In honour of Word Spy’s 20th birthday earlier this year, throughout 2016 I’m highlighting words that are celebrating their own 20th birthdays.
Here’s a list of words that were coined (or have an earliest citation) in December, 1996:
black fax
n. A black piece of paper faxed to a company as a prank or as retaliation for distributing junk faxes.
Earliest citation date: December 7, 1996
Bubbonics
n. The speech patterns of the United States south.
Earliest citation date: December 26, 1996
hyper-parenting
n. A child-rearing style in which parents are intensely involved in managing, scheduling, and enriching all aspects of their children’s lives.
Earliest citation date: December 24, 1996
invisible Web
n. The collection of searchable websites whose content exists within databases and so cannot be indexed by search engines.
Earliest citation date: December 12, 1996
mallternative
n. Alternative rock music that is bland enough to be piped into a mall, restaurant, or other public location.
Earliest citation date: December 3, 1996
neuromyth
n. A popular but false belief about the brain.
Earliest citation date: December 21, 1996
news fasting
n. The deliberate avoidance of all forms of news media, particularly to relieve stress and relax the mind.
Earliest citation date: December 6, 1996
peeping-Tom TV
n. Reality television shows, particularly shows that focus on the personal lives of ordinary people.
Earliest citation date: December 19, 1996
personal shoplifter
n. A thief hired by an individual to shoplift goods.
Earliest citation date: December 6, 1996
skulling
pp. Defacing a poster or billboard to make a head resemble a skull.
Earliest citation date: December 9, 1996
table writing
n. The creation of scripts, jokes, and stories by a committee of writers.
Earliest citation date: December 9, 1996
theocon
n. A conservative who believes that religion should play a major role in forming and implementing public policy.
Earliest citation date: December 12, 1996
toxic knowledge
n. Knowledge of a potential genetic predisposition for a particular disease, esp.
Earliest citation date: December 30, 1996
upskirt
n. A video, usually taken inside a crowded location such as a shopping mall, that is shot up a woman’s skirt.
Earliest citation date: December 6, 1996
webisode
n. An episode of a web-based show or movie.
Earliest citation date: December 23, 1996