June 2009

Report from the Open Dictionary

As the school year draws to a close, Open Dictionary contributors are adding terminology for school-age youth. Tween, meaning "preteen," (a blend of between and teen) is so last century; it dates to 1967. Try these newer coinages on for size. Or, submit your own to Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary.

pretween (noun) : a child who is not yet a tween
<The pretweens were running amok at the local elementary school.>

tweenager (noun) : a person between childhood and adolescence generally between 10 to 12 years of age
<Advertisers are now targeting tweenagers with new superhero franchises tailored to their taste.>

undernet (noun) : a data network similar to the Internet that is unregulated and often used for sharing copyrighted or illicit material

cyber bait (noun) : an online offer used to attract Web page views or acquire personal information from users
<"There are plenty of 'too good to be true' deals around, where a 'free' web domain is simply cyber bait for getting you to sign for another service you didn't really want." — The Northern Echo, June 15, 2000>

facebait (verb) : to use a social networking Web site (as Facebook) to discover details about a person's life and esp. a person's finances


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