Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 17/09/2026WotD: stoptional, a portmanteau of "stop" + "optional". The idea that a driver doesn't have to stop at a stop sign or red light if they feel that traffic is light, etc. Never legal afaik. 020
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 10/09/2026WotD: handyma'am, a variant on "handyman" but describing that the work is done by a woman or non-binary person. www.myhandymaam.com/howtohandymaammyhandymaam.comHow to Handyma'am | Empower Your Home Skills – Get Started Today — My Handyma'amExplore home repair, DIY tips, and women empowerment resources at How to Handyma'am. Learn to care for your home confidently and embrace independence. 000
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 04/09/2026WotD: Canschluss, a portmanteau of "Canada" and "Anschluss" ("union"), the latter referencing the 1938 takeover of Austria by Germany. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...theguardian.comBeware Trump’s coercive campaign against Canada | LetterLetter: If the US’s closest ally and trading partner isn’t safe from Anschluss-style tactics, no country is, says Erik Schomann 011
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 23/08/2026WotD: motornormativity, "unconscious biases due to cultural assumptions about the role of private cars". aka car-brain(ed), windshield bias. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motonor...en.wikipedia.orgMotonormativity - Wikipedia 010
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 22/08/2026Presumably an early product from the Farms of Mr Taylor, Esq. 000
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 02/08/2026WotD: "free as in puppy" to describe vibe-coded software that doesn't account for ongoing maintenance. A play on "free as in beer" and "free as in speech", pillars of the free software movement. From Dare Obasanjo bsky.app/profile/carn... 041
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 29/07/2026WotD: layout shift, "where you go to click on a part of the UI and it changes a millisecond before you do so, causing you to misclick on something else" (Threads user). Someone suggested the term "defresh" ("like refresh, but the bad version"), heh. developers.google.com/publisher-ta...developers.google.comMinimize layout shift | Google Publisher Tag | Google for Developers 120
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 30/06/2026Something I don't get about SCOTUS's efforts to expand executive power is whether the conservative majority really is doing this out of ideological purity and they'd rule the same for a left-leaning administration. Surely they don't believe in a permanent conservative administration? 120
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 27/06/2026WotD: carspreading, the steady increase in the length, width, height, and weight of automobiles. Essentially, the popularity of SUVs is spreading to Europe. www.bbc.com/news/article...theguardian.com‘Carspreading’ could lead to extra 400 crash deaths a year by 2040, study findsAnalysis shows cars in Europe have grown longer, taller and wider every year since 2000 120
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 11/06/2026WotD: shoppertainment/shoppertaining, "the blending of e-commerce and entertainment to help engage customers and promote sales" — specifically "interactive content, hosting live events, [or] offering unique experiences that cannot be found elsewhere". www.giosg.com/blog/what-is...giosg.comWhat is Shoppertainment? (& How to Use it in eCommerce)Shoppertainment merges shopping and entertainment to engage website visitors. Learn what shoppertainment is and how to use it to increase your sales. 020
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 10/06/2026WotD: dilemma action/dilemma demonstration, a "non-violent civil disobedience designed to create a 'response dilemma' for public authorities by forcing them to either concede some public space to protesters or make themselves look absurd or heavy-handed by acting against the protest." (Wikipedia) 100
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 10/06/2026from @colingorrie.bsky.social: "Language change doesn’t announce itself as a revolution. Instead, it shows up as complaints that kids say things differently (and wrong), or that old people speak strangely and embarrassingly." www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/when-will-...deadlanguagesociety.comWhen will Modern English end?Or is it already over? 001
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 05/06/2026The term "chaise longue" seems to be completing its folk-etymological journey into English — at least, if Costco signage is any indication. 360
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 04/06/2026WotD: one[-]shotted. In gaming, "the action of being defeated by a single attack" (Urban Dictionary). More recently, "psychosis brought on by a single exposure to something. Used in the context of powerful psychadelics or delusional behavior brought on by excessive ChatGPT use." (UD again) (cont) 121
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 30/05/2026WotD: crafternoon, "An afternoon gathering dedicated to crafts or other hobby activities." en.wiktionary.org/wiki/crafter...en.wiktionary.orgcrafternoon - Wiktionary, the free dictionary 020
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 23/05/2026Beth's Cafe, Seattle. Particularly relevant for tech folks in Seattle, who for decades were told that "Our People Are Our Most Valuable Resource". 041
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 22/05/2026WotD: woozle effect, where a single dubious source becomes the source for many others, resulting in widespread (tho incorrect) belief. Inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh! Via Kottke kottke.org/26/05/004899...kottke.org“A woozle effect…occurs when frequent citation of previous p...“A woozle effect…occurs when frequent citation of previous publications that lack evidence misleads individuals, groups and the public into thinking or believin 031
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 18/05/2026WotD: shmoderate, Matthew Yglesias's label for candidates who have eclectic views that overlap with both sides, how about that, yet also don't want to be labeled as moderates, for reasons. www.slowboring.com/p/shmoderati...?slowboring.comShmoderation is the futureWho cares what you call an eclectic politician who appeals to the hodgepodge of views of heterodox voters? 100
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 14/05/2026WotD: hot-washing. Of Hollywood adaptations "when source material that’s complicated has its edges smoothed out by the casting of conventionally hot people who are made to look conventionally hot in a way that clashes with the source material" lithub.com/hollywood-ne...lithub.comHollywood Needs to Stop Hot-Washing Literary AdaptationsI finally caught the latest film adaptation of Wuthering Heights last week and even though I knew it had been divisive I was still disappointed in a way I hadn’t imagined. I was prepared for the fi… 061
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 13/05/2026WotD: ballmaxxing, "the pursuit of bigger and bigger balls [testicles] by fluid infusions". www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a7...menshealth.comThe Men Who Want to Supersize Their TesticlesHow far would you be willing to go for bigger balls? 100
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 12/05/2026WotD: under[-]babied, a condition in American families identified by Dr. Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, whereby "you either don’t have children or you have less children than you’d want to have". www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...independent.co.uk‘Americans are under-babied’: Dr Oz issues stark warning over US fertility ‘crisis’Former TV physician says women need to have more children for the good of the country 120
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 04/05/2026WotD: charm price/pricing, "a tactic in which products or services are priced just below a round number (usually ‘.99’ or ‘.95′). It leverages consumers’ psychological tendency to perceive such prices as significantly lower than they actually are". share.google/NZVVVEDMjR5N...share.googleCharm PricingCharm pricing is a tactic in which products or services are priced just below a round number (e.g., '.99') to make them seem more affordable. 021
Mike Pope @mikepope.com · 03/05/2026Slightly diminish a book: Prince Lear The Checkout Clerk of Venice All's Ok That Ends Ok I Guess Love's Labour Misplaced Some Ado About Something The Overcast 030