Web Exclusives

Cultural Dictionary: Not your average reference

Did you know...

• if you are always looking to get the most bang for your buck, you're not just a bargain hunter, but you're an econnoisseur?
• if your Apple-manufactured music player or phone is stolen, it's not just any felony...it's an iCrime?

We're not just making those phrases up, they come straight from the 150 entries of the 2009 Cramer-Krasselt Cultural Dictionary. The entries were all found online in blogs and discussion forums, and compiled by members of the Cramer-Krasselt advertising firm. This is the second edition of the dictionary released by the firm, which has been located in downtown Chicago since the mid-1980s.

The word cloud below shows some of the most frequently used words in the Cramer-Krasselt dictionary's entries and definitions. The bigger the word, the more often it was used in the document. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Created withWordle.

Some of our favorite entries:

• Shypod (adj.) Being hesitant to share the contents of one's iPod due to fear of mockery for one's musical taste.
• Netroots (n.) Grassroots movement that is based on the Internet.
• Baby goggles (n.) Ugly babies who are only seen as adorable by their parents.
• Whole grazer (n.) One who goes to Whole Foods in order to try every free sample, but can't actually afford to shop there.
• Cybercitizen (n.) Initially coined in the late 1990s to describe people actively involved in online communities, it now describes Obama campaigners and contributors.

The history of the cultural dictionary

The Cramer-Krasselt firm, who lists Corona Beer among its clients, doesn't produce the only cultural dictionary hosted on the Internet. One of the first ones was created in 1999, at urbandictionary.com. The site features slang words and phrases, many having to do with the internet and online networks. Anyone who uses the site may add an entry to it, and according to the site, 4,058,177 entries have been added in the decade of the site's existence.

DISCLAIMER: Some of the language linked here would not be used on television.

• Urbandictionary.com