Expand your vocabulary with words coined in 2006

New words enter the English language every day. Some are slang. Some are useful. A few will even find their way into dictionaries after much consideration and debate. What follows are some of the words that made their way into dictionaries in 2006. Some of these words have been in use for years, though they were just added to a dictionary in the past year. Enjoy!

agritourism - the practice of touring agricultural areas to see farms and often to participate in farm activities
bahookie - a person's buttocks
big-box - of, relating to, or being a large chain store having a boxlike structure
biodiesel - a fuel that is similar to diesel fuel and is derived from usually vegetable sources (as soybean oil)
celebutante - a celebrity who is well known in fashionable society.
crunk - a type of hip-hop or rap music characterized by repeated shouted catchphrases and elements typical of electronic dance music, such as prominent bass.
hardscape - the man-made features used in landscape architecture, such as paths or walls, as contrasted with vegetation.
mouse potato - a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer
plank - a stupid person.
polyamory - the practice of having more than one open romantic relationship at a time
radge - a wild, crazy, or violent person.
sandwich generation - a generation of people who are caring for their aging parents while supporting their own children
supersize - to increase considerably the size, amount, or extent of
tri-band - a mobile phone or devide having three frequencies, enabling it to be used in different regions (typically Europe and the U.S.).
truthiness - a satirical term coined by comedian Stephen Colbert that refers to the quality by which a person claims to know something intuitively, instinctively or "from the gut" without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination or actual facts.
upskill - to teach (an employee) additional skills
zombie - a computer controlled by a hacker without the owner's knowledge, which is made to send large quantities of data to a website, making it inaccessible to other users.

So, mouse potatoes! Let's all get off our bahookies and start using these new words!

Lost in translation

Some of the biggest blunders in advertising have occurred when American advertisers push their campaigns to international markets without first ensuring that the message will translate correctly. It's not just small agencies making the mistakes, either. If you ever find yourself working on an international campaign, take the time to find out how your message translates in all applicable languages. You'll be glad you did when you read about the following blunders.

When Pepsi decide to take it's new "choice of a generation" campaign to Taiwan, they failed to realize that "Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation" means something far different in Chinese, where the slogan translates as "Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the grave."

Here are some more examples of advertising slogans that were famously lost in translation:

Campaign: Parker Pen
Message: "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you."
Spanish translation: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."

Campaign: Frank Perdue
Message: "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken."
Spanish translation: "It takes a hard man to make a chicken aroused."

Campaign: Coors
Message: "Turn it loose."
Spanish translation: "Suffer from diarrhea."

Campaign: Braniff
Message: "Fly in leather."
Spanish translation: "Fly naked."

Campaign: Kentucky Fried Chicken
Message: "Finger-lickin' good."
Chinese translation: "Eat your fingers off."