A dictionary not for 'screenagers'

The new edition the of Oxford dictionary includes terms from the Dot.com fever

LONDON -- The new edition of the Oxford Compact English dictionary is out and an obsession with fashion and beauty has provided many of the new candidates.

The "lookist" -- someone who discriminates on grounds of how a person looks -- evidently doesn't appreciate the "chuddies" (underpants), "carpenters" (multi-pocketed trousers with loops for tools), and "shrug" (close-fitting cardigan) which many fashion-concious young people are wearing.

Non-fashion-related gems included in the new edition reflect the growing Internet culture.

"Cybersquatting" (registering web names in the hope of selling them on), "dot-com" (company that conducts business on the Internet) "flexecutive" (worker whose hours and place of work are flexible due to the new technology) are all in.

"Screenager" (internet or computer-addicted teenager), "Frankenfood" (food with genetically modified ingredients) and "gaydar" (ability of one gay person to recognise another) are also new recruits.

'Blairism' loses out

In all there are 67 new words included with those from the catwalk providing 10. Among these are "superwaif" (for thin model), "notch-neck" (blouse), and "bindhi" (sticker jewellery).

The dictionary was last updated in 1996 by researchers who watch TV, scan newspapers, and magazines as well as monitor the Internet to find out which words are used the most.

Only words still in common use at the time of publication are included in the new editions.

One of the words which could be included in the next edition is "bumster" which is the description of the low-cut trousers invented by British fashion designer Alexander McQueen.

But there is one notable omission. "Blairism," for which publishers Oxford University Press provided no definition, did not make it in. OUP said the term would first have to prove it could "pass the test of time."

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