Bill M.'s definitions

acronym

An abbreviation for a phrase created by taking the first letter or so of each word, AND is pronounced as a word itself.

"USA" is technically NOT an acronym, because people don't pronounce it as "You-Sah". However, "MADD" (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is an acronym because it's pronounced exactly as it's spelled.

by Bill M. July 28, 2004

closet

(adj) Describing an aspect that one keeps rather private or completely secret, usually due to fear of social rejection. Commonly used in reference to homosexuality, but not exclusively.

"Yep, my brother has his guilty pleasures when it comes to music. He's closet hair metal fan, believe it or not."

by Bill M. September 20, 2004

Asia

1. The largest continent on earth; covers most of the eastern hemisphere

2. A progressive pop band formed around 1982 by ex-members of Yes, King Crimson, UK, and Emerson Lake & Palmer (ELP). Their hits include "Heat of the Moment", "Only Time Will Tell" and "Don't Cry". The album titles have usually been one-word names beginning and ending with the letter "A", and the album covers have featured award-winning artwork by Roger Dean.

The band Asia did a tour of Asia.

by Bill M. February 17, 2006

redundancy

A set of words in common usage that includes a needless modifier. Not to be confused with an oxymoron (where two terms of the same phrase literally contradict each other) or euphamism (a phrase used to change the emotional charge of a a word or phrase).

Examples of actual redundancies:

- ATM machine ("Automatic teller machine machine"? Just say "ATM".)
- PIN number ("Personal identification number number"?)
- "Call now for your FREE GIFT!" (well of course it's free, otherwise it wouldn't be a gift!)
- end result
- bare naked
- past experience

by Bill M. August 27, 2004

Roger Dean

(1944 - ) Artist and designer, best known for his logos and fantasy landscape paintings made for posters and album covers for bands such as Yes and Asia.

Roger Dean's website is rogerdean.com

by Bill M. July 27, 2004

spoonerism

A word or phrase created by swapping the initial letters (or first consonant sounds) of two words or syllables to get a new word word or phrase. The spelling doesn't have to be correct, only the pronounciation is important. The term "spoonerism" was named after Reverend W.A. Spooner (1844-1930).

Not to be confused with anagrams, palindromes, and other word games.

- "Peas and carrots" is a spoonerism of "keys and parrots"
- "tea bags" becomes "bee tags"
- "trail mix" becomes "mail tricks"
- "Save the whales" becomes "wave the sails"
- "forearm" becomes "oar farm"

by Bill M. August 27, 2004

machine head

1. One of several flattened pegs found at the top end of a stringed instrument, which when manually turned with the hand, adjusts the pitch of the corresponding string :: TUNING PEG

2. (Warner Bros, 1972) Title of an album by heavy metal pioneering band Deep Purple, featuring the band's all-time biggest hit "Smoke On The Water"

3. (1992 - ) Heavy metal band from San Francisco, very influential on harsher, more aggressive-sounding metal bands that would arise later in the decade. See www.machinehead1.com for more information

One day, Robert Flynn of Machine Head was jamming along with Deep Purple's "Machine Head" album, but the low "E" string on his guitar was out of tune, so he had to turn the string's machine head.

by Bill M. July 27, 2004