The Loonicon Project

6. talkactive

2009-09-20T13:34:00.000+05:30

talkactive (adj.) ('TAW-kek-tiv): Inclined to express oneself using gestures rather than words.

A talkactive person is someone who dislikes using a formal language, and instead employs hand-motions and gestures to get a point across. Talkactive people firmly believe that if a picture speaks a thousand words, a gesture speaks well over a million. Their unwillingness to use verbal communication is often mistaken for lack of intelligence, and their wild gesticulation is often ridiculed by fans of wordplay.

Usage:

"Talkactive people raise their children to be seen and not heard."

"Giving random people on the street the finger does not make you talkactive."

"In terms of talkactiveness, that actor is a conversational wizard."

Etymology:

The first use of the word may have been a typo. On watching a mime for the first time, an 18th century reporter wrote in his weekly column in the Wordy Wanderer that "the talkactiveness (or lack thereof) of the actors was offset by the oddly colourful display of emotion in white and black". When questioned later, the reporter maintained that he had not used the word in error.

This did not, however, stop him from being fired from the paper. His entertainment column was later turned into the weekly horoscope.

5. refusheep

2009-09-17T23:52:00.002+05:30

refusheep (n.) ('REF-yoo-sheep): Any overly cute animal that wanders into your home, institution, favourite coffee place or farm seeking shelter.

Refusheep are normally domesticated animals that have been forced to leave their previous dwelling-places due to natural disasters, cruel owners or the threat of being slaughtered for meat. Refusheep make for excellent pets, but even better sandwiches.

Usage:

A: "Aww... Look at the poor thing. How could anyone turn a refusheep like that out?"
B: "I think it might have something to do with the amount of food it consumes just so it can look cute."

"That's it. If another refusheep tries to sample my dinner before I do, I'm throwing the whole menagerie out."

"I may be wrong but I don't think your uncanny imitation of a refusheep will stop the guys at the other side of the border from shooting you on sight."

Etymology:

The word refusheep is derived from the Black Sheep that creeps into a player's farm from time to time in the Facebook game FarmVille. Other similar refusheep include the much adored Ugly Duckling and the Lonely Cow.

On encountering a refusheep in FarmVille, convention expects a player to inform all of his/her friends about the fact regardless of how interested they really are in a computer game that involves harvesting eggplants for a living.

4. masqueshade

2009-09-16T23:56:00.001+05:30

masqueshade ('MAS-kuh-shayd) (n): Any individual who falsely claims to be, or acts like, the Real Slim Shady.

The Real Slim Shady is a hip-hop song written by Eminem. It was the first of the rapper's songs to reach number one on the UK Singles chart. The song insults or contains other references to several celebrity singers and actors including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Will Smith.

A masqueshade is a person who insults people for popularity, because of an inferiority complex, or merely because he/she enjoys being disagreeable. The word may also refer to someone who harbours the illusion that impersonating a celebrity presents a cause for laughter that never goes old.

Usage:

"The old geezer curses everything that moves. He's a regular masqueshade, I tell you!"

"Jake is a moron and a masqueshade. The Inspector Closeau act and the French accent are hardly funny anymore."

A: "Who was that masqueshade at the party?"
B: "The one who rapped about the wedding cake having worms in it? He's a friend of mine. Was."

Etymology:

Little known among Ancient Rome's gladiatorial heroes were the masqueshades. Their skill in fighting lions was legendary. However, it also led to complacency. It was a masqueshade tradition to insult the watching ruler after every major victory.

For gladiators, it is remarkable how often masqueshades died of natural causes in their prison cells.

3. marvellogenic

2009-09-15T21:01:00.001+05:30

marvellogenic (mah-vuh-'LOJ-en-ik) (adj.): Originating in, appearing to belong to, or having as a source, a Marvel comic strip.

Marvel Comics, founded in 1939, has produced a well-known array of fictional characters ranging from the superhuman to the inhuman. Some of its creations have revolutionised the entertainment industry, as Marvel adaptations generally succeed in the theatre, in print or on a gaming console.

The word marvellogenic may describe any name, place, idea, phrase, usage, item of clothing or indeed, anything that first appeared in a comic published by Marvel, or grew out of one.

Usage:

"Halloween has been marked by increasingly marvellogenic outfits in recent years."

"You know, I'm betting that new morning-star tattoo Mike's sporting is marvellogenic - he just doesn't want to admit it."

"I named my dog the Incredible Sulk. He's green, mean, gloomy and marvellogenic. And you wouldn't like him when he's angry."

Etymology:

When Tommy Flannel, age 8, dipped his right arm into a tank of ravenous piranhas in the hope of developing razor sharp teeth that could bite through metal, his doctor had no choice but to list the cause of the accident as being marvellogenic on his medical certificate.

Little Tommy was later fitted with a prosthetic arm, which kept him happy for a while, until the novelty of being a 'cyborg' wore off.

2. platypine

2009-09-14T23:36:00.001+05:30

platypine ('PLAT-i-pahyn) (adj.): Of, pertaining to, or resembling a duck-billed platypus in any manner.

The duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus Anatinus) is a semi-aquatic marsupial native to the continent of Australia. It is distinguished by a bill similar to that of a duck, a tail like a beaver's and feet that bear a resemblance to those of an otter. The word platypine may be used to describe any or all of the above characteristics. It may also denote a bizarre mixture of qualities or elements from highly different sources.

Usage:

"He swims like a fish. And that butterfly stroke is positively platypine!"

"Of all the platypine chicks you could have fallen for, did you have to pick one that also lays eggs?"

"Wonder-woman's costume makes for a platypine combination of minimalism, fabric-efficiency, and garishness."

Etymology:

The first use of the word platypine can be traced back to a scented letter written by the young poet, Jonathan Wordstower, to his childhood sweetheart, Emily, in 1580. The verses in question have been reproduced below:

To conquer truly mine love for thee,
Hard-pressed would be mighty Constantine!
For thy silky strands, they flail so free,
Thine plastic pouters art platypine.

As destiny would have it, Wordstower never attained the literary fame that his contemporary, William Shakespeare did, and died of poverty in 1592.

1. clogroll

2009-09-13T15:58:00.002+05:30

clogroll ('KLOG-rohl) (n): A list of links to blogs that a blogger has neglected during an extended period of inactivity.

On returning from said period of inactivity, a blogger is expected to produce an apology and/or a valid reason for his/her absence from the blogosphere, and subsequently, to read and comment on every post that he/she has missed for this period. Rarely does a blogger actually meet this expectation. His/her standard responses include posting a generic comment on the latest post on each of the blogs on the clogroll, proceeding to make a new post as though he/she had not disappeared at all, or in extreme cases, creating an entirely new blog in the hope of directing attention away from the old one.

Usage:

"I have so many posts to read, my sidebar looks like a clogroll."

"OMFG! How the f*** did that get on my clogroll? Who are these people? How long was I inactive again?"

Etymology:

From the Spartan word klogruul.

When the judges of ancient Sparta returned to court after their annual three-month vacation (from March to May, corresponding to Spartan Idol, a fighting tournament of great renown), they normally found a stack of undecided cases to be heard. It was a common practice to resolve their dilemma by sentencing all the defendants to death without trial or even a rudimentary glance at the actual crimes committed. This was called 'klearen de klogruul' (clearing the clogroll).

Incidentally, Spartan records indicate that the number of citizens arrested for petty theft and jaywalking observed a 97% drop every year during the first week of March.