Webster's New Words: Frenemy, Staycation

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 9, 2009 1:48 PM CDT
Webster's New Words: Frenemy, Staycation
Archive copies of the Collegiate Dictionary rest on a bookshelf at the headquarters of Merriam-Webster.   (AP Photo)

Merriam-Webster will make 100 additions to its Collegiate dictionary this year, and many may sound familiar, the AP reports. “These are not new words in the language, by any means,” said the publisher. An expert elaborates: They've “been around for a while but for some reason they grabbed the attention of editors this time.” A sampling:

  • Frenemy: Your classic enemy who acts like a friend.

  • Staycation: Saving money on vacation by just not going anywhere.
  • Waterboarding: Enhanced interrogation (or torture) technique that mimics drowning.
  • Locavore: A person who eats only locally grown food.
  • Sock puppet: A false identity used for online fraud.
  • Flash mob: A group of people gathered through online social networking.
  • Green-collar: Describes the growing environmental-protection industry.
(More Merriam-Webster stories.)

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