power chord

A musical chord formed by a root note, its fifth, and its octave. Among the easiest types of chords to play on the guitar, due to an easily shiftable fingering position, and the power chord's ability to "fit" over both major and minor melodies. Vital to heavy metal and punk music.

Old Black Sabbath and AC/DC albums have a lot of simple yet great power chord-strumming songs.

by Bill M. September 20, 2004

12 string

A guitar with 12 strings grouped in pairs, instead of the normal 6 strings spaced apart from each other. Strings in each given pair are either tuned an octave apart or to the same pitch, and played simultaneously. There are also 12 string bass guitars, where the same principle is applied to a standard 4-string bass guitar, yielding an instrument with four groups of 3 strings each.

The guitar player thought that the next song called for a fuller, richer guitar sound, so he put down his regular guitar and picked up his 12 string.

by Bill M. July 27, 2004

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

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

and then some

A slang expression used to humorously imply that the preceding statement was an understatement. If speaking, the word "then" is usually stressed.

"You're a real bastard, ya know that, Joe?"
"And then some." - from the film 'The Last Boy Scout' (1991)

by Bill M. July 27, 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

deism

The belief that God (or some form of deity or divine creator) exists, but plays no interactive role in our day to day lives

The founding fathers of the United States were largely deists.

by Bill M. July 27, 2004