The Baby Boomer Renaissance: Going Like Sixty

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Going Like Sixty

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 10:05 PM PST

AARP Bulletin has 50 “new” words… Grandma Henke says

You would expect to find words like viral, unfriend, and tweet but here are my five favorites from their list:

automagically, which means something that automatically happens but in a way that might seem magical.
bargainous, which means something cost less than you expected it to cost
catastrophize, means that something has been presented in a way that makes it sound worse than it was
frenemy, is a friend who you have a lot of conflict with
staycation, which means just what it sounds like … a stay at home vacation

I used automagically in a forum comment the other day and the moderator contacted me because she thought we might have known the same guy who she claim “invented” the word. Maybe so, maybe not. At any rate, we didn’t have a common frenemy.

Bargainous is a new one to me and will probably work it’s way into my conversation. Everything costs more than I think it should, so I won’t be using bargainous a lot.

Catastrophize looks and sounds too much like castrate and is too difficult to pronounce. I’ll skip it. Same with staycation, that’s too “cute” for me.

Grandma Henke came up with a couple she wants to add to the list and invited others to add to it…

retiremobile, a motor home owned by a senior citizen
travapal, a friend you make while traveling

Here are my additions:

boatabus, an amphibious bus, not to be confused with Batobus. Unlike the Nautilimo which sounds like it’s a place for stippers to hang out.

compupliance, a computer that is more like an appliance; a tablet or an ereader
forumaniac, people who live to respond to forum threads
hypercation, one of those travel excursions that is 14 countries in 10 days. Do they even offer these trips anymore? (the opposite of “staycation.”
langbanger, somebody like me who is trying to learn a new language via CD and no immersion and thinks they will be able to communicate with native speakers. alt: those who make a living copywriting.
experiboozing, experimenting by mixing a variety of soft drinks with a variety of boozes; eg: Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash, Diet Coke, Lipton Diet Green Tea, Rum and Creme de Cocoa.
Eljerplosion, an activity that takes place on the toilet after an experiboozing.

How about it? Have any new words to add to the list?