'Dad Jokes,' 'JOMO' Among Dictionary.com’s New Words for 2019

 

American English, like any other language, evolves and grows over time.

To keep up with a changing language, Dictionary.com adds new words to its online search system each year.

This week, the site announced 300 new additions for 2019. Here in the studio with me is Kelly Jean Kelly. She has been looking into some of Dictionary.com’s new additions. Today, we are going to introduce some of these new words and phrases. Hi, Kelly. Thanks for being here.

Kelly: Of course!

Ashley: Now, we will not be doing a deep dive or anything here. There is just not enough time in our workday to talk about all 300 new words!

Kelly: And, also, I have a flight to catch soon...

Ashley: Oh, that’s right. Okay, let’s get started then!

Kelly: Actually, you already used one, Ashley: deep dive.

Ashley: You’re right! A “deep dive” is a full, or thorough¹, study of a subject or issue. It is usually in the form of a long report.

Kelly: I hope our listeners don't have FOMO -- fear of missing out -- because we aren't going to teach them every new single phrase. FOMO is not one of Dictionary.com’s latest additions. It’s been in there for awhile. However, JOMO is a new one that is very close to FOMO.

Ashley: JOMO? That is one I have not heard. Please explain!

Kelly: JOMO is short for “joy of missing out.” It is basically the opposite of FOMO! JOMO means you feel happy or at peace while doing your own thing, instead of worrying about what you might be missing out on.

Ashley: Huh, I like that one. It reminds you to stop comparing what you could be doing to what you are doing. But Kelly, JOMO is not really a word.

Kelly: Many of Dictionary.com’s additions are not words in ...the traditional sense. JSYK.

Ashley: I'm sorry, what?

Kelly: JSYK. Another abbreviation² you can now find on Dictionary.com. It stands for: Just….So...You….Know. Just so you know.

Ashley: That sounds really weird³ to say in real life...just so you know, Kelly! It sounds more like internet speak.

Kelly: That is definitely where it comes from. You know, with all of these social media-inspired phrases, it seems like we might all want to cut back on our screen time. This phrase is another Dictionary.com addition. It’s pretty easy to guess what it means. It is defined⁴ as “the amount of time a person spends watching or interacting⁵ on the screen of a computer, phone, television or gaming system.”

Ashley: That's true, Kelly. A lot of us need to get offline more and pay more attention to our surroundings. Hey, speaking of….stop looking at your phone! We’re doing a show here!

Kelly: I hate to tell you this, but I actually have to go. I’m going to miss my flight home!

Ashley: Womp womp. Too bad! We're only halfway⁶ done. See what I did there? “Womp womp” is a slang⁷ interjection that dismisses or makes fun of a loss or failure.

Kelly: So, you are saying you do not really care whether I make it home for my dad’s birthday? Welp, that’s it. I think we’re done here!

Ashley: Welp! Good one. Welp comes from the very common interjection “well…” which is used to show displeasure or resignation⁸ about something happening...Oh, I might have pushed too far...I’m sorry.

Kelly: No, no, it’s fine. But I really have to go! Bye, Ashley.

Ashley: Bye, Kelly! Have a good trip! Hey, I hope you don’t have to hear too many painfully unfunny dad jokes while you’re home!

Words in This Story

evolve - v. to change or develop slowly often into a better, more complex, or more advanced state

miss out - phrasal verb. to lose an opportunity : to be unable to have or enjoy something

abbreviation - n. a shortened⁹ form of a word or name that is used in place of the full word or name

slang - n. words that are not considered part of the standard vocabulary of a language and that are used very informally in speech especially by a particular group of people

interjection - n. a spoken word, phrase, or sound that expresses sudden or strong feeling

1 thorough   

adj. 彻底的，完全的，精心的

参考例句：

• He made a very thorough analysis on the situation.他对形势的分析很透彻。
• The committee reported its findings after a thorough investigation.委员会在彻底调查以后报告了调查结果。

2 abbreviation   

n.（用词首字母组成的）缩写

参考例句：

• A.D.is the abbreviation for"advertisement".A.D.是advertisement的缩写。
• The postal abbreviation for Kansas is KS.堪萨斯州的邮政缩写是KS。

3 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

4 defined   

adj 定义的; 清晰的

参考例句：

• These categories are not well defined. 这些类别划分得不太明确。
• The powers of a judge are defined by law. 法官的权限是由法律规定的。

5 interacting   

adj.相互影响的；相互作用的

参考例句：

• The interacting surfaces were lubricated with a mineral oil. 相互作用表面是用矿物油润滑的。
• Proteins which have two separate but interacting sites are called allosteric proteins. 这种具有两个不同而又相互作用位置的蛋白质叫做变构蛋白质。

6 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

7 slang   

n.俚语，行话；vt.使用俚语，辱骂；vi.辱骂

参考例句：

• The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
• Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。

8 resignation   

n.放弃，辞职，反抗

参考例句：

• He handed in his resignation right after the cabinet meeting.内阁会议一开完，他就提出了辞呈。
• They asked for his resignation with one voice.他们一致要求他辞职。

9 shortened   

v.弄短，缩短( shorten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长，工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句