又中又英—— fluffernutter

　　Most languages, including English, evolve over time. Some English dictionaries, such as Oxford and Merriam-Webster, regularly add new words to show how the English language has evolved. Last month Merriam-Webster added over 400 words to its online dictionary. It added new words in areas such as online and communications, tech and science, politics, and food. The most interesting word to me is from the food section. The word is fluffernutter. A fluffernutter is a sandwich made with white bread. Peanut butter is spread on one slice and marshmallow crème on the other slice. The two slices are put together to make a sandwich. Marshmallow crème is made with corn syrup, sugar syrup, vanilla flavour, and egg whites. It tastes like marshmallows.
　　Crème is a French word for cream. Fluffernutters originated in 1913 in New England, a term for six states in the Northeastern US. Merriam-Webster added it as a new word because it has become more popular. Another word I like is from the political section. The word is whataboutism. If you criticize someone for doing something wrong and that person responds by criticizing you or someone else, it is called whataboutism. The person will reply by saying“what about you?”or“what about him?”The US often criticizes China’s human rights record and China responds by saying“what about your human rights record?”This word dates back to the 1970s but has become more popular. That is why Merriam-Webster added it.
　　Merriam-Webster added“deplatform”to the communications section of its dictionary because of the word’s growing popularity. Nowadays it is used to describe a person or a group that is banned from platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Former US President Donald Trump was deplatformed by all three of these platforms. A funny new word in Merriam-Webster’s pop culture section is dad bod. It describes the body of an average and middle-aged father who is a bit overweight and not very muscular. The word comes from dad (father) and body.
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　　大部份的语言，包括英语，都会随着时间而演变。一些英文字典，例如牛津和韦氏字典，会定期增添一些新字词，去反映英语如何演变。上个月，韦氏就给其网上字典新增了超过四百字。它增加了一些网上与传讯、科技、政治以及食物等范畴的新字。对我来说，最有趣的新字是来自食物部份，那字是 fluffernutter。A fluffernutter是用白面包制成的三文治，一片面包涂上花生酱，另一片则涂上棉花糖酱（marshmallow crème），将两片面包夹在一起就制成三文治。Marshmallow crème是用玉米糖浆、糖浆、云呢拿香油以及蛋白制成，味道就像棉花糖一样。
　　Crème是忌廉的法语。这花生酱棉花糖三文治（fluffernutters）起源于一九一三年的新英格兰（New England），即包括了美国东北部六个州的区域。韦氏将之收录为新字，因为它愈来愈受欢迎。另一个我喜欢的新字来自政治范畴，这个字就是 whataboutism。若你批评某人做错事，而那人的回应是反过来批评你或其他人，这就叫做「那又怎么说」论（whataboutism）；那个人会用「那你又怎样？」或「那他又怎样？」来反驳。美国常批评中国的人权纪录，中国的回应则是说：「那你们的人权纪录又怎样？」这个字可追溯至一九七○年代，但现已日趋流行，因此韦氏新增了这个字。
　　因应“deplatform”一字愈来愈普及，韦氏又将之加进字典的传讯部份里。现时它是用来形容一个人或一群人被禁绝于脸书、 Instagram和推特等平台。前美国总统特朗普就全被这三个平台驱逐（deplatformed）。韦氏字典的流行文化部份亦有一个有趣的新词是 dad bod——它形容一般中年父亲的身形：略为肥胖，也不健硕。此词由老爸（dad）和身材（body）组合而成。中译：七刻
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Michael Chugani 褚简宁