2023 "What Does This Mean?" Questions/Suggestions for the AW Dictionary

[Maryn]

As you read the boards here at Absolute Write, you may see unfamiliar terms, abbreviations, slang, etc. that members use as if everyone knew the meanings.

If you see something you can't figure out, start by looking it up in the 2022 Absolute Write Dictionary, which is in two parts:

A through N
O through Z

If you don't see it listed, this is the thread where you can ask for a definition or explanation. It's also the place to suggest terms in common enough use here that they should be added to our dictionary.

(This thread replaces the original thread from 2012, which served us long and well.)

 

[lorna_w]

In SP (I used an abbreviation!), we often use "pen" to mean "pen name." "Gotta feed the other pen this summer," we say, meaning write a book in that pen name to keep the readers happy. Not sure if that's true in trade publishing circles. And Zon/the Zon means Amazon.

 

[Fi Webster]

I don't know if it's worth adding to the excellent dictionary, but I've been seeing this abbreviation on AW.

CW — Content Warning. Often with a colon followed by a tag for the content. E.g., "CW: Death of a Child"

ETA: Example quotation from a recent posting by @lizmonster: "And then there's the journalist's nausea-inducing interview with the 'LaMDA is sentient!' guy. I won't excerpt more of it here, but CW for misogyny and rape."