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'Double-double'? Now you can look it up

"Double-double," "stagette" and "goal suck" are among the 5,000 new words and definitions added to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.

The newly published second edition of the dictionary "accurately reflects how Canadians speak and write in the 21st century," Katherine Barber, the book's editor-in-chief, said in a statement.

Barber cites the research into "double-double" ? a coffee with double cream and double sugar added ? as an example.

"We had to determine if it was used only in Tim Hortons doughnut shops or more widely," Barber said. "We found evidence in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Hamilton Spectator and the book Men with Brooms, based on the curling movie."

Researchers also surveyed Canadians across the country and were sent to eavesdrop in coffee shops to gauge whether people really use the term.

Some of the words and definitions added to the second edition also reflect changes in Canadian attitudes: the "stagette," a pre-wedding party for the bride and her female friends, made it in as did "lesbigay", which denotes "lesbian, bisexual or gay." The new edition also updates the definition of marriage to "the legal or religious union of two people."

Sports terms added include "goal suck" (a player who lingers by the net so as to score easily) and "hurry" (the curling term meaning "sweep"). The edition includes 100 new biographies of prominent Canadians ? including Izzy Asper, Jim Carrey, Diana Krall and Northern Dancer ? and specifies a number of place name derivatives (Banffite and Charlottetonian).

First published in 1998, the Canadian Oxford Dictionary was both a bestseller and an award-winner, netting two awards from the Canadian Booksellers Association for non-fiction book of the year and specialty book of the year. The association also named Barber editor of the year.

The official publication date of the new edition is Aug. 10, 2004 ? the 100-year anniversary of the opening of Oxford's Canadian offices.

Posted by thinkum at July 2, 2004 02:33 PM