Writers Tricks of the Trade Issue 2 Volume 9 | Page 21

WHAT’S A BUZZY BOOK?
A GOAL WITH MANY AUTHORS THESE DAYS IS TO CREATE A
BUZZY BOOK . I S IT ABOUT BUSY BEES ?
H AL M ORRIS WWW . GRUMPYEDITOR . COM
Thanks to former LA Times and Los Angeles Mirror reporter and columnist, Hal Morris, who hangs out at
www.grumpyeditor.com these days, here are more tips for writers.
B
uzzy—in 2019 lingo—refers to some-
thing "causing or characterized by a lot
of speculative or excited talk or attention.”
In other words, generating buzz.
(Years ago, the phrase, "What's buzzin'
cousin" made the rounds.)
Buzzy is one of 640 new words making
it to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary.
Merriam-Webster mentions "each word
follows its own path at its own pace before
its use is widespread enough to be included
in a dictionary."
The dictionary publisher also finds NEW
MEANINGS FOR OLD WORDS . Among them:
Snowflake: Now used to mean both
“someone regarded or treated as unique or
special” and “someone who is overly sensi-
tive.”
Purple: Extending the blending of red
and blue to the metaphorical lev-
el, purple can now refer to geographical
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE
areas where voters are split between Dem-
ocrats and Republicans.
Tailwind and headwind: These words
are now often used figuratively to refer to a
force or influence that either helps or hin-
ders progress.
Peak: Metaphorically extended to mean
“being at the height of popularity, use or
attention,” as in “peak television.”
Goldilocks: Even a fairy tale can become
a metaphor and this new colorful defini-
tion, referring to the character whose pre-
ferred porridge is neither too hot nor too
cold, has inspired astronomers to use it to
describe “an area of planetary orbit in
which temperatures are neither too hot nor
too cold to support life.”
A MONG N EW W ORDS F ROM B USINESS :
Gig economy: (coined in 2009) econom-
ic activity that involves the use of tempo-
rary or freelance workers to perform jobs
typically in the service sector.
P AGE 16
S UMMER 2019