Official Dictionary of Unofficial English-Grant-Barrett-0071458042

JND

(Dec. 12) “On the Edge of Oblivion: The Forecast for the Nation’s Poor Black Children,” p. B36 ! “Bojack” started robbing parking meters as a 10-year-old; by age 16, he was “a bona-fide ‘jitterbug’—the first lieutenant and known warlord of a very large gang.” 1999 Simon Reynolds Generation Ecstasy (July), p. 107 ! The clubs started putting the phrase “no jits” on the flyers—“jit” being short for “jitterbug,” Detroit slang for gangsta. 2000 Usenet: triangle.general (May 4) “Re: Unspoken Media Truths...” ! I’m sure every woman brutalized by some

jitterbug incited by gangsta rap is happy to learn that the issue there is fantasy. 2001 Marian Elaine And I Cry (Aug.), p. 70 ! I see you one of

those hard ass jitterbugs, huh? 2002 Paula L. Woods Stormy Weather (July 30), p. 118 ! A third group nearby argued that the NAACP’s more recent threats of boycott probably wouldn’t increase the number of minority production executives or result in even one black person who could greenlight a film. “Man, it’s gonna be the same thugs, slugs, and jitterbugs as usual.” 2004 Susan Spencer-Wendel Palm Beach Post (Fla.) (May 30) “Judge Lupo’s Legacy More Than Just One High-Profile Trial” (Int.) ! “Idiot! You’re an idiot!” she started in, grilling him about why he started crack at age 47, about flushing his life down the toilet, about how now, at his age, he would join the idle, young black males in jail. “Jitterbugs,” Lupo called them, using street lingo.

JND n. in psychophysics, the minimum difference between two inputs that is detectable by a human. Jargon. Science. [just noticeable difference]

1956 R. Duncan Luce Econometrica (Apr.) “Semiorders and a Theory of Utility Discrimination,” vol. 24, no. 2, p. 181 (Int.) ! The two j.n.d. functions of the induced semiorder are two of the given functions.

1986 Usenet: sci.med (Nov. 12) “Re: Tone Deafness?” ! With this method, the “just-noticeable-difference,” (jnd) can be calculated.

2004 Mike McClintock Washington Post (July 8) “Home Sense” (Int.)

! Many people can detect a change of only one dB, which in engineering parlance goes by an interestingly nonjargon, nontechnical term called the JND, or Just Noticeable Difference.

jointer y n. command shared between two or more branches of military; (hence) military command shared between two or more nations. Jargon. Military. United Kingdom.

[1989 Chris Moncrieff (Press Association) (U.K.) (Sept. 8) “Owen ‘Clanger’ Cost Us Votes, Says Steel” ! All through the previous parliament David had dragged his feet on joint selection of candidates, joint parliamentary meetings, joint everything and even now when “jointery” had proved wanting here, he was putting up more obstacles to unity.] 1994 Bruce Clark, Roland Rudd Financial Times (U.K.) (July 15)

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“ ‘Tri-Service’ Plan Triumphs over Tough Vested Interests,” p. 10

! Under the new principle—referred by the ugly new word “jointery”—there is to be a tri-service hospital and a tri-service staff college. Joint arrangements will be promoted in areas such as flying instruction, music lessons and veterinary care. 1994 Donald Anderson Commons Hansard (U.K.) (Oct. 18) “House of Commons Hansard Debates,” vol. 248, p. 168 (Int.) ! Peacekeeping will have major procurement implications: there will be an emphasis on flexibility and amphibiosity and the marines will have a new significance. There are implications for heavy transport and training and for “jointery,” one of the themes of the defence costs study, and there will be renewed emphasis on the interoperability of equipment. 1998 Douglas Barrie

Flight International (U.K.) (July 15) “Rhetoric or Reality?” ! The Government, however, now has to turn the rhetoric of the SDR into real- ity—in particular, what Johns describes as the key theme of “jointery,” of tri-service commands—known as Purple commands in the U.K. 2004 SpaceWar (Oct. 22) “US Command of British Troops in Iraq ‘Business as Usual’ ” (in London, Eng.) (Int.) ! Multinational com- mand—known in military parlance as “jointery”—was a vital component of modern warfare.

Jorge Arbusto n. George H. W. Bush or George W. Bush. Brazil. Mexico. Politics. Portuguese. Spain. Spanish. [Jorge ‘George’ + arbusto ‘bush’] Often jocular or mocking.

1992 Usenet: soc.culture.mexican (Aug. 12) “Re: NAFTA” ! Escuche hoy en la man~ana que el sen~or Jorge Arbusto firmo esta man~ana el tratado en la casa blanca. 1997 Usenet: soc.culture.spain (June 12) “Re: Si el toreo es arte, el canibalismo es gastronomia” ! Los nombres de ciudades, paises, etc se pueden traducir. Los nombres de personas no se traducen. A caso dices Jorge Arbusto en lugar de George Bush? Si haces ese tipo de traducciones, ya no se clasificaria como horterismo sino como pura ignorancia. 2003 Richard Adams Guardian

(U.K.) (Jan. 29) “American Presidents All Mixed Up” ! Of course it also means Brazil ends up with George Bush. But then Jorge Arbusto, as he would be known, might quite enjoy life up the rugged Amazon.

2003 [Enrique] @ London, U.K. Enfermero español en Londres

(Aug. 31) (Int.) ! En fin, que sigan las vacaciones, y que como mi amiguete Jorge Arbusto dice, que el CO2 no tiene nada que ver con estos calores, que es que cada poquito estamos algo mas cerca del Sol, y que total, tanto quejarse de frio en Diciembre, y ahora que no nos hace falta el paraguas, pues eso, que somos unos desagradecidos.

2004 [Single White Male] Single White Male (June 3) “Jorge Arbusto” (Int.) ! A Mãe Natureza dá uma mãozinha e ajuda a ridicularizar (ainda mais) o presidente Jorge Arbusto. Thank you Mother Nature.

2004 César Fernando Zapata La Crónica (Mexico D.F.) (July 10) “Sorry,

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yo no spekeo español, ni english. Spanglish, for plis” (Int.) ! Aunque George Bush—Jorge Arbusto, como también se autonombra—sea el primer presidente americano que promueve abierta, aunque involutariamente, la causa del spanglish. Como todo texano.

journalists’ colony n. government-subsidized housing or land intended for citizens employed in the media. India. Media. Pakistan. Such developments are often seen as attempts to soften media criticism of the government or ruling parties.

1988 K.K. Sharma @ New Delhi Financial Times (U.K.) (Aug. 23) “Housing Shortage That Can Destroy Friendships,” p. 3 ! Mr. Saeed Naqvi is a prominent editor in New Delhi whose wife insisted 12 years ago that he build a low-cost house on a cheap 500 sq m plot he had acquired under a scheme for a journalists’ colony. 1998 G.S. Bhargava Times of India (Feb. 4) “Seeing Red” ! Over 20 years ago when Gulmohar Park came up as a journalists’ “colony,” it had neither Gulmohars nor any VIPs. It was as barren as most areas in Delhi, though some founding fathers of the “colony” wanted it to be named “Bottle Nagar” after the journalists’ deference to the Bacchus. 2003

Edgar Martins Gaonet Email List (Aug. 18) “Re: Fred’s Delayed Response” (Int.) ! The Indian Government like most Governments specially the US, is very sensitive to Journalists exposing in the media their corrupt practices. As per the Australian Broadcasting Corp., they have created Journalist Colonies all over India to cater to the comforts of those who could stir up public sentiments. 2005 Business Recorder

(Karachi, Pakistan) (Jan. 16) “Five Foreign Investors Teams Due on January 18” ! The minister further said that Chief Minister Punjab had sanctioned a journalists’ colony for each district to provide shelter to homeless journalists. 2005 Phillip Knightley @ London, England Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (Aug. 12) “Restoring Citizens’ Respect for Journalism: We Are Not Without Power” (Int.) ! There are other ways of managing the media without using the “risk to national security” approach. The government of India adopts a carrot and stick tactic. The carrot can include subsidised housing in so-called “journalists’ colonies.”

jubu n. a Jewish person who maintains Buddhist beliefs or practices. Religion. This term was popularized by Rodger Kamenetz through his 1994 book A Jew in the Lotus: A Poet’s Rediscovery of Jewish Identity.

1994 Verlyn Klinkenborg N.Y. Times Book Review (July 24) “Going to See the Lama,” p. 10 ! In autumn 1990, a Jewish Buddhist, a poet and eight distinguished Jews traveled to Dharamsala, India, for a fourday exchange of views...with the Dalai Lama.... The Jewish Buddhist

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(or JUBU, as some say) was Marc Lieberman, a San Francisco ophthalmologist. 1995 Noachman Spiegel Jerusalem Post (Feb. 10) “A Dharma Zionist?” p. 19 ! Kamenetz wanted to learn what it was about Buddhism that lured many Jews to embrace the tenets of the Buddha and become “JUBUs.” 1999 Luisa Yanez Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) (Apr. 15) “Ties That Bind: The Shared Pain of Persecution Led Many South Florida Jews and Cuban Exiles to Tibetan Buddhism and the Dalai Lama” ! “It’s sort of a Jewish phenomenon that so many of us turned to Buddhism,” Katz said. “There’s even a name for Jews who switch. It’s ‘JUBU.’ ” 2005 Don Lattin San Francisco Chronicle

(Jan. 23) “Bridging Eastern and Western Buddhism” (Int.) ! They prefer “Christian with a Buddhist practice,” or “Ju-Bu,” a term coined to describe American Jews who embrace Buddhist meditation.

Judas window n. an aperture or glass pane that permits safe or surreptitious observation through a door or wall. This is a variation on Judas hole, Judas trap, or just Judas.

1874 N.Y. Times (Aug. 23) “Through a Judas Window,” p. 2 ! In addition to a door of communication, there was a contrivance for the effectual protection of privacy, consisting of a sheet of glass in a hinged frame let into the wall.... By means of this honestly-avowed peephole, he could at all times command a view off the outer office....

I could see through the Judas window in the wall, which I have described, but without moving from their respective places they could not see me. 1949 Virginia Teale Sedalia Democrat (Mo.) (Nov. 1) “The Cameo,” p. 2 ! A small Judas window in the top section of the door was opened cautiously. 1954 Nevada State Journal (Reno) (July 2) “Estate Repayment Ordered by Court” (in San Francisco) ! This was about three months after Belote, admittedly her lover, was convicted of killing Allen B. Friedman by shooting him through the Judas window of the front door of his home. 1985 Stanton Delaplane San Francisco Chronicle (Jan. 24) “Chicken Soup in the Medical Bag,” p. 55

! I went over to the school and peeked at him through the classroom judas window. He wasn’t over-active. 2005 Hugh Reilly Scotsman

(Scotland) (Mar. 9) “Yes, Head Boys Must Have the Latest Toys” (Int.)

! Classroom surveillance is nothing new. Most classroom doors have a glass section—a Judas window in chalkie parlance—allowing management to surreptitiously spy on Sir’s lesson.

jugaad n. an improvised or jury-rigged solution; inventiveness, ingenuity, cleverness. Hindi. India. [< Hindi.]

1995 Barun S. Mitra Asian Wall Street Journal (Jan. 26) “India’s ‘Informal’ Car,” p. 10 ! If one drives out of Delhi in any direction one is likely to encounter these hybrid vehicles within an hour. Known as

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“Jugaads,” which means roughly to provide or arrange, they have become a mainstay of rural transportation. 2002 Straits Times (Singapore) (Sept. 29) “What’s Culture Got to Do with IT?” ! New Delhibased IT entrepreneur Karan Vir Singh, managing director of Voxtron Dezign Lab, called it the “jugaad” factor—the improvised quick fix. “It’s like putting two spoons of turmeric powder into your radiator if you spring a small leak,” he said. “It works, it will seal the leak. In Punjab, I have seen villagers buying an agricultural water pump at government subsidised rates, cannibalising some other parts from here and there, and turning it into a vehicle.” 2004 Sudip Talukdar

Times of India (Jan. 1) “Makeshift Miracles: The Indian Genius for Jugaad” (Int.) ! The operative world of jugaad, implying alternatives, substitutes, improvisations and make-dos, is spurred by a native inventiveness steeped in a culture of scarcity and survival. 2004 John W. Fox Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, N.Y.) (July 16) “Chopra Master of the Improbable” (Int.) ! Daniel Chopra, who learned his golf in India, “seems to have plenty of the typical Indian quality of jugaad.”...A reporter who had peeked translated it as “finding alternative ways of doing improbable things...creative improvisation.” 2005

Vaibhav Varma Channel NewsAsia (Singapore) (Mar. 20) “Ingenious ‘Jugaad’ Vehicles Are an Integral Part of Rural Indian Economy” (Int.)

! In India, one vehicle is called the “jugaad” which literally translates as a “put-together contraption that moves.”

juice bar n. a methadone clinic, especially one that is seen to encourage addiction rather than cure it. Drugs. Slang.

1997 (AP) (Jan. 22) “Three Methadone Clinics to Close” (in Portland, Ore.) ! Toni Phipps, interim director of the state’s Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs, said clinic operators “were basically running a juice bar,” doling out methadone while providing little or no treatment. 2001 Mark Shanahan Portland Press Herald (Apr. 28) “Portland Getting Clinic for Addicts,” p. 1A ! The methadone-only approach, sometimes called a “juice bar,” would not be awarded the state’s $100,000 contract, she said. 2002 Bill Radford Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) (Aug. 31) “Critics Fear Decline in Service if County Halts Methadone Care” ! Steve Gilbertson, deputy director of substance-abuse programs for Connect Care, said he has ruled out some clinics that simply would have been “a juice bar” handing out methadone and sending people on their way. 2005 Chen Chekki

Chronicle-Journal (Thunder Bay, Ontario, Can.) (Feb. 17) “Meth Clinic Opens” (Int.) ! The clinics are often referred to as “juice bars,” a place where some people believe they can get an easy fix of methadone.

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jukebox musical n. a theater show built around popular songs.

Entertainment. Music.

1993 D. Partridge Courier-Mail (Australia) (Feb. 1) “Enthusiasm Can’t Save This Musical” ! Another jukebox musical—revive someone else’s plot (in this case Shakespeare’s Tempest and a forgotten MGM sci-fi movie of the 1950s), punctuate it with feel-good songs from the 1960s, and disguise the thin idea. 1995 Bill Morrison @ Fayetteville

News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) (May 29) “ ‘Five Guys’ Swings on Jordan’s Star” ! Right now they’re putting on the ultimate jukebox musical, Louis Jordan’s “Five Guys Named Moe,” and swinging everybody into bad health. 2005 Jesse McKinley N.Y. Times (Feb. 14) “You Can Name the Tune, But Does It Fit the Plot?” (Int.) ! It highlights the challenges faced by writers of so-called catalog, or jukebox, musicals, an increasingly popular form of show in which a new story is woven around existing hit songs.... In particular, the problem for “Good Vibrations,” and other jukebox shows, is that the song lyrics cannot be altered to fit the sentiments of the characters who sing them.

jump-out n. an arrest made (suddenly) by undercover police using unmarked vehicles; a police officer or detective who makes such an arrest. Also jump-out boys, jump-out gang. Crime & Prisons. Police.

1986 Nancy Lewis Washington Post (Oct. 31) “U.S. Judge Seals Parts of Clean Sweep Manual,” p. B7 ! U.S. District Court Gerhard A. Gesell agreed to seal parts of the 11-page typewritten manual that contained specific instructions, such as how many uniformed officers should be present as a backup and how many officers should be used in a “jump-out” squad. Earlier this month Assistant Police Chief Isaac Fulwood Jr. began an investigation of the “jump-out” tactic, which was being used by police to search large groups of people without probable cause. 1987 Kent Jenkins, Jr. Washington Post (Sept. 14) “Caught in Drug Cross Fire,” p. A1 ! The department’s tactical unit, known as the “jump-out boys,” has met with flying debris when officers swoop in. 1988 Rene Sanchez Washington Post (June 5) “Learning to Play the Drug Game; District Youngsters Emulating Adults in Make-Believe Deals,” p. A1 ! “When they play the games, it’s ‘We’ll be the hustlers, you be the jump-outs.’ ” 1988 Jeffrey Good St. Petersburg Times (Dec. 23) “Death Puts Heat on Tough Cops in a Rough City,” p. 1B ! Miami police could point with pride to the success of their undercover anti-drug team. Its 15-member squad, dubbed the “Jump Out Gang” for the way officers sprang at unsuspecting criminals, helped account for roughly 6,000 drug-related arrests since 1986.

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1989 Jon Jeter Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.) (July 14) “Police Pursue ‘Crack’ Dealers into the Streets,” p. 1A ! Since May, undercover officers have targeted street-level dealers, buying packets of crack at a street corner, then moving in with vehicles full of police who “jump out” and make arrests. First conducted in Florida, the “jump-outs” have drawn mixed reviews from other agencies that have duplicated them. 2001 Lara Becker Democrat and Chronicle

(Rochester, N.Y.) (Aug. 12) “Battfield on Beat 252” (Int.) ! One week after Tyshaun’s slaying, narcotics officers made a bust at a house across the street. As officers approached, the three children left unattended there shouted a warning to their mother: “The jump-outs are here.” 2003 American Friends Service Committee-Middle Atlantic Region MARStar (Summer) “Teens Learn Their Rights in an Advanced HIPP Session,” vol. 11, no. 2 (Int.) ! The young Nebraskans were particularly fascinated and curious about the “jump-outs” that DC police conduct twice each week, in which undercover officers attempt to buy drugs from young people who fit the profile of a drug dealer. 2004

Y&B.net (Chicago) “Y & B’s Chicago Slang Dictionary” (Int.) ! Jump Outs: Phrase used for Detectives who are known for quickly stopping their vehicles, jumping out and conducting arrests. (Jump out boys) ex: We was chillin & all of a sudden the JUMP OUTS rolled up and kilt the whole demo. 2004 Anthony J. Pinizzotto, Edward F. Davis, Charles E. Miller American Psychological Association (May 24) “Intuitive Policing: Emotional/Rational Decision Making in Law Enforcement,”

p. 2 (Int.) ! When the unmarked units approached the street corner, the crowd of individuals immediately began dispersing upon observing the presence of the “jump outs.” 2004 City Council City of Asheville (Asheville, N.C.) (June 8) “Council Minutes” (Int.) ! Mr. Iver Thomas said that the drug program can be solved by tough police action; however, he is not in favor of the jump-outs by the police officers. He would prefer to see a reverse sting where the customers are arrested. 2005 Francisco Alvarado Miami New Times (Jan. 27) “Crack Kills” (Int.) ! He emerges from a wood-frame house and quickly rides off, watching vigilantly for Miami police cruisers and “them Jump Out Boys,” the undercover vice cops rolling in unmarked rental cars.... “It’s kind of weird how every dope fiend in this neighborhood knows Tuesdays and Thursdays the Jump Out Boys are coming. Yet a lot of them get busted anyway. What the fuck is wrong with that picture? If you know there is a good probability the Jump Outs are going to be at the dope hole, it just doesn’t make sense to go there.”

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junk n. the genitals or genital area. Sexuality. Slang. Often used with the definite article: the junk.

1996 Usenet: rec.sport.pro-wrestling (Dec. 3) “Re: Poll: What Moments in Wrestling Made You Laugh Hysterically?” ! Jacque picks up one of the New Zealanders for a bodyslam and not only grabs his junk, but gives him a pretty good rubdown. The camera gives a perfect angle. Next time you watch it, don’t fast forward this match...look for the junk grab!!! [1999 Usenet: alt.music.spice-girls (Oct. 31) “Re: Help! Schoolie in Distress” ! I’m gonna kick her in the junk.] 2000 Usenet: rec.music.phish (June 20) “Re: Any Good Tricks Getting Your Stash Past Security This Summer?” ! I have been with a guy who stashed stuff in his pants only to have the male security guy actually grab his junk and bust him. 2002 [Dylan M.] Saint Paul Blog (Minn.) (June 29) “What a Drag It Is Getting Old” (Int.) ! Please contact your editor, and kick him/her in the junk for not deleting that. 2002 Usenet: alt.fan.robert-jordan (Sept. 10) “From Your Sex Instructor: Vocabulary, Part II” ! Finch—When the guy tucks his junk between his legs and gets head from behind. 2003 Electronic Gaming Monthly (May 1) “MLB SlugFest 20-04 (PS2),” no. 166 ! In my first game, I punch Todd Helton in the face, then knee him in the junk. 2003 [KittenWalk (Amber)] @ Vancouver, B.C. bcpsportsbikes.com (Can.) (Aug. 26) (Int.) ! “Just because you’re somewhat hot, you shouldn’t sit on other people’s bikes without their permission. If your cleavage hadn’t distracted me, I would have kicked you in the junk!”...“You should have kicked her in the junk anyways...cutie pie.” 2004 Joe Rybicki PlayStation Magazine (July 1) “Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy; Mind over Matter,” p. 88 ! The resoundingly mediocre story and writing give this otherwise superlative game a vicious kick in the junk. 2004

Craigslist (Oct. 14) “I’m Becoming a Llama” (in San Francisco) (Int.)

! I’m a llama. Maybe I can start spitting on people and kicking them in the junk. 2004 Usenet: alt.support.stop-smoking (Oct. 27) “Re: Patches Not Sticking” ! See the story of the guy in Singapore (I think) who was cheating on his gf and she Ripped His Junk Completely Off?!! That’d make John cringe.

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KAGOY n. a marketing concept based on the idea that children participate in pop culture or desire material goods intended for older consumers. Acronym. Advertising. [kids are getting older younger]

1998 Leonie Wood The Age (Dec. 12) “Make or Break Time in Toyland,” p. 1 ! Kids are getting older younger—known as KAGOY within Mattel. Children are becoming more sophisticated faster than previous generations and are increasingly savvy about the world around them. 1999 Donna Leccese Playthings (Oct. 1) “Baby Steps,” vol. 97, no. 10, p. 28 ! Younger children want the same kinds of products as their older siblings.... With the KAGOY philosophy, there are more opportunities to broaden our product range. 2003 Anne Sutherland Kidfluence (July 21), p. 40 ! KAGOY actually begins much sooner than that and in a more altruistic form. Parents, in the hopes of giving their child a head start in life, are now reading and playing music to their unborn babies. 2005 Chuck Salter FC Now (Feb. 23)

! Another problem facing the industry is “kagoy.” Translation: “Kids are getting older, younger.” As early as 8, they’re putting down traditional toys and turning to video games and the Internet.

kalo-kalo n. a slot machine or casino; (hence) a jocular reference to the financial affairs of Nigeria. Also kalokalo. Gambling. Money & Finance. Nigeria. Slang.

1996 Usenet: soc.culture.nigeria (1996) “Re: Beemers and Big Cars”

! One of my brother’s friend’s...is a Nissan salesman (notice how he dropped the Maxima into the conversation), he referred to your car as a “kalo kalo” (fruit machine) for gas. And all the gadgets on it, I wish my brother had seen it, he loves stuff like that. 2001 [Babawilly]

Babawilly’s Dictionary of Pidgin English Words and Phrases (Nigeria) (Int.) ! Kalo-kalo: 1. One armed bandit. 2. Amusement arcade game machines. 2002 Mike Ikhariale Niger Delta Congress (Nigeria) (Aug.) “Buhari’s Polemical Marksmanship” (Int.) ! So the Buhari that is likely to register in the minds of many Nigerians today, depending on where you belong and from where you are looking at him, is...the man who attempted to liberate the Nigerian economy from the clutches of corruption and its kalo-kalo fiscal idiosyncrasy. 2002 By Tunji Bello

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THISDAY (Nigeria) (Oct. 30) “Were You Better Off Under IBB?” (Int.) !

No wonder scores of kalo-kalo banks sprang up overnight as beneficiaries of rentier era. 2003 Kingsley Osadolor Naija-news (June 18) “Y’Hello, Network Busy!” (Int.) ! It is like you are using slot machines, the so-called kalokalo. 2003 Louis Odion Lagosforum (Lagos, Nigeria) (Nov. 24) “The Truth Okonjo-Iweala Didn’t Tell About Naira” (Int.) !

The finest hour for those who have always likened the management of Nigeria’s economy to Kalokalo (casino), it appears, is here. Put roughly, Kalokalo refers to the inclination to enter an economic river without a compass.

katastroika n. In the former Soviet republics, a disastrous government reform or change, esp. the perestroika movement of the 1990s and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Also catastroika.

Derogatory. Russia. Russian.

1989 Richard I. Kirkland Jr. Fortune (NYC) (June 19) “How China’s Chaos Affects the West,” p. 77 ! While Gorbachev’s political reforms are breathtaking, his economic perestroika appears overly cautious and utterly ineffectual. French scholar Jacques Rupnik has suggested a new label: catastroika. The sprawling Soviet empire—full of fractious Ukrainians, Armenians, Tatars, and other nationalities—constantly threatens to come apart at the seams. 1990 Jonathon Steele Guardian

(U.K.) (Mar. 9) “Five Years of Gorbachev: Soviet Fears of Katastroika”

! In the first phase of Mr. Gorbachev’s rule, some Russians thought that glasnost was just a trick to get the reformers to stick their heads above the parapet and identify themselves. “Perestrelka,” said the satirists, meaning a general shoot-up. Now the joke is at the expense of the economic collapse: “katastroika.” 1991 Desmond Christy

Guardian (U.K.) (Oct. 18) “Europe: Light at the Opera—Gazetta” astroika. A mixture of catastrophe and perestroika, it is used by Alexander Sinoviev in the title of a satirical novel he wrote in 1989.

2004 Mark G. Field New England Journal of Medicine (July 8) “HIV and AIDS in the Former Soviet Bloc,” vol. 351, no. 2, p. 120 (Int.) ! The threats in the region from AIDS and other epidemics are potentially dire. Prophecies are always hazardous, but in the former Soviet Bloc, the outlook for the next few decades is perhaps best characterized by a Russian neologism invented to describe the adverse effects of the disintegration of the Soviet system: “katastroika.”

kayfabe n. the showbiz and stagecraft of professional wrestling, including the ring personas of professional wrestlers, especially when maintained in public; insider knowledge of professional wrestling. Also keyfabe. Entertainment. [Probably from a Pig Latin

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