Oxford English Dictionary Additions
While this word for a popular sci-fi weapon hit the mainstream in a major film franchise back in 1977, it wasn’t added to the OED until 2019.
Lightsaber
This boys’ hairstyle was usually done by your mom in the kitchen.
Bowlcut
Universal blood donors have this type of blood.
O
A vasectomy, or male sterilization, is the process of cutting or blocking what reproductive organ?
Vas deferens
Daedalus constructed this for King Minos in order to keep the Minotaur there.
Daily Double! Marijuana products have become more and more accessible with its legalization in a growing number of states, including this ingredient popular in baking.
Cannabutter
This denim company was famous for its criminally large pants.
President Truman’s middle name isn’t an initial, but this single letter.
S
Which bone is most commonly broken?
Clavicle
This trickster was known for giving fire to man, and as punishment, had his liver eaten out every day by an eagle.
Prometheus
Social media has popularized this word, meaning to explain something needlessly, overbearingly, or condescendingly, typically when addressing a woman.
Mansplain
Rappers Tupac and Biggie, though starting out as friends, became the center of this debate in the rap community.
East Coast/West Coast rivalry
This type of joint is commonly found at either end of the driveshaft in rear-wheel drive vehicles.
U
The aorta is the largest artery in the body. What is the largest vein called?
Inferior vena cava
After Eurydice dies from a snakebite, her husband ventures to the underworld to bring her back, only to lose her once again right at the exit. What is his name?
Orpheus
Bitcoin is an example of this word for a secure financial asset designed to work as a medium of exchange.
Cryptocurrency
You were likely to download a virus onto your parents’ computer with this music sharing software, released in 1999 and quickly shut down in 2001.
Napster
This type of nuclear bomb gets its name from the use of one element with the same atomic symbol.
H
Daily Double! This part of the brainstem is found at the base of the skull, or you might hear it in a Kanye West verse.
Medulla oblongata
On his way to the Trojan War, Agamemnon accidentally kills one of this goddess’s sacred deer, and must kill his own daughter as a sacrifice.
Artemis
This cultural phenomenon is a popular hashtag on Instagram, highlighting when the sun sets in alignment with east-west streets in NYC.
Manhattanhenge
This electronic Japanese toy hit the US in 1997 and needed to be looked after and responded to as if it were a pet.
Tamagotchi
Agents of the US Government, especially those in the FBI, are often called this type of man.
G
This organ, which is a lining that attaches the intestines to the wall of the abdomen, was not classified as an organ until 2017.
Mesentery
Who is the god of wine, drunkenness, and parties?
Dionysus