THE CURIOUS CASE OF LEXICOGRAPHERS

ARJUN R. SHANKAR New words, senses, and phrases are added to OxfordDictionaries. com on a regular basis. The recent addition of the word ‘ Aiyoh’ was the talk of the town. Let’s glance through some similar exciting words and their meanings.

1What will happen if you’re celebrating a loved one’s birthday at a famous restaurant and you want to bring a birthday cake from an outside bakery. Be warned — it’s possible that you could be confronted with a ‘ charge’ when you get the final bill. A fee will charged for the cake. What’s it?

2It is the practice whereby a man adopts a sitting position with his legs wide apart, in such a way as to encroach on an adjacent seat. It is a behaviour that is commonly spotted on public transport. The act is arguably a far more offensive crime that Madrid recently banned this. Identify the term.

3If you’re a wine lover, you must have heard this term. After all; it’s the perfect phrase to describe the ideal moment to pour yourself a glass of your favourite wine. The word was officially recognised in 2015 as ‘ an appropriate time of day for starting to drink wine.’ But the dictionary doesn’t specify a time. Identify.

4It is a method of collectively finding one to blame for a mistake no one is willing to confess to. This often occurs in the form of a meeting of colleagues at work, gathered to decide who is to blame for a misdeed. This word cutely mimics “brainstorming”. Identify.

5This refers to an employee’s use of work computers and other resources during work hours for non- work- related purposes, personal affairs and entertainment purposes like scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Identify.