The Globe and Mail: Bunnyfascist meets the mistletoe molester

The Globe and Mail: Bunnyfascist meets the mistletoe molester

By Oliver Moore

Those worried about the state of the Queen's English have a new place to propose words, argue their meaning and discuss whether they should enter the official lexicon.

HarperCollins launched the "Living Dictionary" Thursday, an on-line forum where word-lovers and creative souls can spar over the definitions of words and phrases such as bunnyfascist, Ingerland, drink-and-dial and Mistletoe Molester.

"[This] revolutionizes the way words are collected and enter the dictionary -- throwing open the doors of language research and recording to embrace words from anybody and everybody," the editor of the project said in a statement.

"So start writing, start talking, start adding your words to the site and start shaping the future of English dictionaries."

The concept might not satisfy the purists but it should provide more solace than the current ritual of muttering and complaining at the annual announcement of the latest words to be added to the world's leading English-language dictionaries.

The process is at its heart democratic. The latest word to be added is langer, Irish slang for idiot, drunk or penis that was fast-tracked into the dictionary after a vigorous campaign by its Hibernian advocates.

"I have never seen such passion about a single word before," said Jeremy Butterfield, editor of Collins Dictionaries. "This is exactly what the word exchange was built for and we are awed by the positive response we have had from Irish word fans."

There are only a couple of hundred words on the site so far. There are no agreed-upon pronunciations and many of the words have only a single proposed definition. But some have sparked lively exchanges.

One person broached the opinion that mingetastic means "delightful in a sexual context." While no one has taken up cudgels over that word, the definition flies in the face of those on the site who argue that a ming is an "ugly or unattractive" person. The latter ties in nicely to the proposed definition for beer goggles as a "drink-induced state" that leaves the opposite sex more attractive.

The debate can go in several directions, as demonstrated by the person who pondered whether a man can be a ming and the one who suggested that beer goggles really does need a hyphen.

The process is unlikely to satisfy everyone. Although languages are organic and have evolved over the centuries to suit the needs of their speakers, the process is apparently painful for some.

Just this week there was a flurry of hand-wringing as the electronic edition of the Oxford dictionary announced that it would add the words hoochie and crack ho. Officials at the venerable dictionary were unapologetic.

"For most of the last century, African-American vernacular has been the driving force in American slang," explained Jesse Sheidlower, North American editor of the dictionary.

"We put in words that have currency. If the word is slang, it doesn't matter. If that word is being used, our responsibility is to put it in."