A way with words

Of all the jobs that I've had over the years, working as a freelance copy editor and writer at Variety have been among my favorites.

I’ve always been impressed by the talent level of the entertainment trade publication’s staff, which has included one of the best writers of this past century: Art Buchwald, the Pulitzer-winning columnist and humorist. He started as Variety’s Paris correspondent.

One of the reasons Variety is an entertaining read is that it literally has a language all its own. “Ankle,” for example, means to leave or get dismissed from a job; a Western film is an “oater,” referring to what horses eat; and a “zitcom” is a TV comedy aimed at teenagers.

The wordsmiths at Variety have used the paper’s “slanguage” to create some “boffo” headlines. Perhaps the most famous was this gem from 1935: Sticks Nix Hick Pix. It meant that rural audiences were not watching movies about rural life.

On Variety’s website (www.variety.com), there’s a “Slanguage Dictionary,” so if a reader can’t determine the definition of a word they can go there to find out what it means.

The Marine Corps also has its own “slanguage.” Below are 12 common items, followed by the word Josh is now using to describe each one in boot camp:

Pants: Trousers
Bed: Rack
Floor: Deck
Door: Hatch
Window: Port
Glasses: Portholes
Pen: Ink stick
Flashlight: Moonbeam
Shoes: Go-fasters
Duffel bag: Sea bag
Restroom: Head
Food: Chow