# Words you have had to look up since posting on SDMB **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 20, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404 "2008-09-20T05:05:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/1 "2008-09-20T05:05:25Z")
Just curious what words are entering your vocabulary from your participation here. Stuff you wouldn’t encounter in everyday life, maybe. For me… meme: _A meme (pronounced /miːm/)[1] consists of any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation._ > **[Meme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme)** > > A meme (/miːm/ MEEM) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices, that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena with a mimicked theme. Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to Proponen... grok: _To grok (pronounced /ˈgrɒk/) is to share the same reality or line of thinking with another physical or conceptual entity. In Heinlein’s view of quantum theory, grokking is the intermingling of intelligence that necessarily affects both the observer and the observed._ > **[Grok](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok)** > > Grok /ˈɡrɒk/ is a neologism coined by American writer Robert A. Heinlein for his 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land. While the Oxford English Dictionary summarizes the meaning of grok as "to understand intuitively or by empathy, to establish rapport with" and "to empathize or communicate sympathetically (with); also, to experience enjoyment", Heinlein's concept is far more nuanced, with critic Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr. observing that "the book's major theme can be seen as a Cr... ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/2 "2008-09-22T04:34:04Z")
Portmanteau. (It wasn’t in a thread per se, but in a link.) ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/3 "2008-09-22T05:05:07Z")
I bet I screw all of these up. Seignorage. The revenue a country nets after issuing money… it always seems to pop up in threads about coins, though by definition it could happen from currency as well. Suzerainty. When a smaller country (or whatever) has only limited autonomy and pays tribute to a larger, protective entity. I think. I’m sure someone with a better grasp of politics would dislike that explanation. Zugzwang. A situation when a player in a game must make a move, but any move he makes will make his position in the game worse. This seems to pop up a lot in out-of-context situations (when neither game theory or chess is being discussed), and seems to be used with the meaning “any move made will lead to that player’s loss.” ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/4 "2008-09-22T06:35:50Z")
Sorry, I neglected to define “portmanteau.” It’s a new word formed by combining two others, such as “smog” for “smoke plus fog” or “burqini” for "burqa plus bikini. ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/5 "2008-09-22T06:44:53Z")
If we count user names: **Shodan** - I had no idea it was a video game villain’s name. (System Shock) **Der Trihs** - I recently realized it was “Red Shirt” backwards and a reference to an online comic. I thought it was German. Valete, Vox Imperatoris (A completely made up user name.) ---
**Author:** ![hocow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hocow/32/4112_2.png) [@hocow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hocow)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/6 "2008-09-22T11:26:24Z")
**schadenfreude** – satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else’s misfortune ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/7 "2008-09-22T11:30:48Z")
**Consequentalist**. Since I am one, it’s been a good word to know. ---
**Author:** ![Dottygumdrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Dottygumdrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dottygumdrop)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/8 "2008-09-22T11:31:00Z")
**picayune** , meaning “trivial” or “of little value” (derived from an obsolete Spanish coin). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/9 "2008-09-22T11:31:10Z")
Zugzwang, for sure. > [@Vox\_Imperatoris](#): > > **Der Trihs** - I recently realized it was “Red Shirt” backwards and a reference to an online comic. I thought it was German. I think we’ve all done that. I thought it was Dutch. I once used the word “abstruse” in a post, then looked at it again and thought “I’ve never seen that word before. What the hell does it mean?” I looked it up and found I’d used it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/10 "2008-09-22T12:25:28Z")
**Ignominious** , meaning _marked by shame or disgrace; debasing; humiliating_. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/11 "2008-09-22T14:53:13Z")
pedantic - of or relating to a “pedant,” one who makes a show of knowledge ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/12 "2008-09-22T18:46:26Z")
Not a dictionary word, but I was introduced to the term “fapping,” or _fap fap fap_, here. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/13 "2008-09-22T18:54:23Z")
Filibuster. I remember looking that one up, but don’t remember what it means (and don’t care any more) ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/14 "2008-09-22T19:02:56Z")
Zugzwang thirded. The SDMB also educated me on felching. ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/15 "2008-09-22T19:25:44Z")
> [@hocow](#): > > **schadenfreude** – satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else’s misfortune I’ll second this and also add **hyperbole** , **strawman** (in context, of course), and **Godwin’s Law** ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-had-to-look-up-since-posting-on-sdmb/464404/16 "2008-09-22T21:16:49Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > Zugzwang thirded. The SDMB also educated me on felching. Proving that some words should not be looked up, at least not by the squeamish.