W
(chat) with

WAG

• galacticos
• galactico
• wife and girlfriend
• WAGs
• wife
• girlfriend

Also: Wag
1. (Informal) The wife or girlfriend of a famous professional footballer.
2. The international vehicle registration for Gambia, the IATA airport code for Wanganui, New Zealand.
3. An abbreviation for Welsh Assembly Government.
4. (Internet-speak) An informal abbreviation for "wild-assed guess".
Examples: 1) After a shaky but victorious start to the World Cup, the players and manager were limiting their emotions to quiet satisfaction. But the WAGs (wives and girlfriends) didn't feel the need for such reserve. Perhaps they had convinced themselves the omens were right for their menfolk to become worldbeaters. (Daily Mail, 12th June 2006) 2) So, to what paradigm shall we fit the Wags, the footballers' wives and girlfriends, who are currently making a better job of holding the nation's interest & than are the lacklustre attempts by their menfolk to represent the country's interests in the World Cup? (The Guardian, 17th June 2006) History:
It's the 2006 World Cup, and football teams across the nations are competing frantically as they play that beautiful 'game of two halves'. However it's not just the 'two halves' that are being talked about, but also the 'other halves', which are the persistent focus of the media as the competition takes place. Press coverage of the event has in recent weeks been peppered with the term WAG, a reference to the wives and girlfriends of the world's galacticos (top players)<http://www.macmillandictionary.com/med-magazine/June2006/39-New-Word.htm>, who anxiously endure the matches in the hope that the next result won't put them on a plane back home. WAG is of course an acronym of "wife and girlfriend". This slightly unfortunate-sounding (and therefore instantly memorable) term has quickly caught on in media coverage of the activities of these females as they support, celebrate and commiserate with their high-profile partners during the competition. WAG is usually used with derogatory overtones, showing a lack of respect for these women as intelligent individuals with a life of their own. Epitomised by celebrity icon Victoria Beckham and caricatured in the UK in the ITV drama series "Footballer's Wives", WAGs are beautifully made-up women, typically wearing designer sunglasses and carrying Gucci handbags as they smile for the paparazzi. Their archetypal activities include shopping (preferably at leading designer boutiques), relaxing by hotel swimming pools, sipping champagne and partying the night away at post-match celebrations. WAG was initially used to describe the partners of the England football players, but is gradually filtering into journalistic coverage of other teams, especially in describing a mock competitiveness for the media spotlight. WAG as an acronym of "wife and girlfriend", seems to have made its debut in the media coverage of the 2006 World Cup, with no significant evidence of its use prior to recent weeks.


WAN2
(chat) want to

WAN2TLK
(chat) want to talk

WASP

• White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
• White
• Anglo-Saxon
• Protestant
• wasp
• yellow jacket
• yellow
• jacket
• Aculeata

1. The acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant; an American who is of northern European heritage and belongs to the Protestant Church (considered to be the privileged class in the United States).
Example:
Don's a WASP and I'm a WASP, but we have different beliefs.
History:
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, it denotes "a white, usually Protestant member of the American upper social class." Baltzell, a University of Pennsylvania sociologist, popularized the word. The Online Etymology Dictionary claims that he also coined it. But other sources state that it was coined in 1962 by Erdman Palmore.
2. wasp: social insect with membranous wings and a slender body that tapers to a point with a stinging organ at the end; any stinging member (formerly called Aculeata) of the insect suborder Apocrita (order Hymenoptera), other than bees and ants, as well as certain nonstinging insects of the suborder Symphyta: wood wasps, cedarwood wasps, and parasitic wood wasps; any one of numerous species of stinging hymenopterous insects, esp. any of the numerous species of the genus vespa, which includes the true, or social, wasps, some of which are called yellow jackets.
Example:
The social wasps make a complex series of combs, of a substance like stiff paper, often of large size, and protect them by a paperlike covering.



WBCC
(med.) white blood cells count

WOOFYS

• Well Off Older Folks
• Well Off Older Folk
• Well Off
• Older Folks
• Well
• Older
• folk
• Folks
• WOOFYs
• WOOFY

Short for "Well Off Older Folks".

WOW

• WAG
• WOWs
• WAGs
• Murraymania
• Murraymaniac

(Informal) The wife or girlfriend of a professional tennis player competing at the Wimbledon tennis championships. Examples:
1) Today, give a big, warm welcome to the WOWs. The Wives Of Wimbledon are taking centre stage as the famous tennis tournament enters its second week. (The Mirror, 4th July 2006) 2) The climax of the Wimbledon tennis championships is approaching, and as the men's final is played, there'll be two individuals sitting anxiously at the side of centre court, longing to hear the words 'game, set and match' followed by the surname of their beau. For them, it's not just a tennis match, but a love match which is at stake, as they belong to the WOWs, the female partners of the top players competing in the men's singles championship. History, homonyms, related words, more examples: "WOW" is an acronym of Wives of Wimbledon, a tongue-in-cheek expression taking inspiration from the rather more unfortunate-sounding term "WAG", coined recently to refer to the Wives and Girlfriends of famous professional footballers during media coverage of the 2006 World Cup. WOW might be a catchy homonym of a word expressing surprise or admiration (for example: "Wow, this guy can play!", "He wowed audiences with his performance", "The wow factor &"), but "WOW" also has far more positive connotations than "WAG". WOWs are similar to WAGs in that they are beautiful, fashion-conscious women, but rather than having a reputation for regularly partying the night away, they're portrayed as calm, sensible and supportive. Hot on the heels of WAG as an acronym of "wife and girlfriend", WOW as an acronym of "Wives of Wimbledon" has made its debut in the 2006 championships. It's a great example of how language propagates, especially in journalistic contexts, but time will tell whether one or both expressions turn out to be ephemeral. Fuelled by British player Andy Murray's unexpected win against American number 1 Andy Roddick, the terms Murraymania and Murraymaniac are rapidly gaining currency, and on the evidence of Henmania and Henmaniac before them (see: Murray Mound), coupled with Murray's youth and long-term potential, they could emerge as seasonal features of English, for example:
1) With Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski gone, Murraymania dominates for British fans after his first-round dismissal of Chile's Nicolás Massú on Tuesday. (The Guardian, 29th June 2006) 2) More than 42,000 "Murraymaniacs" supporting their hero on Wimbledon's "Henman Hill" sat in tears as he slumped to a straight sets defeat. (The Sun, 4th July 2006)


WRT
(chat) with respect to

WTTW
(chat) word to the wise

WWW

• World Wide Web
• web
• www
• @www
• World Wide
• Worldwide
• World
• Wide

1. Computer network consisting of a collection of internet sites that offer text and graphics and sound and animation resources through the hypertext transfer protocol; network of HTML documents which are linked together and located all over the world
Synonyms: World Wide Web, web, www, @www
2. (chat, Internet) Wait Wait Wait :-)
3. (chat, Internet) While We Wait :-)
4. (chat, Internet) World Wide Wait :-)
5. (chat, Internet) World Wide Waste :-)
6. (chat, Internet) With Warm Wishes
7. Whole Wide World

WYSIWYG
(chat) what you see is what you get

Washington read

• Washington
• read

The perusal of a book in a bookstore that consists of checking the index for references to oneself and reading only those parts of the book.
Examples:
1) MR. THOMPSON: Have you read this book? MR. ARMITAGE: I'm the only honest person in Washington. MR. THOMPSON: (Laughs.) MR. ARMITAGE: I gave it the Washington read. MR. THOMPSON: You looked in the index to see if your name was in it. MR. ARMITAGE: And then what was said about me. (James R. Thompson and Richard Armitage, "Panel IV of Day Two of the Eighth Public Hearing of the National Commission On Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States", Federal News Service, March 24, 2004)
2) [Primary Colors] should have been just an insiders' guessing game fit for a "Washington read" - check the blurb, go to the index to see if you're mentioned. What a stunning trick, to make a brilliant and reflective novel instead. (John Goulter, "Brilliant novel shadows the Clintons' rise", The Evening Post (Wellington, New Zealand), March 22, 1996)
3) There was the usual jesting about the "Washington read," which consists of a flip through the index in search of one's name. "I always thought what I'd do was list people in the index but not put them in the book," said former Carter press secretary turned political columnist Jody Powell. (Mary Battiata, "Reliving the Campaign; Newsweek Fetes 'Quest for the Presidency' ", The Washington Post, June 12, 1985)
History:
When Richard Ben Cramer published his 1992 book, "What It Takes: The Way to the White House", a blow-by-blow account of the 1988 U.S. presidential campaign, many people were surprised that, despite its 1,000-page bulk, it contained no index. In an interview with The New York Times, Mr. Cramer explained why: "For years I watched all these Washington jerks, all these Capitol Hill, executive-branch, agency wise guys and reporters go into, say, Trover bookstore, take a political book off the shelf, look up their names, glance at the page and put the book back. Washington reads by index, and I wanted those people to read the damn thing". Did it work? Not exactly, at least according to James D. Pinkerton, an advisor to the 1988 Bush-Quayle campaign. "The Times" reported that Mr. Pinkerton "had his secretary pre-read the book, combing it for any references to him."


Webby

• Webbys
• Webbies
• web
• Grammy
• Emmy
• Sonys
• Sonies
• Sony

1. (Noun) An international award given to people involved in web design and web-based media.
2. (Adjective) Resembling or consisting of a web.
Examples: 1) Guardian Unlimited has won the best online newspaper award for the second year running at the 10th International Webby Awards, widely regarded as the "Oscars" of the internet. (The Guardian, 9th May 2006) 2) The Webbies are dubbed the "Online Oscars" by both "Time Magazine" and the "New York Times". (Scoop.co.nz <http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0605/S00028.htm>, 10th May 2006) History, related words: On June 12th 2006, the 10th annual Webby Awards will be held in Manhattan. Presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences <http://www.iadas.net>, an organisation formed from a group of leading web experts aiming to promote the development of the Internet, the awards are presented to the world's 'best' websites. The Webby is a way of honouring excellence in web design, creativity, usability and functionality. It is generally regarded as a sort of online Oscar <http://www.oscar.com>" (a prestigious award in the film industry presented since 1929 by the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). The Webbys (plural form also sometimes occurring as Webbies) are handed out across 69 categories, including business, consumer, culture and politics. In each category, two awards are on offer: a Webby Award selected by a panel of judges, and a People's Voice Award selected by the votes of visitors to the Webby Awards site. Among 2006 year's winners was photo-sharing website Flickr <http://www.flickr.com>", which picks up the Webby for best navigation and structure. As well as website design, awards are given to the most outstanding examples of web-based media. In 2006, these included an award to National Geographic <http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0606/index.html> for best online magazine, Yahoo! Inc. <http://podcasts.yahoo.com> for best podcast site, and an artist of the year award for the virtual band Gorillaz <http://www.gorillaz.com>. American musician Prince <http://www.npgmusicclub.com> is also to be given a special achievement award for his revolutionary use of the Internet to distribute and promote his music. Prince was the first major artist to release an entire album exclusively on the web. The adjective form "webby" is based on the literal sense of the noun "web" as a network of fine threads made by a spider. The capitalised version "Webby" relates of course to the Internet sense of "web" (also often capitalised, dating from about 1994). The expression "Webby" was presumably inspired by the terms "Grammy", an award for recorded music presented annually by the US Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and "Emmy", a television industry award also presented annually by the US Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Over in the UK, the radio industry 'Oscars' are described as the Sonys, presented at the annual Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony. In May 2006, UK radio station Radio 1 won a Sony for the first time in the 24 year history of the awards.

Webzine

• zine
• Web zine
• Web

1. A zine hosted on the World Wide Web rather than in print.
2. Some people also use the term to refer to any magazine published on the Web.
Example:
Early Webzines included Chaos Control, Hotwired, and The Virtual Journal.
Etymology:
"Web" = "zine" (abr. of "magazine").


West Brit

• West Briton
• West
• Brit
• Briton
• Anglophile

A term entrenched in the centuries of Irish attitudes to Britain. In the Republic of Ireland today, it's definitely derogatory. In its least insulting sense it refers to an Irish person who has sympathies for the UK or who takes his cultural and social cues from Britain. If you were being polite, you might instead call such a person an Anglophile. The term is applied in particular to Protestant Dubliners who have liberal attitudes to moral issues. It's an abbreviation of "West Briton". In that spelling, it has been around since the early nineteenth century. It was borrowed from the equivalent term applied by the English to a Scot, a "North Briton" (the country being "North Britain"), terms that are thankfully obsolete, since Scots so often heard a patronising tone in them. (At one time, "West Briton" could also be used for a Welsh person, though this is long since defunct.)
Example:
"Perhaps he ought not to have answered her like that. But she had no right to call him a West Briton before people, even in joke." (James Joyce, Dubliners, 1914)
Etymology:
The term "West Briton" evolved in meaning in the period of the partition struggles of the early 20th cent. that led to the creation of the Irish Republic. A West Briton then was a person who favoured the retention of a close association with Great Britain and was against the establishment of the Republic. "West Briton" remains a favourite insult of members of the Republican movement, who sometimes use it for somebody who is seen as retaining a subservient attitude to the UK.


What will be

• will be
• What will be - will be
• What will be
• what
• will be
• be

This saying means that some things are beyond our control.
Example:
"I'm so worried about the game tomorrow. We have to win!" Cleo said.
"Well, both baseball teams are good," Gordon said, "so it'll be a close game. But it doesn't pay to worry. What will be, will be."

When in Rome

• do as the Romans do
• When in Rome do as the Romans do
• When
• Rome
• the Romans
• Romans
• Roman
• do

This saying means that when you are in an familiar situation or place, it's a good idea to follow the customs of the people around you. This can apply to visiting foreign countries, or simply to being in a situation where everyone but you seems to know how to act.
Example:
Martha, an exchange student from Brazil, looked worried. "Oh, please," she said to her friend Beth, "what do I do? I've never been to a pep rally before, and I don't know how to act."
"Don't worry. Just do what everyone else is doing, cheering. We have an expression here, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do,' and that about covers it," said Beth.

When it rains it pours

• When it rains
• it pours
• When
• it rains
• it pours
• rains
• pours
• rain
• pour

When people say this, they mean that something that starts out as a little bit of bad luck can turn into a disaster.
Example:
Keith limped into the kitchen and plopped down on a chair. "What happened, Keith?" his brother asked. Keith grimaced. "What a rotten day. First I missed the bus and had to walk to school. When I got there, I got in trouble for being late. Then I messed up on my math test. I found out that I left my lunch at home this morning, I turned my ankle in gym class, and now I think I'm getting a cold. When it rains it pours."

When the cat's away

• the mice will play
• When the cat is away
• the mice will play
• When
• cat
• away
• be awat
• mice
• mouse
• play

Without supervision, people misbehave.

Winterval
A period of festivities which take place in the middle of winter, including Christmas and other religious or secular festivals.
Example:
& Time for Australia to fall in line with places such as the UK, where councils have renamed Christmas "Winterval" and replaced references to Christmas on signage with the words "Festive" and "Winter". (Queensland Sunday Mail, 4th December 2005) History, more examples:
This festive season, you'll no doubt be sending Winterval cards, decorating your Winterval tree and tucking into Winterval pudding and Winterval cake. If all this sounds a bit odd, consider that the word Christmas is rather biased towards one particular faith. In an effort to embrace all religions, not just Christianity, during the festive season, the term Winterval has been suggested as a politically-correct alternative which potentially encompasses Jewish Hanukkah, Afro-Caribbean Kwanzaa, Hindu Diwali and pagan festivals such as Yule or the Winter Solstice. The word Christmas is derived from Old English "Cristes mass", meaning literally, 'mass of Christ'. Conventional dictionary definitions of Christmas define it as 'an annual Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on 25th December'. However, we all know that, in reality, the word Christmas represents a period from early December to New Year's Eve, during which people party, eat special food, give presents and, just maybe, set foot in a Christian place of worship. With less than ten per cent of the British population going to church, an established multi-cultural society, and secular rather than religious traditions dominating the festive period, some would argue that there is a convincing case for British English to drop Christmas and adopt Winterval. Winterval is a blend of the words Winter and festival, which first hit the headlines in 1998 when it was used by Birmingham City Council in the UK. In an effort to create a more multi-cultural atmosphere in keeping with the city's mix of ethnic groups, the council introduced the term to describe a three-month period of multi-faith and secular events running from October to January. Not surprisingly, the term was the subject of some controversy, prompting a reaction from the then Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Rev Mark Santer (similarity to the name of the man in the red hat purely coincidental!). In response, the council stated that they wanted people to celebrate Christmas, claiming that "Christmas is the very heart of Winterval." Given that fierce arguments still persist between those who want to 'include all' and those who want to preserve the Christian roots of the festive season, formal recognition of the word Winterval in published dictionaries still seems some way off.


Wknd
(chat) weekend

World Famous in New Zealand

• World Famous
• New Zealand
• World
• Famous
• Zealand

The phrase has long been the humorous slogan advertising a drink called "Lemon & Paeroa" - "L&P" for short, and has been taken up by many other NZ firms in affectionate and patriotic tribute.
Example:
"World Famous in New Zealand: How New Zealand Firms became World-Class Competitors" by C. Campbell-Hunt, J. Brocklesby, S. Chetty, L. Corbett, S. Davenport, D.Jones and P. Walsh is the story of how 10 of New Zealand's finest companies became world-class competitors.