There are weird words in every industry, and the literary world is no exception. We’ve listed some of the stranger-sounding industry-specific jargon common to writers, editors, and agents that may need some clarification.

Anaphora. Too many sentences in a row that begin the same way. Sometimes this is deliberate and effective. Sometimes this is sloppy. Sometimes it is simply irritating.

Avant-garde. Usually associated with artwork, this term can also be applied to literature that is considered new or experimental. If your work has been labeled avant-garde, you can be proud of your innovation. Much better than “same ol’, same ol’.”

Backstory. The history of your characters before the book's present action.

Blurb. This sounds like a bodily function, but, in actuality, it refers to the synopsis on the back cover of the book. Its function is to “hook” the reader like a fish.

Dead metaphor. This is a poor little metaphor that is no longer relevant (“long in the tooth”) and has been overused.

Head-hopping. Jumping from one person’s thoughts to another's or switching back and forth between points of view. This is just another way to give your audience a headache.

Hook. Whether it’s the first line of a query, a novel, or part of the blurb, a hook is designed to capture the reader’s attention. We know that readers aren’t fish. But it paints a cool mental picture.

Novella. Sounds like something vaguely racy. In actuality it is a short novel (approximately half the size).

Round file. A nice word for trash can. A not-so-nice place for your manuscript to end up.

Slush pile. If you live in northern climes, the slush pile usually refers to the pile of slushy snow that threatens to grab your tires or fill up your boots. In writer’s lingo the slush pile is where the hundreds upon hundreds of unsolicited or misdirected manuscripts go—usually a dusty pile in the corner of an editor’s office.

Widows and orphans. A “widow” is the last line of the paragraph floating alone and lonely at the top of the next page. An “orphan” is the first line of a paragraph that languishes at the bottom of the page, all alone.

YA. Young adult. Or “Yikes! Anaphora!”

Feedback from critiques, editors, and agents can also contain some confusing notations we should clarify. Your MS is voicey and organic but switches POV indiscriminately. What the heck? Translation: Your manuscript has a strong, well-defined voice and rings true and authentic, but your point of view switches back and forth. Comments like “Boring and too long” or “I hated this” are fairly self-explanatory. Others are not quite as clear.

No legs. Can your idea or novel stand on its own in the big, scary market? If not, your work may suffer from “no legs.” (You see the metaphor.)

Organic. No, not vegetables. This is writing that is authentic, uncontrived. If your character is organic, it means he comes across as real, not as an artificial, unrealistic protagonist with zero faults and great, big muscles.

Quiet. This work has been labeled as more literary than commercial and, therefore, harder to sell.

Stale. Again, a food reference. If your story has been labeled stale, it’s time to take a “fresh” approach.

Tight. Good job! You’ve eliminated all the unnecessary filler and made it nice and concise and really tried to be spare with your words and things like that, which makes your writing not too padded and fluffy, and you have taken out all the nonessentials.

What the heck is a sniglet? According to comedian Rich Hall, who coined the phrase in the 1980s HBO series, Not Necessarily the News, a sniglet is "any word that doesn't appear in the dictionary, but should." Obviously, this is not a new concept. People have been making up their own words since the days of woolly mammoths. But Mr. Hall is the man who came up with a name for these neologisms, and that seems to be a specialty of his. His keen insight into American culture, a fascination with the English language, and a dry wit led him to publish five collections of sniglets—his own, as well as submissions from his fans.

So, for instance, if you're looking for a term to describe the affliction of dialing a phone number and forgetting who you were calling just as they answer, Hall has created a word especially for you: phonesia. He also came up with the very useful "carperpetuation," which finally gives us a way to describe the act of running the vacuum over a string or piece of lint dozens of times, reaching over to pick it up, examining it, and then putting it back down to give the vacuum one last chance. It's about time someone came up with a term for that scenario.

Even Oprah Winfrey's gotten into the act with slumpadinka (a woman who dresses like she's given up on herself, and it shows). So it's only logical that, as writers, we should have our own set of sniglets. For example:                                                           

Barfiage—the act of effortlessly "spewing" the perfect poem, short story, or chapter in one writing session. (The act of effortlessly spewing a fabulous poem, short story, or chapter that needs absolutely no revision is called a "miracle.")

Blockberry—the slightly scary assistant who stands between you and your editor/agent every time you call

Criticut—a member of a writers' group who scribbles a single derogatory word across the front page of your work (DRIVEL!) but offers no other comment whatsoever

Chickencrit—a member of a writers' group who offers plenty of criticism and advice, yet never, ever offers up their own work for scrutiny

Embarrasqueak—the excited noise one makes when the answer to a perplexing plot question (for example) strikes at an inappropriate time, such as in the middle of a staff meeting or at a funeral for the kids' hamster

Embarrastare—the blank stare on a writer's face when lost in thought, again at inopportune and embarrassing moments

Frusta-freeze—an inexplicably frozen computer screen (and the inexplicable error message that follows)

Keybored—the act of aimlessly surfing the Web when you should be working

Queternity—the amount of time that elapses between sending out a query and hearing something back

Repeat-a-cut—a paper cut that keeps getting reopened

Wikiholica—person with a tragic addiction to Wikipedia

Zoomilocation—A future Olympic event, zoomilocation describes the act of zipping around your office on a chair with wheels

And there's an actual term that describes that elusive word just on the tip of your tongue—you know, the word so elusive that nothing remotely similar comes to mind, so even your thesaurus can't help you?

And, finally, one more. Rich Hall is to thank for this one: Sarchasm—the gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it. (May we suggest sarcastrophe, as in "The humor of this piece fell flat, which was an unfortunate sarcastrophe"?)

Writers worldwide should be quite happy with this treasure trove of new material. No longer will we have to rack our brains for just the right phrase to describe two people wrestling for the same armrest at the movie theater (elbonics), or that smudgy, slimy nose print dogs leave on the windows (pupkus). Thank you, Rich Hall. Thank you for enriching our vocabulary and expanding our repertoire of yet more words to learn how to spell.

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We use expressions every day that we—and those we communicate with—understand. However, to someone not brought up using American English, the expressions make very little sense. These expressions are often archaic and the literal meaning often has little to do with the meaning of the phrase as it is used today. It's fun to learn about these origins. Below are a few of these expressions and their unlikely beginnings.

Every man is cursed by the piece of the notorious apple that got caught in Adam’s throat—ADAM’S APPLE.

Before the days of credit cards, seaside shopkeepers extended credit to the wives of sailors. The bill had to be paid on the day the ship arrived in port. An early sailor’s wife promised to pay—WHEN MY SHIP COMES IN.

Pre-industrial workers carried their tools in a sack. They knew they were being fired from a job when their employer handed them their sack—GETTING SACKED.

When George Washington asked the slave of a New Jersey judge whether the judge was in favor of the rebels or favored British rule, he told Washington that the judge was ON THE FENCE.

During Reconstruction after the Civil War, President Andrew Johnson declared that traitors should TAKE A BACK SEAT in the work of reconstruction.

Ancient people had many myths. One of these myths was that of a huge dog who served a Norse god. When it rained very hard, the dog (wind) chased a cat (rain)—RAINING CATS AND DOGS.

Ancient Greeks voted by placing a bean in the helmet of the candidate they favored. When the beans had been counted, they were returned to the helmets. The winner would SPILL THE BEANS and put the helmet on his head, thereby accepting the elected office.

When ships had rigging and masts, a sailor could only advance himself by KNOWING THE ROPES.

CUT THE MUSTARD—The cut refers to harvesting the flavorful and sought after mustard plant, If you cannot cut the mustard, you cannot supply what is best.

In early Hollywood, the cut from a dramatic scene to an action scene—CUT TO THE CHASE.

Quick comes from the Old English word cwicu, meaning "living," and refers to the most sensitive flesh on the human body, which is protected by the fingernails and toenails. Someone who has been figuratively CUT TO THE QUICK feels inner pain as intense as if the quick had been pierced.

Usually credited to the American trade union organizer, Joe Hill, who wrote in The Preacher and the Slave (1906): "You will eat, bye and bye, / In the glorious land above the sky! / Work and pray, live on hay, / You'll get PIE IN THE SKY when you die". This was a parody of a popular hymn—the gist of which was to be resigned to poverty and misery on earth and receive a reward in heaven. This, of course, was also a way to preserve civil order—the rich and powerful keeping the poor in their place. But the phrase was taken up by the radical Industrial Workers of the World, an American labor movement.

Despite its modern association with impossible dreams, PIPE DREAM was originally a reference to the pipe-smoking of opium and the hallucinations it produces. Opium used to be a legal drug in the form of laudanum.

PUT A SOCK IN IT—There are two suggested origins—one dates from the early days of the gramophone when, since there was no volume control, a sock was stuffed into the horn of the machine to deaden the sound. The other is a military origin—a heavy snorer is told to PUT A SOCK IN IT.

To exert painful pressure on a person, a thumbscrew—an instrument of torture used to compress a person’s thumb was employed—PUT THE SCREWS ON.

To be PUT THROUGH THE MILL is to suffer an ordeal or tragedy. It is an allusion to grain being crushed by a millstone.

Early British shopkeepers would hang a banner describing their wares on a pole or stick. The people of the town would gather to read the banners, eventually to socialize and share news—thus the HANGOUT.

Before clocks, time was noted by notches or nicks on a stick—IN THE NICK OF TIME.

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As any text-messaging teenager will tell you, POS BBL means "parents over shoulder; be back later." For those of us who need a translator: "An adult is reading this over my shoulder. I'll have to get back to you when I have more privacy." This "web slang" has evolved from a few shortcut phrases used in e-mails and chat rooms (cu = see you) to a full-blown pseudo language that allows people to communicate with less typing.

In Peter Straub's In The Night Room, the main character communicates with the dead via e-mail—all in acronyms and abbreviations. It may look like gibberish to some, but web slang has become a universal language, even in places where the native language is not English.

We've compiled a list of the most common slang used in chat rooms, text messaging, and e-mail. They are listed in capital letters for ease of reading, but as any web-speak master knows, using all capitals is the equivalent of shouting and is considered rude...or flaming. Many common acronyms have not been included due to R-rated language; but if you're under the age of 21, you probably know all of these and more...feel free to skip this part. (WEG*)          *Wicked Evil Grin

<3 = love or heart (turn your head sideways) 

AAK: Alive and kicking

ADN: Any day now

AFK: Away from the keyboard

AFN: That's all for now

ASL: Age/Sex/Location

B4: Before

BBL: Be back later

BCNU: Be seeing you

B/F or BF: Boyfriend

BFF: Best friend forever

BRB: Be right back

BTW: By the way

CU or CYA: See you or see ya

DEGT: Don't even go there

DIKU: Do I know you?

DIS: Did I say

EG: Evil grin

EM: E-mail

F2F: Face to face

flame: to insult someone

FOCL: Falling off chair laughing

FTW: For the win, usually accompanied by \o/, as in arms raised in victory

FWIW: For what it's worth

FUBAR: "Fouled" up beyond repair

GAL: Get a life

G/F or GF: Girlfriend

GGOH: Gotta get outta here

GJ: Good job

GL: Good luck

GMTA: Great minds think alike

GR&D: Grinning, running & ducking

GTR: Got to run

H&K: Hugs & kisses

HAGD: Have a good day

HAGO: Have a good one

HB: Hurry back

HTH: Hope that helps

IB: I'm back

IC: I see

IDN or IDK: I don't know

IDTS: I don't think so

IMHO: In my humble opinion

IRL: In real life

JIC: Just in case

JW: Just wondering

KIT: Keep in touch

LMAO: Laughing my a** off

LOL: Laughing out loud

LTNS: Long time no see

LY: Love ya

JAS: Just a second

NIMBY: Not in my backyard

NP: No problem

NRN: No response necessary

NT: No thanks

O RLY?: oh really?

OL: The old lady

OM: The old man

OMG: Oh my gosh, oh my god

OT: Off topic

OTOH: On the other hand

P911: Parents are in the room

peeps or PPL: People

peep this: Hey, listen to this

PLS or PLZ: Please

PMJI: Pardon me for jumping in

POTS: Plain old telephone service

POS: Parents over the shoulder

RL: Real life (versus online)

ROFL: Rolling on floor laughing

RSN: Real soon now

RU: Are you?

SH: Same here

SO: Significant other

SOS: Same old "stuff"

SOTA: State of the art

SRS BZNS: Serious business

STR8: Straight (as in sexuality)

SY: Sincerely yours

TAFN: That's all for now

TC: Take care

THX or TY: Thanks!

TL; DR: Too long; didn't read

TMI: Too much information

TNT: Till next time

TRDMY: Tears running down my face

TPS: That's pretty stupid

TTFN: Ta-ta for now

TTYL: Talk to you later

USA: Until sides ache

UV: Unpleasant visual

UW or YW: You're welcome

WB: Welcome back

WEG: Wicked evil grin

WEU: What's eating you?

WTG: Way to go

WFM: Works for me

WWJD: What would Jesus do?

YAA: Yet another acronym

YBS: You'll be sorry

Urban Dictionary is a great resource to look up any other web slang or acronyms that you're not aware of. http://www.urbandictionary.com

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Author’s Submission Service Since 1994