How Twitterate Are You?

New words and expressions are expanding, enriching and invigorating the English language. Old words are exhumed from disuse, and revived albeit with new sounds, new meanings, and at times curious detachment from their original use.

How is your Twitteracy IQ?

We all know what OMG and BTW mean. But do you know what twit used to mean and what it means now?

To twit according to Collins English Dictionary is to tease, to taunt or to reproach often in jest. To twitter is to utter a succession of chirping sounds. A twit is a foolish or stupid person.

Now there is the internet social networking site called Twitter, a site that allows users to send messages of 140 characters or less. To twitter is the act of using Twitter. The messages are called twits. There is still a faintly recognisable link to the old meanings and use of the word.

Now try these internet-derived terms and see if you can guess what they mean: meh, mwah, noob, woot, soz, staycation, buzzkillers,beer o'clock, ecotarians, carborexics. How did you go?

(If you wish to know what the terms mean, check the comment screen).

Batchmates, don't let the twittering twits twaddle you into believing it was their original idea. Back in our time we read (and sometimes some of the more daring among us wrote) twittery messages on tree trunks, toilet walls , on fences at jeepney and busstops, flying kites, etc... Remember : Leroy (or someone else) was here; Jack loves Jill; Bawal eng meme keni (pardon the spelling).

We'd done it before and the newage twitteratis are merely reprising it but the difference is that they now use a new (internet) medium and they are quite content to call themselves twits - foolish, stupid. But of course we were not twits, we'd never call ourselves that.