[Image]Jargon Watch

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Bambi

     What game- and talk-show staffers call someone who freezes in front of
     the camera (like a deer caught in headlights).

Batmobiling

     Putting up an emotional shield just as a relationship enters that
     intimate, vulnerable stage. Refers to the retractable armor covering
     the Batmobile.

Cyber Noir

     Used to describe dark, trippy, weird "cyber" films and shows like Wild
     Palms, Tank Girl, and VR.5.

Gutter Tribes

     Nomadic bands of homeless people in their teens and early twenties who
     travel from city to city, making their living primarily through
     panhandling.

In the Plastic Closet

     Said about someone who refuses to admit to having cosmetic surgery. "Is
     Tori Spelling in the plastic closet, or what!?"

Triple-dub

     An abbreviated way to say "WWW" (double-yew, double-yew, double-yew)
     when speaking a URL. "Hey, check out this cool Web site at triple-dub
     dot neowobbly dot com."

Value-Subtracted Reseller

     A company that buys components from other companies and puts them
     together in a system that's less than the sum of its parts. Opposite of
     value-added reseller.

Waitbuster

     Checkout-counter displays that entice you to buy, buy, buy while you
     wait. (Also called a "shelftalker.")

- Gareth Branwyn (jargon@wired.com)

Tip o' the tiara to: Jerry Dunn, Gavin Ivester, Kevin Kelly, Mikki Halpin,
Michael Gold, Jef Poskanzer, and Marjorie Ingall.

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