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You may need a few minutes in your Infinity Pool on your mental health day, if you have one of those subprime mortgages giving you a headache. Or perhaps a wing nut co-worker has you taking shots of Soju after pretexting as you, during a webinar. How many of these WORDS are in your lexicon? Over 100 new words are being added to the dictionary, along with the year they were first used in an English language publication. 
Merriam-Webster Inc. has added more than 100 new
entries to its new edition of the Collegiate Dictionary.
-Air quotes (1989): gesture made by raising and flexing the
index and middle fingers of both hands, used to call attention to a
spoken word or expression.
-Dark energy (1998): hypothetical form of energy that produces a
force that opposes gravity and is thought to cause the accelerating
expansion of the universe.
-Dirty bomb (1956): bomb designed to release radioactive material.
-Dwarf planet (1993): celestial body that orbits the sun and has
a spherical shape, but is too small to disturb other objects from its orbit.
-Edamame (1951): immature green soybeans, usually in the pod.
-Fanboy (1919): boy who is an enthusiastic devotee, such as of
comics or movies.
-Infinity pool (1992): outdoor swimming pool with an edge over
which water flows into a trough, but seems to flow into the horizon.
-Jukebox musical (1993): musical that features popular songs
from the past.
-Kiteboarding (1996): the sport of riding on a small surfboard
propelled across water by a large kite, to which the rider is harnessed.
-Malware (1990): software designed to interfere with a
computer's normal functioning.
-Mental health day (1971): day that an employee takes off from
work to relieve stress or renew vitality.
-Mondegreen (1954): word or phrase that results from a
mishearing of something said or sung. From the mishearing in a
Scottish ballad of "laid him on the green" as "Lady Mondegreen."
-Netroots (2003): grassroots political activists who communicate
via the Internet, especially by blogs.
-Norovirus (2002): any of a genus of small round single-stranded
RNA viruses; specifically, Norwalk virus.
-Pescatarian (1993): vegetarian whose diet includes fish.
-Phytonutrient (1994): bioactive, plant-derived compound (as
resveratrol) associated with positive health effects.
-Pretexting (1992): presenting oneself as someone else to obtain
private information.
-Prosecco (1881): a dry Italian sparkling wine.
-Racino (1995): racetrack at which slot machines are available for gamblers.
-Soju (1978): a Korean vodka distilled from rice.
-Subprime (1995) 1: having or being an interest rate that is
higher than a prime rate and is extended especially to low-income
borrowers; 2: extending or obtaining a subprime loan.
-Supercross (1983): motorcycle race held in a stadium on a dirt
track having hairpin turns and high jumps.
-Texas Hold 'em (1995): Poker in which each player is dealt two
cards face down and all players share five cards dealt face-up.
-Webinar (1998): live, online educational presentation during
which participating viewers can submit questions and comments.
-Wing nut (circa 1900): Slang: one who advocates extreme
measures or changes; radical.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


