slinqui

A dictionary for all my words, phrases, quips and quirks.

baby boo

Noun

1. affectionate, endearing equivalent to “boo”, but specifically describing a baby.

   Oh look it’s a baby boo!

Etymology

• See boo.

back in a bite

Remark

1. ‘be right back’ after a meal.

   I gotta have lunch, back in a bite

Etymology

• bite used figuratively to mean a meal

Notes

• It doesn’t really imply any sort of timeframe – the meal could be really quick, or a full-blown restaurant dinner.
• Although, “back in” does insinuate you’re intending to return to the conversation.

back in a blip

Remark

1. ‘be right back’, but potentially not.

   Got a call, back in a blip

Etymology

• Reference to the blip.

Notes

• You never know when a blip might crop up. So you use this phrase to mean you intend to be back very quickly, but might not be if something unexpected happens that you need to deal with.

boo

Noun

1. affectionate, endearing A ‘cute’ term used to describe someone, usually a non-adult.

   Oh you’re such a boo. hug

Etymology

• From boo, a cute word babies canonically tend to make.
• Also influenced by boo boo.

clutch catalyst

Noun

1. figurative, funny A cooler name for “adrenaline”. Or “epinephrine”. Both epic names.

   I’m gonna need a lotta clutch catalyst for this test.

Etymology

• clutch refers to ‘rescuing’ an urgent situation.
• catalyst is a reference to a chemical catalyst.
• It’s used figuratively to describe fluid flowing through your body that ‘catalyses clutch’, usually in high-stress situations such as a test, date, or running sudo rm -rf.

faceplunge

Verb

1. To “plunge” one’s face into something, usually a body part of another person.

   Stop faceplunging into my tummy! Can we hug normally?

Noun

1. The act of faceplunging.

Etymology

• face + plunge

fingerful

Adjective

1. Prominently involving or engaging one’s fingers.

   This game is so fingerful.

Etymology

• finger + -ful, literal.

gradient descent

Noun

1. figurative Describing the process of refining and optimising something, such as code, graphic design or a piece of writing.

   I want your feedback before I do too much gradient descent on it

Etymology

• Extension of the computational technique (often used in machine learning) of gradient descent.

Notes

• Gradient descent describes this process perfectly. As you refine something further and further, your changes become increasingly minute and, comparatively, insignificant. Slowly, gradually, painstakingly, you approach a point where you’re happy with your work.
• But see, if you decide it’s not good, and you want to make some fundamental changes, making more tiny changes in this local minima you’ve approached isn’t gonna cut it. You need broader, significant shifts that drag you out of this minima, and into a different and even deeper one.
• When this happens, it’s painful to have to change or throw away all that work you did to get to that minima. The change often invalidates many other micro-optimisations you did, since they no longer contribute to getting to the new minima, so you’ll have to revert those changes or perform yet more gradient descent on them.

hand acrobatics

Noun

1. The phenomenon of one’s hands performing finicky, elaborate and potentially impressive movements while engaged in a fingerful activity, such as typing or playing rhythm games.

   Typing in aLtErNaTiNg CaSe results in such hand acrobatics.

Etymology

• hand + acrobatics, literal.

istx

Remark

1. “I swear to xenique”. A less ‘religious’ alternative to “I swear to God”.

   oh my days why is this so difficult istx

Etymology

• Derived from I swear to God, replacing “God” with its equivalent in xeriqui.

Notes

• This one’s funny to type.

kek

Remark

1. onomatopoetic That sort of half-exhale half-snort laugh-like sound I make, as a really short laugh.

   I don’t even know kek

Etymology

• Most accurate way I’ve found to convey the sound while keeping its character and vibe.
• Derived from keke.

Notes

• This is not intended to be a World of Warcraft reference, lmao. I didn’t even know other people said kek, but tbf it makes perfect sense.

keke

(with additional ke for emphasis)

Remark

1. onomatopoetic A choking, almost silent laugh.

   my ID ends in 69 kekekekeke

Etymology

• Most accurate way I’ve found to convey the sound while keeping its character and vibe.

Notes

• For when something’s REALLY funny. Or you just need to stay silent in a lecture.

logistical issue

Noun

1. Describing a situation or predicament that is difficult to resolve due to issues or obstacles irrelevant to the fundamental problem.

   Getting everyone in a room at the same time for a meeting is such a logistical issue.

Etymology

• This is a real phrase, but I like to use it to describe very particular situations.

Notes

• I use the term with negative connotations (sort of exasperation or frustration) since logistical issues often arise in contexts where they’re completely detached from the actual problem.

lokay

Remark

1. abbreviation “lol okay”.

   lokay, sure.

Etymology

• lol + okay, literal.

Notes

• Gotta love abbreviations. It does roll off the tongue quite nicely though!

productive unproductivity

Noun

1. ironic Working on something that would generally be regarded as inconsequential, especially when you spend a lot of time on it instead of other more pressing or worthwhile endeavours. For instance, writing this dictionary instead of my university applications.

   Unproductive productivity is so much more fun than productive productivity.

Adjective

as productively unproductive

These past few days have productively unproductive.

Notes

• See productivity for more.

scaur

skirk

smh my head

Remark

1. profusely Shaking my head.

   smy my head ytf would you do that

Etymology

undefined

smh my face

Remark

1. exasperatedly Shaking my head.

   smh my face what is wrong with you

Etymology

null

smh my life

Remark

1. given up Shaking my head.

   smy my life I’m so done

Etymology

void

spotch

Noun

Currently lacking a meaning! I used it somewhere but have now forgotten what I intended for it to mean...

Etymology

• Influenced by splotch and spot.

squirly

yeup

Remark

1. “yep” + “yup”. Reflects a drawn-out “yee-up”, often used for humourous or playful confirmation.

   yeup, we’re screwed.

Etymology

• yep + yup, phonetic.

Notes

• It often sounds indistinguishable from yup when said out loud. Drawn-out “y” just sounds like “yeeee”.

ytf

Remark

1. acronym “why the f***”.

   ytf does this taste so delicious

Etymology

• Following the format of wtf for “what the f***”.
• “y” is used literally to be pronounced as /wai/.

Notes

• No one’s seen this, but they know instantly what you mean. iygwim.

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