole body quivered with the need for crampons and ropes, and pitons driven solid into the walls around him. Lord. It had been a long time since his groundsider orientation had come back this strongly. He moved forward. Forward. Not up.

1999, Vernor Vinge, A Deepness in the Sky, New York, N.Y.: Tor Books, →ISBN, page 109:

The server was cute, and I wondered how she got here, because her physique was groundsider, even more than mine. She had a wedge do with blond highlights and was cheerful without being icky.

2016, Michael Z. Williamson, Angeleyes, Riverdale, N.Y.: Baen Books, →ISBN, page 118:

(science fiction) Someone who lives on the ground (as opposed to space).


planetsider

Todd knew billions of planetsiders were watching, most of Earth. What would they make of this? They had to take the threat seriously. Pat had to make them understand—as he hadn't made them imderstand the true significance of the alien messenger.

1981, Juanita Coulson, Tomorrow's Heritage, New York, N.Y.: Del Rey Books, page 349:

Her chest was hurting already — no star-traveller had the stamina to outrun a planetsider—and she knew she could not keep up her pace for much longer.

1985, Melissa Scott, Five-Twelfths of Heaven, New York, N.Y.: Baen Books, →ISBN, page 307:

The passers-by were mostly planetsiders, some so recent you could see they had trouble handling low-G movement.

1989, Larry Niven, Man-Kzin Wars II, New York, N.Y.: Baen Books, →ISBN, page 216:

"So youre not a planetsider." Raine laughed. "A dirtgrubber? Of course not. I'm from the Habitat. Gryphon torus."

2011, Garth Nix, A Confusion of Princes, London: HarperCollins Children's Books, →ISBN, page 209:

(science fiction) Someone who lives on a planet.


landsider

What else but the quest for knowledge would tempt a sane person away from a comfortable home? What else would persuade a landsider to take to the ocean, except the chance of getting to meet more strangers in a shorter time?

1983, John Brunner, The Crucible of Time, New York, N.Y.: Del Rey Books, →ISBN, page 103:

He wanted to stop at Petra's bunk and tell her about his home, about what his birthdays were usually like, just tell her it was his birthday so she'd say something about it being a happy one. But nobody told birthdays. It was childish. It was what landsiders did.

1985, Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game, London: Century Publishing, →ISBN, page 101:

We'll be going out with the tide, with an extra five knot of current running where the river is usually slowest. I just thought you might be in a hurry to move at this end, what with the way your friends are keeping out of sight down with the codfish smell. The way I hear tell, you landsider don't favor fish odor too much.

1987, Glen Cook, Sweet Silver Blues, New York, N.Y.: Roc Books, →ISBN, page 82:

Not a man I'd trust alone with her, you understand. Not a man I trust entirely on anything—too involved with the landsiders, the traders, the political people.

1988, Thomas T[hurston] Thomas, An Honorable Defense, New York, N.Y.: Baen Books, →ISBN, page 108:

It is easy for the landsider to forget that seafarers came in many disguises. We tend to think of officers and ratings — deck sailors. We might, if pricked, think about the engine room crew — who with the onset of oil, then diesel, just kept on shrinking per ship.

1993, Tim Madge, Long Voyage Home: True Stories From Britain's Twilight Maritime Years, London […]: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 146:

(chiefly science fiction or fantasy) Someone who lives on land (as opposed to the sea or space).


fast-mo

Short for fast motion, as an opposite to slo-mo.

(film) The deliberate speeding-up of film footage.


E/I

(US, television) Abbreviation of educational and/or instructional.


worldizing

worldizing (countable and uncountable, plural worldizings)

In the previous examples, worldizing was used for dialogue or music, but it has also been used very effectively for sound effects.

2012, David Lewis Yewdall, The Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound:

Murch also explained to Jarrett, in the same discussion, how worldizing was central to American Graffiti’s sense of place: “The idea was that every teenage car in this town was turned to the same station, and, therefore, anywhere you went in the town, you heard this sound echoing off the buildings and passing by in cars.”

2023, “The Sonic Triumph of American Graffiti”, in JSTOR Daily:

(film) Sounds adjusted such that they sound as if heard in an acoustic location other than where originally created, generally by playing recordings in the new location and recording the playback at that location or by adjusting the audio depth of field.


neo-Western

In conversation with Cawelti's delineation, we now experience a revitalized genre, the neo-Western. Questions arise: Does the neo-Western signify a point in time when civilization has become so thoroughly corrupted and co-opted that savagery and lawlessness experience an inclining surge, creating a nihilistic outlook in comparison to the old epic/tragedy style which represented the best possible outcome for humanity?

2019, Douglas Brode, Shea T. Brode, editors, The Twenty-First-Century Western: New Riders of the Cinematic Stage, Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 245:

(film) A subgenre of the Western genre that includes contemporary settings and uses Old West themes, archetypes, and motifs.


moonship

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The space agency has requested the Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. to develop a method for controlling trace contaminants inside a spacecraft. […] Unlike the Earth's atmosphere, the air inside a moonship doesn't get cleaned by rains or winds.

1969 November, Arthur Fisher, “Science Newsfront: Last-minute news and notes to keep you up-to-date”, in Popular Science, volume 195, number 5, pages 22–24:

Other kits were for making aeroplanes, one a scale model of the Scandinavian Air Lines Douglas D.C.-8 which was expected to make the first flight from Britain to Los Angeles in April 1960. There was also a moonship of a type which the firm said will eventually reach the moon: all of which goes to show that sometimes toys precede the actual event and are not necessarily mementoes which come afterwards.

1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 144:

(astronautics, science fiction) A spaceship designed for travelling to the Moon.


Black Wave

Still, the moviemaking style which began with the so called “Black Wave” of the Yugoslav cinema in the 1960s and 1970s, led by Dušan Makavejev and Želimir Žilnik, has many common traits, especially at the level of the humoresque,[…]

[2014, Doru Pop, Romanian New Wave Cinema: An Introduction, McFarland, →ISBN, page 155:

(film) A Yugoslav film movement of the 1960s and 1970s, characterized by its dark humor and critical examination of the socialist society at the time.


letterset

Skill to prepare polyester form overlays by transferring letters and/or numerals from a letterset to a clear polyester sheet.

1990, United States. Office of Personnel Management. Office of Classification, Position Classification Standards: For Positions Under the General Schedule Classification System (page 7, page 30)

(typography) A sheet of letters or other characters to be applied by dry transfer.


belle dame sans merci

belle dame sans merci (plural belles dames sans merci)

From French [Term?] (literally “beautiful woman without mercy”). La Belle Dame sans Merci is the title of a ballad produced by the English poet John Keats in 1819; this was derived from the title of a 15th-century poem by Alain Chartier, La Belle Dame sans Mercy.

bor

(literature) A beautiful woman who seduces a man and then consigns him to an unpleasant fate.


trimensional

It is owing to this fundamental fact that the two retinal images of the same trimensional object are slightly different from each other, and this difference is technically called lateral disparity.

1920, Hubert Gruender, An Introductory Course in Experimental Psychology: […], volume I, Chicago, I.L.: Loyola University Press, page 175:

Sutt indicated the trimensional star-map on the table. He adjusted the controls and a cluster of some half-dozen stellar systems blazed red.

1944 August, Isaac Asimov, “The Big and the Little”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume XXXIII, number 6, page 8:

Photographic aggregates, as stated previously, can be made which produce single images with all the attributes of stereoscopic vision and which the writer termed "trimensional images." […] Trimensional pictures, the writer is certain, will replace the present geometric pictures as a matter of course. The trimensional perspective will lend a touch of amazing reality to photographs and reproductions of any and all kinds whatsoever.

1949 August, Theodore Nakken, “The Great Enigma: The Stereoscopic Perspective”, in International Projectionist, volume 24, number 8, New York, N.Y.: International Projectionist Publishing Co., Inc., →OCLC, page 25:

Haskell turned to the captain's desk, studied the trimensional photograph of an Ermesian native. A big creature—over seven feet tall—and heavy, with thick, short legs, hairy torso, long muscular arms terminating in broad, flat hands with multi-jointed fingers tipped with retractile, vermilion-dyed claws.

1950 August, Bernard I. Kahn, “A Pinch of Culture”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume XLV, page 90, column 1:

Since Sam had another son who was about three years old, he was interested in the quality of children's fare on television. He could see that my trimensional animation process would be perfect for children's films.

1986, Art Clokey, “Foreward”, in Gumby: The Authorized Biography of the World's Favorite Clayboy, New York, N.Y.: Harmony Books, →ISBN, page 2, column 1:

A trimensional scan showed only cuts, bruises and a small fracture in her kneecap. All of the injuries were easily treated.

1996, W[illiam] R[och] Thompson, Infiltrator, New York, N.Y. […]: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 223:

(chiefly science fiction) Three-dimensional.


medium long shot

en-noun

medium long shot (plural medium long shots)

A long shot or medium long shot will most successfully cover all of the action during the meeting of the two characters.

2012, Christopher J. Bowen, Roy Thompson, Grammar of the Shot, page 45:

The size of a medium long shot is also ideal to establish the dynamics of a relationship between characters, by the way they are placed within the composition (by using Hitchcock's rule, or balanced/unbalanced framings, for instance).

2013, Gustavo Mercado, The Filmmaker's Eye, page 53:

(photography, cinematography) A shot (snapshot or series of film exposures) taken from enough distance to show a character from the knees on up, wider than a medium shot but tighter than a long shot.


medium shot

The film then cuts to a medium shot, not of Marguerite but of Faust looking in the girl's direction with the devil posed somewhat artistically behind him, and the two begin to sing.

2014, Jennifer Fleeger, Sounding American: Hollywood, Opera, and Jazz, page 81:

(photography, cinematography) A shot (snapshot or series of film exposures) taken from enough distance to show a character from the waist on up, wider than a close up but tighter than a medium long shot.


Marsscape

These pictures reveal, in the bright region west of the Sinus Meridiani, a totally unexpected Marscape of confused terrain that is like nothing man has seen on Earth, moon, or Mars before.

1969 November, Arthur Fisher, “Science Newsfront: Last-minute news and notes to keep you up-to-date”, in Popular Science, volume 195, number 5, page 22:

(astronomy, science fiction) A view of an area of Mars; a Martian landscape.


autofactory

He had a moment's vision of the Inland Sea, blue through coastal haze. There were bobbles around the advanced estates, around the NM quarter of town. To the west were several large ones—around the autofactories? Everything was in stasis except the Korolev estate.

1986, Vernor Vinge, “Marooned in Realtime”, in Across Realtime, Garden City, N.Y.: Nelson Doubleday, Inc., page 312:

"If we used Phobos as the entrapping vehicle," Cocci mused, "we could establish a base on Mars, a dome city. We could even set up an autofactory there to support the work."

1986, Thomas Wren, The Doomsday Effect, New York, N.Y.: Baen Books, →ISBN, page 103:

Another tunnel took her through to a chamber from which many such tunnels debarked and thence to the small tubular autofactory that had made her.

2016, Neal Asher, War Factory (Transformation; 2), New York, N.Y.: Night Shade Books, →ISBN, page 406:

(science fiction) A factory capable of running autonomously.


autofac

Behind them, the dilapidated settlement lay spread out, a disorderly checkerboard of houses, buildings and streets. Since the autofac network had closed down its supply and maintenance, the human settlements had fallen into semi-barbarism.

1955 November, Philip K[indred] Dick, “Autofac”, in Galaxy Science Fiction, volume 11, number 2, page 87:

The autofacs were a different kind of machine altogether. They could make things. They could make anything from clothing to robots, from weapons to music machines.

1974, Edmund Cooper, The Slaves of Heaven, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Medallion, published 1975, →ISBN, page 57:

All around her the holo displays glowed faintly. Even some of the units that had gone blank over her long sleep were replaced, now that she and Jeffers had gotten the autofac working properly up on A Level.

1986, Gregory Benford, David Brin, Heart of the Comet, Toronto, O.N. […]: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 327:

(science fiction) Synonym of autofactory (“a factory capable of running autonomously”).


buzz track

(film, television, radio) A background audio track containing room tone.


LKFS

For years, going back to the golden age of broadcast television and into the pay-cable era, audio engineers had to deliver sound levels within an industry-standard LKFS, or their work would get kicked back to them.

2023 June 6, Devin Gordon, “Why Is Everyone Watching TV With the Subtitles On?”, in The Atlantic, retrieved 2023-06-09:

(broadcasting) Initialism of loudness, K-weighted, relative to full scale.


(US, military, nautical, journalism) Abbreviation of journalist, petty officer, first class. A journalist of the U.S. Navy holding the rating of first class petty officer, the highest class of regular petty officer.


speculative erotica

Speculative fiction
speculative fiction#English

(fiction) Speculative fiction with erotic themes.


wulver

(folklore) A wolf-like humanoid creature in Shetland folklore.


CGDCT

cute girls doing cute things
cute girls doing cute things#English

(anime) Initialism of cute girls doing cute things.


pull list

Many places kept ‘pull lists’. A customer would leave a list of titles. The store would use the totals from the pull lists to order, and then the store would pull pristine, untouched issues out of the shipment for their regulars.

2010, Henry Melton, Pixie Dust, Wire Rim Books, →ISBN, page 49:

(comics, slang) A list of comic titles that are automatically ordered for a customer once they are available.


blind folio

(printing) A page number that is counted but not printed on the page.


backprime

From back + prime (“the ⟨′⟩ symbol”), compare backslash.

The echo and sed commands appear within backprimes (`) that indicate command substitution: The result of executing the commands within the backprimes replaces the backprimes and everything between them.

1997, Mark G. Sobell, “The TC Shell”, in A Practical Guide to Linux, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, →ISBN, page 440:

Since deformation manifests itself as a change in the metric characteristics of continuum, in the theory of finite deformations, it is then necessary to compare the referential ‵g_(ασ) and the convective g_(ασ) metrics. We systematically employ Latin indices in order to refer to spatial components of geometrical objects, whereas Greek indices to point on convective components (only a few instances can be found in the present study) or referential components (additionally, root symbol is sometimes supplied by backprime).

2023, Yuri N. Radayev, “Two-Point Rotations in Geometry of Finite Deformations”, in Holm Altenbach, Suren Manuk Mkhitaryan, Vahram Hakobyan, Avetik Varazdat Sahakyan, editors, Solid Mechanics, Theory of Elasticity and Creep (Advanced Structured Materials), Cham: Springer, →ISBN, page 276:

(typography, computing) The ⟨‵⟩ or ⟨`⟩ symbol; a reversed prime.


glaistig

(folklore) A kind of ghost in Scottish folklore, usually depicted as a woman, a goat, or a hybrid of the two.


ICW

(radio) Initialism of interrupted continuous wave.


tympaning

(printing) The material used for tympans, or padding under the platen of a letterpress.


blackout poem

(literature, poetry) A poem created from another text by selectively covering up words.


managing editor

managing editor (plural managing editors)

(journalism) A senior member of a publication's management team.


netorase

/neɪtəʊɹɑːseɪ/

Borrowed from Japanese 寝取(ねと)らせ (netorase).

(pornography, slang) A genre of sharing or cuckoldry pornography where a protagonist's love interest has sex with others, which the protagonist enjoys, actively encourages or even causes.


SNV

(broadcasting) Initialism of satellite news vehicle.


'saur

—genetically uplifted the ancestors of the saurs, and culturally—at least—uplifted the kraken. We are used to thinking of these species as wise and ancient, which indeed they are, but the octopods are their 'Elder Race.'

2003, Ken MacLeod, Engine City, New York, N.Y.: Tor Books, →ISBN, page 79:

The city-folk had learned not to run screaming at the sight of a 'saur with a human being on it, but they were still in sufficient awe that trouble was unlikely.

2006, S[tephen] M[ichael] Stirling, The Sky People, New York, N.Y.: Tor Books, →ISBN, page 75:

Are there other good candidates for a collective term? Mesosaur might work. Dinosaurs, pterosaurs and other saurs all lived during the Mesozoic Era – the age of reptiles – 252 to 66 million years ago.

[2014 September 30, JV Chamary, “Paleosaurs: A Solution To The Dinosaur Dilemma?”, in Forbes, New York, N.Y.: Forbes Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-05-26:

The bird comes cartwheeling out of the forest in a flurry of feathers and leathery wings. Only as it lands, crashing into the reeds at the edge of the river, does Willem realize that it is not a bird, but a winged saur.

2015, Brian Falkner, Battlesaurus: Rampage at Waterloo, New York, N.Y.: Farrar Straus Giroux, →ISBN, page 67:

Who better to prank with dinosaurs than the king of 'saurs himself?

2015 June 16, Allison Bagg, “These Pranksters Dressed As Dinosaurs Scared The Sh*t Out Of Chris Pratt”, in BuzzFeed, archived from the original on 2023-06-28:

And her most recent tune, "Dinosaurs in Love," is about a pair of smitten 'saurs who find themselves dining at a party just before the apocalyptic event that wiped-out their race.

2020 January 29, Hannah Sparks, “3-year-old sings heartbreaking song about ’Dinosaurs in Love’”, in New York Post, New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-01-30:

(informal or science fiction, fantasy) A dinosaur.


linoblock

(printing, often attributive) A linoleum block used in block printing.


Aristopia

From Ancient Greek ἄριστος (áristos) + Ancient Greek τόπος (tópos).

af

(fiction) A name for a fictional utopia.


Eberhard effect

en-noun

Eberhard effect (plural Eberhard effects)

(film, photography) The situation where narrow areas of high and low density cause two Mackie lines to meet, resulting in increased density in a small area.


aquan

From Middle English aqua (borrowed from Latin aqua) + -n (adjective and inhabitant suffix).

af

borrowed from Latin <i class="Latn mention" lang="la">aqua</i>

One of the patrol enforcers, "hubbers" as they were known, that were bustling about stopped to give a sympathetic burble. They were an aquan, living in a pressure suit that kept them suspended in water.

2020, Thomas Parrott, “To Catch a Thief”, in Charlotte Llewelyn-Wells, editor, KeyForge: Tales from the Crucible, page 155:

(science fiction, rare) An inhabitant of the sea.


iota adscript

(Greek orthography) The iota subscript when written beside the affected letter rather than underneath it.


furface

Look, kid ... forget about what ol' fur face there said about alien abduction. I suspect you were sleepwalking. Have you ever done that before?

2005 August 19, Tom Armstrong, Marvin (comic):

(fiction, comics, fantasy) A term of address used for any animal with fur, ranging from playful mocking to utmost derision.


picture white

en-noun

picture white (countable and uncountable, plural picture whites)

(television) The brightest white that can be produced in a television image.


cream puff piece

cream puff piece (plural cream puff pieces)

In some cases, that was true; they thought I was just another beauty or fashion editor who would do a cream-puff piece about their products .

1995, Paula Begoun, Miriam Bulmer, Don't Go Shopping for Hair Care Products Without Me, Beginning Press, →ISBN, page 17:

This week includes criticism of our story on Laura Bush as a "cream puff piece" and praise for the new invention we featured which turns off other peoples' televisions, called TV-B-Gone.

2004 October 21, “Letters: Laura Bush, and TV-B-Gone”, in NPR:

While he was a player with the Florida Marlins a writer did a “cream puff piece” on him where Renteria told him his family calls him Ricky instead of Rich.

2012 December 6, Jesse Rogers, “Cubs Notes: No Rule 5 pick”, in ESPN:

(journalism, publishing, informal) A positive article or review that is largely based on opinion.


narratage

(film) The combination of screenwriting and audiovisual effects that captures an audience.


morpher

(science fiction, fantasy) A shapeshifter.


battlecraft

battlecraft (countable and uncountable, plural battlecraft or battlecrafts)

battlecraft (plural)
battlecrafts (plural)

(countable, chiefly science fiction) A spacecraft or other vehicle used for combat.


metaproposition

On the one side, others may see some other metaproposition that circulates throughout a piece of writing, different from one that I might proposed. On the other, still others may perceive no metaproposition at all.

1992, Jacob Neusner, Decoding the Talmud’s Exegetical Program: From Detail to Principle in the Bavli’s Quest for Generalization, →ISBN, page 2:

The initial metaproposition of the thema having been amply and methodically, if at times laboriously, dismantled and demonstrated, the preacher then brings his discourse to an end, the conclusio being a clear, neat summary of the various parts of the sermon.

1995, Franco Mormando, “‘To Persuade Is a Victory’: Rhetoric and Moral Reasoning in the Sermons of Bernardino of Siena”, in James F. Keenan, Thomas A. Shannon, editors, The Context of Casuistry, →ISBN, page 61:

In his reformulated version of path-goal theory, House offered a metaproposition, which provides a capsule summary of a dizzying amount of studies and theorizing in relation to the theory. Understanding this metaproposition would be a good take-away from the theory: For leaders to be effective, they should engage in behaviors that complement subordinates’ environments and abilities.

2013, Andrew J. DuBrin, Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills, 7th edition, →ISBN, pages 147–8:

(literature) An underlying proposition that is embedded in many different statements throughout a given work or set of works.


bioborg

I am served brusquely, and wait until the bioborgs kill Lao Tzu. I swap a Carlton for a match, and devise a telephone strategy brilliant enough to reduce hardened Tokyo PAs to putty.

2001, David Mitchell, number9dream, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN:

(science fiction) A biologically-based cyborg


Kitezh

(Slavic mythology, folklore) A city in Russian folklore that was believed to have disappeared under a lake, to avoid being conquered by the Mongols.


bleach bypass

The bleach-bypass really captured the light of Mexico City, especially given that we shot the commercial on a very grey and overcast day. […] The bleach-bypass process I find has a spiritual quality that I relate to and really love.

2021, Jason Wood, quoting Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Faber Book of Mexican Cinema, Faber & Faber, →ISBN:

(photography, cinematography) A film laboratory technique where the bleach stage during the development of a color film is skipped, resulting in images with increased contrast and graininess.


thopter

Another ’thopter glided in over the cliff wall above Hawat. He drew in a sharp breath as he saw it—a big troop-carrier. It flew with the slow, spread-wing heaviness of a full load like a giant bird coming to its nest.

1965, Frank Herbert, Dune, New York: Ace Books, →OCLC, page 225:

I'm sending down five more dropships, combat EMVs, and a thopter gunship.

1997 September 14, Dan Simmons, The Rise of Endymion, New York: Bantam, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 363:

Flowstone Thopter gets +1/-1 and gains flying until end of turn.

2000 February 14, “Flowstone Thopter”, in Magic: The Gathering, Nemesis, Wizards of the Coast:

(fiction) Synonym of ornithopter (“birdlike aircraft”)


boarding craft

boarding craft (plural boarding crafts or boarding craft)

boarding crafts (plural)
boarding craft (plural)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-boarding craft.wav

‘Squids,’ the FORCE:space people had called the Ouster boarding craft.

1989, Dan Simmons, Hyperion, London: Headline, published 1991, page 157:

Sir, additional contacts. Boarding crafts, and lots of 'em!

2004 November 9, Bungie, Halo 2, Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox, level/area: Cairo Station:

A Colicoid creation (like the droideka), this Separatist boarding craft looks like a flying spike—until that spike divides into four sharp prongs that can stab through an enemy hull, revealing a central hatch used by a boarding party.

2008 July 26, Jason Fry, Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Visual Guide, Dorling Kindersley, →LCCN, page 105:

(science fiction) A starship designed to allow soldiers to board an enemy vessel


(pornography, vulgar) Initialism of ass to mouth.


antilithium

Heavy antinuclei, if observed, would also indicate that nucleosynthetic processes are taking place in these antimatter regions, since the usual matter-symmetric cosmologies have no other provision for manufacturing antimatter heavier than antilithium.

1987, Luis W. Alvarez, Discovering Alvarez: Selected Works of Luis W. Alvarez with Commentary by His Students and Colleagues, University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 194:

The pinhead contained only a twentieth of a gramme of antilithium, but that's more than sufficient for our purposes.

2009, Alastair Reynolds, Revelation Space, Orion, →ISBN:

Even unshielded, it would take antilithium or highmatter to cut through the adamantine plate on the dorsal hull.

2020, Christopher Ruocchio, Demon In White: Book 3, Orion, →ISBN:

(physics, science fiction) The antiatom form of lithium.


airtram

(chiefly science fiction) An aerial tram (type of passenger vehicle).


glossy magazine

glossy magazine (plural glossy magazines)

(journalism, publishing) A magazine printed on high-quality glossy paper.


g/g

There's a "healthy" serving of g/g action in each movie, similiar to Andrew Blake, but the action's a little heavier, ie the scenes are generally slightly longer and more explicit than (especially) Andrew Blake's later movies, this applies to the hetero as well as g/g stuff.

1995 March 27, Nigel Taylor, “Request: Review/storyline of Cameron Grant films”, in alt.sex.movies (Usenet):

I wish they would have shown much more of Nancy Vee and you when you did the initial g/g in the car... what little we saw was premo, absolutely premo!

1998 May 31, voya...@ix.netcom.com, “tina tyler posts again”, in rec.arts.movies.erotica (Usenet):

I love girl/girl porn also - and Vivid used to have really great g/g kissing scenes.

2003 February 10, Sam Slater, “Lack Of Kissing”, in rec.arts.movies.erotica (Usenet):

(slang, pornography) Initialism of girl-on-girl.


painal

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-painal.wav

(pornography) Painful anal sex; specifically, heterosexual anal sex that causes pain to the woman.


thunder word

(literature) Any of the ten 100-letter words occurring in James Joyce's experimental 1939 novel Finnegans Wake, the first of which is constructed of words for thunder in various different languages.


lede to kum

(journalism) A placeholder for ‘lead to come’, spelled this way so it is not inadvertently thought to be part of the article.


newsbeat

(journalism) Synonym of beat (“the primary focus of a reporter's stories”)


CDWM

There is something distinctly British about CDWM. There was a running joke that you could have predicted how Britain was going to vote in the EU referendum by watching old episodes of the show.

2020 May 27, Kieran Yates, “Fifteen years of TV dinners: why Come Dine With Me has endured”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(UK, television) Initialism of Come Dine with Me, a British reality show where participants have to score the experience of eating at each others' houses.


Piggi-Billa

(folklore) An echidna that appears in Aboriginal fairy tales.


author's edition

author's edition (plural authors' editions)

(publishing) An edition of a publication whose publishing costs are borne by the author.


courtesy of the trade

(publishing, historical) An unofficial agreement between American publishers not to compete by reprinting the same (pirated) titles from Britain.


Russian novel effect

Foreign names were simplified by the author to mitigate the Russian novel effect.

Throughout this book, I have used first names for major figures rather than full names, in order to avoid the "Russian novel effect," where English readers suffer the confusion of multiple unfamiliar names. Thus, for instance, I have used Ali instead of Ali ibn Abu Talib, Aisha instead of Aisha bint Abu Bakr, Omar instead of Omar ibn al-Khattab, and so on.

2010, Lesley Hazleton, “Note on Usage and Spelling”, in After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam, Doubleday:

I have listed […] a glossary of key people and places. If only to avoid the Russian novel effect, I urge readers to glance at these at the start.

2013, Fiona Maddocks, “Preface”, in Hildegard of Bingen: The Woman of Her Age, Faber & Faber:

I have also limited the use of their full names, such as Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima bint Muhammad, to avoid the "Russian novel effect," keeping in mind the English reader who may be more easily confused with multiple unfamiliar names.

2021, Jalal Moughania, “Arabic Spelling and Usage Note”, in Ali: The Elixir of Love, Mainstay Foundation:

(literature, rare) The difficulty experienced by English readers in distinguishing multiple people or characters with non-English names, leading to confusion.


brocon

brocon (countable and uncountable, plural brocons)

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(anime, manga, uncountable) Strong attachment or romantic/sexual attraction to one's own brother.

(anime, manga, countable) A person with such an attachment.


Batman angle

From its frequent stylized use in the 1966–1968 television series Batman.


French New Wave

(film) Synonym of nouvelle vague (“influential French film movement of the 1950s and 1960s”).


infohazardous

en-adj

infohazardous (comparative more infohazardous, superlative most infohazardous)

more infohazardous (comparative)
most infohazardous (superlative)

(neurology, chiefly science fiction) Being, containing, or pertaining to a infohazard.


antimemetic

antimemetic (comparative more antimemetic, superlative most antimemetic)

more antimemetic (comparative)
most antimemetic (superlative)

From antimeme + -etic or anti- + memetic.

(neurology, sociology, chiefly science fiction) Of, being, containing, or pertaining to antimemes.


set dec

(film, television, informal) Short for set decoration.


overdeity

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-overdeity.wav

Their liege —, the Undoing,—was the last to convene. He was a being of unknown descent, but Rune believed he was lt least a demigod. Perhaps a full deity, even an overdeity.

2015, Kresley Cole, Sweet Ruin, Simon & Schuster, pages 24-25:

Are there equivalent overdeities in other settings such as Eberron or Grayhawk? Like a top dog who gets to decide if someone can be a god or not as one of their jobs.

2020 May 29, CosmicWolf14, “Alabastor: Age of Heroes”, in reddit.com:

I generally assume that, whatever they are, you’re not going to face any problems with the local overdeities deciding you don’t belong and just noping you the moment you Jump in; whether that’s by power or negotiation is up to you.

2020 July 7, AmazonClimber, RandomOTP, “The Jumpchain Benefactor versus A Jump's Gods”, in reddit.com:

As I said overdeities don't require worship to survive, as such other Gods of Death can form without intruding, but they can't become a Overdeity of Death without somehow destroying the one currently there. As such they would more likely become another form of overdeity, assuming they get that far. And no Discord server as of yet, I might make one if the quest becomes more popular.

2021 April 29, nwish425, “Apotheosis - A Deity Quest”, in forums.sufficientvelocity.com:

(rare, science fiction, fantasy, video games) A superior or supreme deity.


eleutheri

/ɛˈljuːθəˌɹaɪ/

He addressed himself in the same language to the whole company, and […] asked them, if they had any objection to my being initiated into the mysteries of the Eleutheri.

1813, Thomas Jefferson Hogg, The Memoirs of Prince Alexy Haimatoff, London: T. Hookham, jun., and E.T. Hookham, pages 178-79:

In his account of the Society of the Eleutheri, Hogg seems to be indulging in a bad dream after having read a book which was always perused with interest by Shelley — Barruel's "Mémoires pour servir a l'histoire du Jacobinisme" — let the reader look into the chapters on Spartacus Weishaupt, the founder of Illuminism, and he will see grounds for this conjecture[.]

1886 [1814], Professor E. Dowden, edited by Thomas J. Wise, Some Early Writings of Shelley, London: Reeves and Turner, pages 49-50:

(literature) A secret society, usually 19th century and sinister.


eleutherarch

/ɛˈljuːθəˌɹɑːk/

Bruhle introduced him to me as the principal of the university, and the Eleutherarch.

1813, Thomas Jefferson Hogg, The Memoirs of Prince Alexy Haimatoff, London: T. Hookham, jun., and E.T. Hookham, page 173:

He slept with Horrid Mysteries under his pillow, and dreamed of venerable eleutherarchs and ghastly confederates holding midnight conventions in subterranean caves.

1818, Thomas Love Peacock, chapter 2, in Nightmare Abbey, Hookham, published 2003:

(literature, gothic) The leader of the eleutheri.


infocast

Some people invest considerable credibility in the same media others discount. […] There are sizable numbers of viewers who believe sensational infocasts such as “A Current Affair” over more conventional network newscasts.

1994, Gary W. Selnow, High-Tech Campaigns: Computer Technology in Political Communication (Praeger Series in Political Communication), Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, →ISBN, page 192:

(broadcasting, uncommon) A broadcast of information.


House That Freddy Built

In reference to Freddy Krueger, a character in the studio's highly successful Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Presumably modelled on the name of the traditional folk song This Is the House That Jack Built.

(film, slang) The American film and television production studio New Line Cinema.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)
This Is the House That Jack Built


DWTS

When "Mirrorball" meets the famed Mirrorball Trophy, you get a Taylor Swift-themed night on Dancing With the Stars. […] According to Variety, longtime DWTS choreographer and the lead choreographer of The Eras Tour, Mandy Moore (no, not that Mandy Moore), will join as a special guest judge for the Taylor-themed night.

2023 November 6, Samantha Olson, “How to Watch the Taylor Swift-Themed Night on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 32”, in Cosmopolitan:

Dancing with the Stars
w:Dancing with the Stars

(television) Initialism of Dancing with the Stars.


HTSI

(publishing) Initialism of How to Spend It.


superfluous man

en-noun

superfluous man (plural superfluous men)

(literature) A kind of character derived from the Byronic hero and associated with mid-1800s Russian literature: a man, usually privileged and capable, who flaunts or disregards social norms and exhibits cynicism, self-interest, and existential boredom.


cryopod

He glanced at the scan display. The contact resolved into a clearer image: definitely a UNSC cryopod.

2003, Eric Nylund, Halo: First Strike, New York: Del Rey, →ISBN, page 38:

(science fiction) A pod in which a person is maintained in cryosleep.


multicoupler

(radio, television) A device that splits the signal from an antenna into many receiver connections.


MTRCB

w:Movie and Television Review and Classification Board

(Philippines, film, television) Initialism of Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.


supercaption

A notable difference here is that whereas the BBC uses supercaptions in 15 percent of all items, ITN uses them in 28 percent.

2009, Peter Beharrell, Howard Davis, John Eldridge, Bad News, page cxlviii:

On only five occasions did correspondents or reporters appear in the studio without supercaptions; Jones on News Extra, Wain on First Report and Colebourne from the Midlands and Delahaye from the North, Luton and Blackie.

2013, John Eldridge, The Glasgow Media Group Reader, Vol. I, page 272:

(television) An on-screen caption identifying the place and people being shown.


holophone

The holophone beeped in that strange way that all phones did on Churchill Drift, before it was answered. Relief flooded through him when the holophone clicked on. Then dread filled him when an accented voice answered.

2011, Tom Bielawski, The Centaurus Legacy: The Orion Trilogy Volume 0:

The men appeared at Kid Squad headquarters in a holophone transmission. The holophone was a cool communication device that Gadget had helped invent.

2014, John Perritano, Madness of Captain Cyclops, page 24:

There was another chime and then the screen on the holophone dimmed and began to project a holographic image that was a still frame of a person who looked a lot like Jason.

2019, Robert Ricks, Three Simple Rules, page 43:

(science fiction) A hologrammatic telecommunication device.


manime

manime (countable and uncountable, plural manime or manimes)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-manime.wav

Coordinate term: tranime

No teacups or "uguu~~~s" here. This panel is pure MANIME!

2015, Neito, “Archived copy”, in Anime Boston, archived from the original on 2023-11-16:

By MANime I mean Yu Yu Hakusho, OG Yu-Gi-Oh!, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
 Gettin' tired of seeing all these grown-ass men buying $200 upskirt figures of high school girls. Gettin' real tired of it.

2013 October 21, Macklemost, “Does anyone here prefer MANime and MANga to the usual crap you see?”, in GameFAQs:

Love and emotions and stuff can be a part of a Manime. Look at Hokuto no Ken if you've ever seen it.

2011 January 12, Ready Start L_Arc, “Manime- Anime for MEN”, in Neoseeker Forums:

(anime, frequently 4chan) Anime that is manly.


Cooverian

en-adj

Cooverian (comparative more Cooverian, superlative most Cooverian)

more Cooverian (comparative)
most Cooverian (superlative)

(literature) Of or relating to Robert Coover (born 1932), American fiction writer.


drott-kvaett

(poetry) A poetic meter characterized by strict patterns of stave-rhyme and internal rhyme.


qHD

Abbreviation
* (1/4 HD): From being approximately 1/4 of high definition video resolution

(video, television, computer graphics) Initialism of quarter HD (“quarter high definition”). (960x540 pixels)


even working

(publishing) An arrangement where the number of pages in a book is divisible by 16 or 32, to make efficient use of paper.


GBBS

If Sex Box is a show that sounds shocking but ends up being yawningly jejune, GBBS is the exact opposite: a refined and well-mannered cookery contest that somehow also manages to be a teeming hotbed of smut.

2015 February 26, Sophie Gilbert, “Soggy Bottoms and 'Sex Box': The Saucy State of TV's British Imports”, in The Atlantic:

The Great British Baking Show
w:The Great British Baking Show

(US, television) Initialism of The Great British Baking Show.