à la mode
With ice cream on top or on the side. =Maureen likes pie à la mode but does not like pieor ice cream by itself. Etymology : from French à la mode 'in the manner or fashion' More…
alacrity
promptness in response; cheerful readiness =Lulu accepted the invitation with alacrity. Etymology : From Latin alacritas, from alacr, alacer 'lively, eager' =Grandmother Elsie by More…
Alcohol poison
(Back formation) To get so drunk that the person gets alcohol poisoning. The verb '(to) alcohol poison' is formed by back formation from the noun 'alcohol poisoning'. More…
Alcohol Sweater
A theoretical sweater representing the internal warmth felt by one who has consumed a fair amount of alcohol. =Compounding of words Alcohol and Sweater to make a single word for a More…
alcoholiday
A holiday characterized by heavy drinking. This is a pleasing blend because the entirety of the words alcohol and holiday can be found in it. The meaning is not hard to guess from the way More…
Alcoholimia
The act of induced vomiting after an episode of heavy drinking. Often used among college students. The reason for this action can range from desire to avoid a hangover to fear of large More…
Alcy
An undiagnosed alcoholic. =The term, ‘alcy’ refers to one who drinks as much as an alcoholic but in a context where doing so is somewhat accepted. ‘Alcy’ is a pet name for an alcoholic, More…
alkie (1)
(clipping) A dimunitve form of alcoholic. Someone who occasionally overindulges in drinking alcohol, but does not have a chronic problem. It is used in an informal context, largely among More…
All caps
Writing that is solely written in uppercase, with no use of lowercase letters in the alphabet. Used to communicate intense emotion, emphasis, or importance of a word, phrase, or sentence in More…
all-nighter
The act of studying or doing school-related work through an entire night. This term seems to be widely used and accepted among students, and it is the most concise way of stating that More…
all-nighter (1)
an event where one doesn't sleep in order to get work done =I had to pull an all-nighter to finish this paper. Etymology : adding -er to "all-night" =August 2010 Brown More…
All-nighting
staying awake during all the nighttime hours Interpretation of intended meaning: the act of staying "up" or awake all night. Presumed reason for coinage: College students commonly use More…
All-sidedness
the property of an object revealing all of its sides at one time Interpretation of intended meaning: the property of showing all sides of something. Presumed reason for coinage: the author More…
Allergetic
(Derivation) A person with allergies =Used to describe someone with allergies, typically someone that suffers from seasonal allergies (long term, not particular instances). Term probably More…
alley-oop
in basketball, a pass from one player that is caught in mid-air and dunked This neologism is another one used in the basketball community that is so popular we can expect it to hit the More…
allin
a strategy videogame tactic in which a player forgoes base expansion in favor of a stronger early-game attack force. Failure leaves that player in an extremely disadvantageous position, More…
Allow
To leave alone, to forget about. The drastic semantic change of allow from ‘to let’ to ‘to leave alone’ seems to make sense when read aloud, perhaps because let and More…
Alpha consumer
one who starts a trend or picks it up very early, often long before the rest of the population, usu. used as a predictor of economic trends The author was describing companies that profit More…
Alpha geek
The most knowledgeable, technically proficient person in an office, department, or work group The term seems to be derived from alpha male, a word created by animal ethologists. The word More…