Forgive me, fellow learners. My brain has been mush lately, and I somehow missed the latest wordy nerdy news last month.
Better late than never!
In February, along with a bunch of other texty, techy words, Oxford English Dictionary added the word ‘dumbphone’ to its online edition.
dumbphone noun a basic mobile phone that lacks the advanced functionality characteristic of a smartphone: there are still six dumbphones out there for every smartphone
Origin: 1990s: from dumb and phone (as opposed to smartphone)
Other words to be added to the dictionary include ‘thx,’ ‘tweetable,’ ‘touchles’ and ‘cruft’ (which apparently means badly designed or unwanted software).
And a few words from other categories, like ‘appletini,’ ‘friend zone,’ and ‘hump day.’
 |
| Source |
But back to ‘dumphone.’ I’ll admit to having never heard or used this word before, but I’ll also admit to having owned one of these very contraptions until last year, when I finally scored a hand-me-down iPhone3.
So perhaps people were simply trying to spare my feelings by not mentioning the dumbphone (affectionately known as ‘the brick’) whenever I took it out of my bag.
What about you? Have you heard, or do you use, the word ‘dumbphone’? What techy words would you like to see added to the dictionary?
Not yet, but I’m sure I will. Actually today the word probably makes sence, saves one extra question.
I’m sticking with ‘brick’. Quicker to say, and everyone seemed to know exactly what I meant!