October 11, 2006

Travel Lexicon: the Reader Version

Your Fun Words About Travel

Why should we have all the fun? You guys have been there (boreplay) and done that (mergerer), so we invited you to submit your own ideas for a Travel Lexicon. Herewith, the best of the bunch.

arm restle
n. the ongoing battle waged with your seatmate over the middle armrest. Maneuvers include elbogarting (slow advance of the elbow to gain ground) and recline and conquer (capturing the armrest during feigned or actual sleep).

flight dependent
n. neighboring passenger who, flying solo, turns to you in search of company/a drinking partner/a date.

gabbin pressure
n. sense of obligation to chat to the passenger next to you during a flight. (“I’m just recovering from gabbin pressure — I sat next to a real flight dependent.”)

John the Laptist
n. the guy in front of you who reclines his seat until his head is in your lap.

mathzheimer’s
n. the inability to calculate a foreign exchange rate without elaborate financial and/or tech support.

touron
n. tourist + moron. (“Don’t even bother with the Louvre on a Saturday. It’s overrun with tourons.”)

travelanche
n. the state of affairs when one little thing goes wrong and then everything snowballs toward disaster. (“It started as a minor delay in Seattle and ended up a full-blown travelanche involving lost luggage, bad airport food, and dire intestinal consequences.”)

U.S.O.
n. unidentified stained object; mysterious mark on hotel carpet or bedding. (“Alexis refuses to stay at subpar hotels due to her intense fear of U.S.O.’s.”)

Thanks, guys, for the excellent ideas.