BLOG STANDARD; Hi-tech words in dictionary.

Byline: By LOUISE MALE

WANT to sex up your chat but think you're too old for iPods, weblogs and Brazilians?

Well, think again, because these words are now so commonplace they have even made it into the latest edition of The Chambers Dictionary.

The compilers have logged on to the internet for many of their new entries - reflecting the fact we are now living in a hi-tech age.

The new words include blog (online diary) and vlog (video diary).

Phishing is sending fake emails to extract confidential information and to spoof is to send emails under a bogus identity.

Other hi-tech words are: Wiki (software enabling website user to edit contents), iPod (brand of digital audio player), podcast (to publish sound files on the internet) and flash drive (storage device connected to computer).

Another 21st century issue weighing on minds is fatness, and this is also reflected in new words and phrases.

These include bingo wings, or skin flaps hanging from upper arms, as displayed by players raising hands to claim victory.

Muffin top is the roll of fat spilling over the top of low-cut, too-tight trousers.

A dietician knows your Gl is your glycaemic index, which lists foods by how quickly their carbohydrates break down into blood sugar.

Law and order legis-lation has brought the Asbo, or antisocial behaviour order. You may get an Asbo if you are a hoodie, which as well as being a hooded top is a gang member wearing the garment.

Happy-slapping is the practice of attacking an unsuspecting victim while an accomplice records events on a camera-equipped mobile phone.

Other new expressions reflect political and military events.

To sex up is defined as making something more interesting, a reference to claims that former No 10 spin doctor Alastair Campbell made changes to a document in the build-up to Iraq War. Other choice entries include tit tape (sticky stuff used to secure breasts in a revealing outfit) and rate tart (a person who moves money to take advantage of the best rates).

A man who takes out a woman just for her looks has arm candy. He may sport a permatan. Anyone having a Brazilian will lose nearly all their pubic hair in a waxing process.

Dictionary editor Ian Brookes said: "We've a database of more than 80,000 possible new words. They must be used frequently by a wide range of people - not just a certain group."

Chambers has been published since 1861. The 10th edition comes three years after the last new version.

louise.male @mirror.co.uk

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