What's the matter, you don't gavey post-millennial lingo?
Astro: Abbreviated form of "astronaut". Refers to anyone who works in outer space, which usually implies that they also maintain permanent residence off the Earth.
Drat: Origin unknown. Believed to have first emerged as an euphemistic alteration of "God rot", a mild oath used in place of "damn". Now used as a noun indicating filth or valueless material (animal droppings, fertilizer, bad music, disorderly lab data, etc.).
Flatfoot: Mildly derogatory term for a person who was born and lives on Earth. Derived from the expression "flat feet", denoting a lack of arches on the feet and indicating a physical handicap.
He's/She's/It's "got religion": Used mainly by UNSF personnel, meaning "I have a good firing solution (usually line-of-sight) on him/her/it and am ready to shoot." Probably derived as an ironic reference to the common religious belief in life after death.
Hollow: Slang term for a holographic display area. Derived from the prefix "holo"; probably originated by UNSF personnel. Hollows are usually solid spheres of transparent diode crystal lined with low-power lasers, and are most common on UNSF capital ships.
Jick: Phonetic perversion of "JHC", the initials of the Son of God. Probably originated near the end of the twentieth century by extreme atheists reacting to a flurry of fanatical religious movements. Primarily used as an intransitive verb indicating antagonistic or irritative action. Also used to imply transitive insult or injury.
Oz: Creative re-spelling of "aus", meaning a measurement in Astronomical Units (AUs). One AU is defined as the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun, roughly one hundred and fifty million kilometers. The spelling of this form is a reference to L. Frank Baum's fantasy novels about the Land of Oz, a distant place usually reached via natural disasters or magic.
'Puter: Abbreviation of "computer", in common use since the early 21st century.
Riff: Mutant abbreviation of "algorithm". Mainly used in reference to computers and computer programs. Origin unknown.
"Rock and roll": Used primarily by UNSF personnel, meaning "I'm ready" or "Get ready for what I'm about to do." Widely used since the latter twentieth century, with minor changes in meaning.
Spacer: Military personnel in a branch of service which operates primarily in outer space. (Soldier, sailor, spacer.)
Sysadmin: Slang abbreviation for "system administrator", the person in charge of maintenance and security for a computer or computer network.
Threebie: Slang for "BBB" (Black Box Beacon). Standard issue UNSF electronic storage device and radio transmitter, implanted in all warships, which records a copy of the vessel's log and starts sending a distress signal when main power fails. So named because the unit is installed at the shipyard and built to be tamper-proof afterward.
Torie: A resident of the Torus. Origin was once attributed to increasingly liberal media but is now considered obscure.
Torus: The doughnut-shaped region of asteroids, rocky planetoids, and miscellaneous other debris oribiting Sol between Mars and Jupiter.
UN: The United Nations of Earth, a planetary government which represents the interests of several dozen spacefaring nations. Originally founded as a peacekeeping organization in the late 1940s, but substantially altered in the last decade of the twentieth century.
UNIA: The United Nations Intelligence Agency, the information-gathering division of the UN. Manages both civilian research projects and military espionage operations.
UNSF: The United Nations Space Fleet.
Vid: Abbreviation of "video", usually referring to a screen or other electronic display surface.
Copyright © 1996-1997 Curtis C. Chen. All Rights Reserved.