1987 (Earliest)

The family unit, circa 1987, is a far different entity than it was in the 19th Century, Bengtson suggests. He speaks of “the rise of the verticalized family. We call it the beanpole family. It’s becoming much higher and much skinnier.” Whereas the family once encompassed cousins and second cousins and third cousins of perhaps two generations, now there are apt to be many living generations but few members of each generation interact.

—Beverly Beyette, “The importance of being family,” Los Angeles Times, November 3, 1987

Notes

A beanpole is a thin, straight stick that helps support a climbing bean plant. Since at least 1837 wisecrackers have used this term as a synonym for a lanky person. In the phrase beanpole family, it’s used to contrast the standard image of a family’s living members as a wide, bushy tree. Determinedly eschewing metaphor, many demographers prefer the term verticalized family, a phrase that appears in the earliest citation.

bridechilla( bride-chilla)

Слово утворене слово словоскладанням.

bride + chill (cf. bridezilla)

eng. A bride-to-be who, while planning her wedding, remains calm, relaxed, and easy-going.

ukr.Наречена,яка під час підготовки до весілля залишається спокійною, розслабленою і веселою.

Examples

2014

But the level-headed model has kept her cool in the run-up to her big day and is not a stressed-out Bridezilla.

“I’m not a Bridezilla anyway,” she said.

“My sister keeps calling me a Bridechilla because I’m so chilled about everything. It’s all really very relaxed.”

—Melanie Finn, “Sarah leaves model friends behind for ‘amazing’ hen party,” The Evening Herald (Dublin, Ireland), April 30, 2014

2013

Anita is a bridechilla, the type of bride who wants her and her fiancé’s day to be special but not at the expense of going crazy, broke or sending friends and family running for cover.

—Alana Schetzer, “Bridechilla: The anti-bridezilla of weddings,” Mamamia, August 10, 2013

2008

Somebody just told me I was such a BrideCHILLa. Here’s to staying calm and present in the 7 day countdown to bridal bliss.

—Jillian Bisinger, “Somebody just told me…,” Twitter, June 5, 2008

2008 (Earliest)

So, I know it’s hard to separate a bride from her shower, but if people could remember that she didn’t ask for the pre-addressed envelopes (or the gifts wrapped in clear paper, or the cash for a money tree, or only silver gifts — yes I’ve seen it all : ), I know it would take a little worry off of this (and many other) bride-chilla’s shoulders!

—“Bride-chillas,” Boston Globe, April 3, 2008

Notes

The April 3, 2008 citation from the Boston Globe is the earliest print usage I could find for bridechilla, but the domain name bridechilla.com (which currently has no content) was registered on June 7, 2007.

And just to provide further proof that you can’t please all the people all the time, note that I also found a number of citations that complained about the bridechilla. Here’s a typical example:

She doesn’t care what color you wear, “just do you.” She can’t decide which flowers she wants. “I don’t know, just pick one.” Basically nothing bothers her, which is good and bad. While a bridechilla may seem awesome, she can actually be very stressful for everyone involved.

—L'Oreal Thompson, “Which is worse: Bridezilla or bridechilla?,” Jet, July 4, 2014

Note that the poll provided by the site — “Which do you think is worse: bridezilla or bridechilla?” — currently has just under 19 percent of respondents choosing bridechilla!

bridezilla( bride-zilla)

Слово утворене словоскладанням

bride + Godzilla

n. A bride-to-be who, while planning her wedding, becomes exceptionally selfish, greedy, and obnoxious.

Examples

2002

The tricky thing about Bridezillas is that their transition from sweethearts to creatures from hell cannot be foreseen, not even by the future husbands.

“They are perfectly normal women — until they get a ring,” says Ms Spaemme. “They run around screaming: ‘It is my day! Bow down and kiss my feet!’ They demand attention, gifts and money and treat family and friends like servants.”

—Steffi Kammerer, “Drama, chaos, greed and a white dress,” The Dallas Morning News, August 27, 2002

1995 (earliest)

She also cautions brides-to-be about turning into Bridezilla, the name wedding consultants bestow on brides who are particularly difficult and obnoxious. “I tell them to keep things in perspective,” Woodham said. “I get letters that are heartrending. People treat each other so badly, and over what? They allow the festivities to outweigh everything else. They lose sight of the solemnity of the wedding, of what it means.”

—Diane White, “Tacky trips down the aisle,” The Boston Globe, June 29, 1995

Notes

This word is a combination of bride and Godzilla, the mutant dinosaur created by U.S. hydrogen bomb testing in the Pacific that, in numerous films in the 50s and 60s, would wade onto land and destroy everything in its path. The bridal version of this monster is created by the maniacal need to have “the perfect day” and she’ll walk over anyone and everything to get it.

The “Ms. Spaemme” mentioned in the example citation is writer Noe Spaemme (real name: Gail Dunson), who, along with co-author Jeanne Hamilton (creator of the Etiquette Hell website), published a book called Bridezilla: True Tales from Etiquette Hell (Salado Press) in July of this year. Noe Spaemme (“No spam”? What the heck kind of pseudonym is that!?) has been on the interview circuit all summer, so bridezilla has been in the news quite a bit. However, this isn’t the first time the term has create some buzz. Back in 1999, Modern Bride magazine launched a full-page comic strip (yes, you read that right: a comic strip) called “Bridezilla,” which chronicled “the beast called bride-to-be.”

briet

n. A diet that a bride uses to lose weight before her wedding day.

Etymology

Bridal + diet

Examples

2011

Magazines have taken to publishing before and after shots of “painfully thin Kate”, calling her “Queen of diets” and “Slimline Kate”, and speculating on the “briet”, or bridal diet.

—Miranda Devine, “Weight off their minds,” The Sunday Telegraph, April 24, 2011

2011

But as Ms Middleton’s private life has become as much a part of our quotidian as breakfast, it is her weight that is perhaps attracting the most attention. Her supposed eating plan has even coined a new vernacular term — the “briet”, or bridal diet.

—Harriet Walker, “A taste of royal things to come? Fat police on case of bride-to-be’s figure,” The Independent, April 14, 2011