Not too long ago, the people who published the Merriam-Webster Dictionary recently released their latest edition with a new listing of words and phrases that qualify these forms of verbiage as recognized words used within the English language, or at least the American English language.
Many words and phrases tend to come and go. Many words are based upon slang, while other words that were made up by an unknown source and are used so many times, they become words by default. Some new words stay on for a while, while others just fade from view.
Electronic media is the prime source where these words become real. From the days of radio, moving to television, and of course, through high tech. In fact, many of the new words introduced as posted through this publisher were grown from the internet and its many forms and applications, or “apps”–a new word into itself!
Some of the new words and phrases came from new reporting that can become amusing but boring, such as the noun “Colossal Squid:, describing a huge newly discovered breed of squid living off the waters of the southern ocean; “Colony Collapse Disorder”, another noun to describe the disappearance of adult bees and the queen bee within a bee hive, causing havoc among the worker bees. (This term is rather dull to most people, unless one is in the beekeeping business!)
There’s other terms such as “Dark Money”, a noun to describe the contribution of money to organizations to fund political campaigns without the discloser of the donor’s identities; “Photobomb”, another noun to describe a person or persons moving into the frame of a photo being taken as a joke or prank, or “Meme”, yet another noun to describe an idea, style, behavior, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture. The latter word became used through the early days of the internet, when the ‘net was still a novelty, rather then a way of life.
And speaking of which, most of these new entries originated from the internet and cyberspace, the biggest source of new words and phrases where just a few years before, these words were considered slang that catered to a selected few. There is “Click Fraud”, to describe the clicking on an advertisement seen on a web page in order to bring enchanted monetary payment to the advertiser or web page host (companies are paid a few cents anytime somebody “clicks” on that ad, and many of these same companies use others to ‘click’ on the ad to get more income as they should!) There’s “Click Bait”, a term used to click on a headline found on a source for news on a web page where one will find something else than what the headline promised. (Example, a headline may read “The best way to get rid of headaches”, where one would believe that one can read an article to relieve pain within the head, only to find a link to some new miracle drug somebody’s hawking!)
Then there are the initials that now are real phrases, such as NSFW, a term meaning “Not Suitable/Safe for Work”, describing web sites or e-mail attachments where its not proper to view within an office environment. This can range from family friendly sites such as as Facebook, or viewing porn sites. And there’s the above headlined WTF, that stands for “What The F*uck”, an exclamation that comes from “Huh?”
There are many other words and phrases that’s found in the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Visit their “blog” (another new entry originating from the virtual word of the ‘net), at http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/blog/2015/05/a-growth-spurt/
It’s interesting to note that these words are now recognized as words, but there are many others as well. Again, most come from the cyberspace universe, such as “Bitcoin” the verb “Google”, “Emoji” and countless others. Again, some will go away while others are here to stay.
And what is the fancy French term as described within this headline? According to its definition as described by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it means something that cannot be adequately described or expressed, or literary from French, ‘I don’t know what’. One can LOL with that one, or reply WFT?
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NEWS AND REVIEWS
The Morgan-Wixson Theatre closes its 2014-15 season with LEGALLY BLOND THE MUSICAL, a tale about a young free and easy woman who makes a change in her life into something she thought she didn’t know anything about–law!
Katie McConaughy is Elle Woods. She hails from Malibu, California and was raised from a privileged life. She’s perky, popular within the Delta Nu Sorority at her college (UCLA), and is blond! She feels she has it all, right down to having a boyfriend she adores, Warner Huntington III (Christopher Tiernan). He also came from a very privileged background as well, having a future career as a person that lives with a privileged background! Ellie receives the jolt of her life when Warner dumps her for another woman who is heading off to Harvard law school with him. Now it a rut, she is persuaded by her fellow sorority sisters she still keeps connected with to apply to the school to chase the man of her now broken dreams, and perhaps enroll in law school. (Why not?) Not only she is accepted in the school, but enrolls in Professor Callahan’s (Michael Heimos) class. His teaching assistant is Emmett Forest (Brandon Stanford) who eventually becomes Elle’s source of attraction. With the help of local hair dresser Paulette (Angelica Roque) who knows more than just getting Ellie out of a bad hair day, as well as fellow Delta Nu sisters (always keeping their sister act in place), Ellie becomes more than just a bleached blond girly-girl, showing to the world that she knows more about law, as well as keeping a few fashion tips and some cheerleader poses handy-just in case!
This musical with book by Heather Hach along with a musical score by Laurence O’Keefe & Nell Benjamin, and taken from Amanda Brown’s novel (as well as a feature film starring Reese Witherspoon), is very witty, amusing, and holds more charm and appeal than the source this stage musical is extracted from! (The feature film anyway!) Katie McConaughy as the lead character Elle has a verdict (pun intended?) of the expected appeal that is stock-in-trade for a SoCal Blond would have, but she shows much more intelligence that counted upon. Not only she can perform, but can really sing and dance, taking her role in a serious yet comical manor. (This musical somewhat plays off as a spoof, but that’s OK as that stands!) She performs along with a very large ensemble cast where it would take an entire column to name them all–including the understudies! (Trust this reviewer–they all performed exceptionally well!) Annie Gesling, who has previously directed a selection of MWT productions of late such as Next To Normal (See review: Vol. 20-No 10), The Producers (Vol. 19-No..26) and Spamalot (Vol. 18-No. 26), is back on helm to direct this presentation that builds this show to move in its own brisk pace. (She also provides the transcribed musical direction as well!) Lauren Blair administers the choreography where nearly every leading player, in addition to the ensemble cast of characters, takes part in dancing their way through Elle’s downs and ups! (More of the latter!) Tom Brown’s set design shows a number of scenes as well, from Pauette’s hair salon, Elle’s quarters (all dolled up in pink, ‘natch!), to other scenic views ranging from courtrooms to a prison. (Some done more virtual than others!) But leave it to Katie McConaughy as Elle to keep the white smile aided to her blond ‘do that harmonizes with her pink–the best color she possesses!
A special cast member to note is Boone Reynolds as Brusier, Elle’s faithful dog. Unlike other productions of L.B. where Bruiser is usually played by a Chihuahua, this production shows this role as a Morkie. This is done because the MWT is an equal opportunity employer–so there!
LEGALLY BLOND is a high spirited musical that just goes to show that not only blonds have more fun, but so will the theater audience. And who can’t love a stage musical that features a dog that doesn’t share the stage with a lead character playing a comic strip orphan! And yes…it does host a happy ending to it all–just like real musicals!
LEGALLY BLOND THE MUSICAL, presented by the Morgan-Wixson Theatre Guild, and performs at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre, 2627 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, until August 1st. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM, and Sunday afternoons at 2:00 PM.
The MWT has announced their roster of plays and musicals for their 2015-16 season, leading off with Don Nigro’s Cinderella Waltz opening on September 26th. Following is Steven Dietz’s comedy/mystery Private Eyes on January 16th, ‘16. Next is Joe Dipoetro’s musical review All Shook Up, featuring the songs made famous by Elvis, opening on March 5th. On April 30th, Larry Shue’s modern comedy classic The Foreigner graces the MWT stages. And closing out the season is Marshall Brickman and Rick Eeice’s The Addams Family-The Musical, based on the panel cartoons that appeared in The New Yorker magazine, opening on June 25th, ‘16.
For more information on all shows, as well as ticket reservations for Legally Blond, call (310) 828-7519, or via online at http://www.Morgan-Wixson.org.
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In the next issue, Accessibly Live Off-Line’s annual State of the Union address. Don’t miss it!!
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