Fashion Frenzy and Fuzzy

Elizabeth Zechel

The writer Liesl Schillinger shares the process that produced “Wordbirds: An Irreverent Lexicon for the 21st Century,” her illustrated volume of newly coined expressions for describing contemporary life (“cancellelation,” “occuplaytion”), and lists 10 personal favorites.

Have you ever attempted to answer the TV remote instead of your cell phone? I call that blunder a “Droidian slip,” but you won’t find the expression in the dictionary — yet. You’ll find it in my book, “Wordbirds,” which holds 200 neologisms I’ve minted to describe the unnamed phenomena of our evolving millennium.

“Wordbirds” began as a Tumblr in March 2009, soon after I went to that year’s South by Southwest Interactive festival in Austin, Tex. There, meeting hundreds of social media adepts, I realized new media was here to stay (I’d been a skeptic, having grown up in old media, working at The New Yorker and then writing for The Times). I returned to Manhattan eager to start a blog.

Overhearing an episode of “The Family Guy” in which Peter Griffin obsessed over the song “The Bird Is the Word,” I rushed to my laptop and made my first post: “Cancellelation” (the joy you feel when you cancel something you’d never wanted to do in the first place). Compelled by the endlessly looping “bird is the word” lyric in the background, I attached a photo of an elated snowy owl. Wordbirds was born.

As the blog took flight, I enlisted the artist Elizabeth Zechel to draw whimsical avian illustrations. The 150 bird species she depicts make Wordbirds as fun to look at as to read. I crafted my words to be as catchy (and memorable) as the concepts they define, using Greek and Latin roots, rhymes and compound constructions. My hope is that these neologisms land lightly in your lexicon … and roost!

Here, 10 favorite terms, beginning with “mumblenym,” the illustration for which is not included in the book and appears here for the first time:

Elizabeth Zechel Red-vented bulbul

Mumblenym (n.) MUM-bul-nim  Word you don’t know how to pronounce, usually because you’ve seen it written but never heard it spoken, like “misled” or “awry.”

Marc cringed when Karen told their hosts that the cabaret was “lowsh.” He realized that “louche” was a mumblenym for her — she’d only seen it in writing, so she didn’t know it was pronounced “loosh.”

Elizabeth Zechel Snowy owl

Cancellelation (n.) KAN-sul-ee-LAY-shun The joy felt by someone who frees up his schedule by cancelling an appointment or reneging on a social plan.

Davina knew she ought to feel guilty for bailing on Mariel’s dinner at the last minute, but a delicious cancellelation surged through her as Clive brought out the Scrabble board.

Elizabeth Zechel Honey buzzard and peregrine falcon

Conservaschism (n.) kun-SUR-va-SKIZ-um The early-21st-century political divide in the U.S. Congress between moderate Republicans and far-right extremists who refuse compromise at any cost.

Because of the conservaschism, one Republican senator opposed immigration reforms he had once championed, and another filibustered his own bill in an effort to court hardliners in the party.

Elizabeth Zechel Green violetear hummingbird

Occuplaytion (n.) ock-yoo-PLAY-shun A non-demanding, non-threatening, fanciful “job” invented for heroines of Hollywood romantic comedies.

Mindy used to want to be a plant waterer like Drew Barrymore in “Music and Lyrics”; or a corporate gifter like Marilu Henner in “L.A. Story”; or a village chocolatier like Juliette Binoche in “Chocolat.” But when she was 18, she realized there were no real jobs like those occuplaytions in Little Rock, so she got a job at Avis.

Elizabeth Zechel Puffin

Overdoeuvre (v.) O-vur-DURV To eat so many appetizers that you lose your appetite for a meal.

Victor pigged out on sushi and cashews at the art opening, and only realized as he left that he’d overdoeuvred, and would be too full to enjoy his long-awaited dinner at Gramercy Tavern with Dulcie.

Elizabeth Zechel Ivory-billed woodpecker, or ”ghost bird”

Polterguy (n.) POL-tur-gi Ex-boyfriend who exerts a haunting, destructive influence on a person’s later relationships.

Augusta had just gotten engaged to Sam when her polterguy, Mitchell, called out of nowhere, and told her he was coming to town and had to see her.

Elizabeth Zechel Wood ducks (female and duckling)

Impedimentor (n.) im-PED-i-MEN-tor A successful, accomplished older person who chooses not to instruct or assist young people who look up to him or her, intentionally thwarting their progress.

Deborah eagerly joined the team of a high-powered attorney she admired, not knowing her boss was an impedimentor who resented young associates, took credit for their work, and blamed them for his own mistakes.

Elizabeth Zechel Snipe

Namedredge (v.) NAYM-dredzh At a social gathering, to desperately cue others to say aloud the name of a person in your midst whose name you have, to your shame, forgotten.

As Sage chatted with Katie, Violet, and a woman whose name escaped her, she spent 10 minutes namedredging in vain. None of her friends produced the mystery woman’s name.

Elizabeth Zechel Night heron and chicks

Lototomized (adj.) la-TOT-ah-myzd Describing the feelings of confusion suffered by adults distracted by yammering children who need them.

Dara and Phil were sure that, unlike their friends with kids, they wouldn’t be lototomized by the arrival of their twins. But almost as soon as the girls were born, they found themselves quitting the gym, seeing less of their friends, and feeling scatty and exhausted at all times. Before the year was out, they had traded their loft for a ranch house in the ‘burbs.

Elizabeth Zechel Sandpipers

Sharemonger (n.) SHAYR-mon-gur Person who rallies a group to join a house share at the beach, on a lake, or in the countryside, then must hound his friends to pay their part of the rent while wrangling with the property owner and juggling house members’ changing weekend requests.

“I want to spend three weeks on Fire Island this summer, but I don’t want to be the sharemonger — it’s too much work! Do you know anyone who’s got a place we can glom on to?”

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