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- n. An animal that's a hybrid of a zebra and a horse. Example Citation: In addition to their five horses, the Elders own Zeb, a 10-year-old zebra. "It's always been something I've wanted," Clarence said. "I wanted one for the challenge and just to be different." The Elders bought Zeb from a ranch near Loma, Colo., for $8,000. They cannot ride Zeb because a zebra's back cannot support the weight of a rider. But he was bred to three of the Elders' mares, and they are expecting three "zorses" this spring. —"North Dakota News Briefs," The Associated Press, October 20, 2002 Earliest Citation: Two dozen Loganville first graders giggled and gawked as dog trainer Jennifer Maginnis whistled Shep, her prize-winning border collie, through his paces. Maginnis gave a command and Shep darted one way, herding a small clutch of sheep up a hill. Then she whistled a second signal and Shep tore off in another direction, moving the sheep back where they had been before. "I wish my dog was smart like that," 7-year-old Emerald Lane said. But smart, sheep-steering dogs weren't the only impressive animals Emerald and her classmates found during a recent visit to Bluesprings Farm. "We got to see a zebra!" said Emerald. ... Soon he expects to have a new critter vying for affection. A pony was expecting and the suspected father was the zebra. Which of course, means the new addition to the farm will be a . . . "It's a zorse," Baird said, with a laugh. "Because the kids named it that." —Joe Earle, "In Loganville, travel mementos graze and entertain children," The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, May 12, 1994
- n. A sport in which a person is strapped inside a large sphere which is itself held inside a larger sphere by a cushion of air, and then rolled down a hill or along the ground. —zorb n. The sphere used in the sport. —zorbonaut n. The person strapped inside the sphere. Example Citations: Ball nuts have a new outlet for indulging spherical fantasies — zorbing. Brought to you by the sensory-deprived souls who gave us bungee jumping and river sledging, New Zealanders with too much downtime, zorbing takes you into the game of globular physics. You are no longer a ballplayer; you are the ball. The sport involves the insertion of a human into the inner sphere of a giant double-skinned orb with air holes. A roll down a hillside sets off involuntary Olympics-style tumbling within. If you've ever wanted to flip like Mary Lou Retton or spin with the wild abandon of sneakers in a Maytag, zorbing may be your thing. No skills required, other than ability to hold down food. —"Let it roll," Los Angeles Times, October 28, 2003 The latest zorb — made to look like a pumpkin — was completed this week and is on its way to wow the crowds at Euro Disney's Halloween celebration. Invented almost 10 years ago by Andrew Akers and Dwane van der Sluis, zorbing is now a global business with agents and franchisees in many countries. ... Hydro-zorbing is the latest development. The passenger is not strapped in but left to flail about as the zorb floats across water. —Ellen Read, "Zorb inventors rolling in it," The New Zealand Herald, August 15, 2003 Earliest Citation: What is it with New Zealand? Just when we had got used to bungee jumping from helicopters, they have come up with a new way of pumping the adrenaline: zorbing. We are reliably informed this involves climbing inside a giant perspex sphere and being rolled down a mountainside. If the place is that short of excitement, wouldn't it be easier to emigrate? —Mark Hodson, "Roll with it," Sunday Times (London), April 21, 1996
- n. A computer containing a hidden software program that enables the machine to be controlled remotely, usually to perform an attack on another computer. Example Citation: The new version of a software package dubbed 'Trinoo' allows attackers to infiltrate ordinary desktop computers running Microsoft's Windows operating system. These computers — particularly those connected to high-speed Internet services — could then be used in assaults on other Web sites, security analysts say. ... These tools allow an attacker to place agents on "zombie" computers around the world and then wake them up simultaneously to launch a crippling stream of Web traffic at a target site. —"New software simplifies denial-of-service attacks," St. Petersburg Times, February 24, 2000 Earliest Citation: A new form of Denial of Service (DoS) attack caused by the trin00 and Tribe Network Flood programs has been wreaking havoc on bandwidth on a larger scale than ever before, according to Chris Klous, founder and chief technology officer of Internet Security Systems (ISS). This DoS attack employs a simple concept: sending bogus packets from a remote location to IP routers where they collect and eventually plug up a pipe. The danger is manifested in this version because the hackers are gaining control of as many as thousands of vulnerable zombie computers in order to magnify and direct their full-scale assault against a single victim from all directions. —Brian Fonseca, "Denial-of-service attacks employ zombie PCs to hit networks," InfoWorld Daily News, December 9, 1999
- n. A short, sitcom-style video available over the Internet. Example Citations: The Web site DailyComedy.com, a venture "aimed at overthrowing the current comedy regime," guarantees new laughs every day. The site staffs 15 comedians who post new bits several times a day in text, video and audio formats; the constant updates ensure that the jokes lampoon the most up-to-the minute newsmakers and current events. Users can rate and comment on the material. Also featured are "bitcoms," brief, sitcom-like videos made for quick Internet viewing. —Jamie Livengood, " A laugh a day keeps the ...," Chattanooga Times Free Press, August 9, 2006 Fox's tragic loss is the Web's major gain. Former Arrested Development star Michael Cera — arguably the funniest 18-year-old in the world — and his actor-buddy Clark Duke have inked a deal with CBS' new broadband channel, Innertube. The duo will write, produce, direct, and act in their own short-form comedy series called, succinctly, Clark and Michael. —Eric Steuer, "Sitcom to bitcom," Wired, March 1, 2007 Earliest Citation: Headed by Russell Collins, Fattal & Collins is the Santa Monica-based ad house responsible for "The Spot," an innovative episodic bitcom that has won a wide audience on the World Wide Web. —Rex Weiner, "CAA's net gain: $ marks 'The Spot'," Variety, January 8, 1996
- n. A television sitcom aimed at or featuring teenagers. Also: zit-com. Example Citation: Press barons Kellner and Ancier, famous for their WB zitcoms and teen soaps, are attempting to "young-up" the news. The new zippy format is supposed to be hip, hipper than hip, as a way of trapping young people into watching the news. —Marvin Kitman, "All the News That's Fit to Blurt," Newsday, August 12, 2001 Earliest Citation: CBS will present two new comedies tonight. At least I think they're comedies. That's what the press releases from the network say they are. It's good to have a visual aid sometimes. First up is "Fast Times," airing from 7 to 7:30 on WBBM-Channel 2, followed by "Tough Cookies" from 7:30 to 8. "Fast Times," best described as a zit-com, is loosely based on the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." —Daniel Ruth, "`Fast Times': CBS hits a new slow," Chicago Sun-Times, March 5, 1986 Notes: The word zit — a pimple — entered the language around 1966 (the Oxford English Dictionary lists its etymology as "origin unknown") and has been going strong ever since. Most new dictionaries have an entry for it, and it pops up even in the most august publications (for example, it has made appearances in The New York Times and The Washington Post this year). It's a homely little word, but perhaps that's the secret of its success: it just feels like the right word for what it describes (unlike, say, the euphemistic blemish). Its role in today's word — blending with sitcom (1964; short for situation comedy) — is obvious enough, considering that teenagers are acne's target market.
- n. A stupid person, or a person who has a closed mind. Also: zipper-head, zipper head. Example Citation: "Most of the people use their boats and Waverunners properly, but then we have those we call zipperheads," said Sgt. Jim Cowan of the marine division. "These are otherwise intelligent people who when they get on the water, they unzip their heads, take out their brains and then go out on the lake with their Jet Skis." —Jim Tittsworth, "Jet skiing may be a gas, but don't forget to check your gauge," The Detroit News, June 2, 1998 Earliest Citation: Traffic is a nuisance, said Steve Sloan, 27, and the rowdy fans cause problems. "You have a bunch of zipperheads who don't know where they are going," he said. —Mary Tabor, "Foxborough officials laud windfall from Rolling Stones," The Boston Globe, September 28, 1989 Also: To keep competition from those stores, as well as from his own, to a minimum, Millan has developed strong identities for his each of his stores. Zipperhead, which he describes as "young, fresh and crazy," features flourescent pink walls, neon lighting and giant zippers throughout. —Barbara Krupnicki, "Specialty stores and boutiques zoom in on new-old strategies," Daily News Record, February 19, 1985 Notes: There's a store in Philadelphia called Zipperhead that sells punk and rock and roll clothing and merchandise (motto: "Where punk is prince but quality is king!"). It was established in 1980, so it qualifies as the earliest use of the word so far. Thanks to Frederic Bush for telling me about this store
- n. A marketing campaign aimed at a specific ZIP code or postal region. Also: zip-code marketing. Example Citation: An Olathe marketing firm will commemorate its 25th anniversary with an open house this week. Ruf Strategic Solutions plans its celebration from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday at 1533 E. Spruce St. ... The firm's milestones include partnering with Martin Baier, known as the father of zip code marketing. —Linda Cruse, "Marketing firm will celebrate 25 years," Kansas City Star, July 25, 2001 Earliest Citation: Newspapers must consider ways to enhance the use of zip code marketing through audit bureau of circulation reports of circulation and census data analysis and zip code maps. —Mike Drexler, "How newspapers can survive mid-life crisis," Marketing & Media Decisions, February, 1983 Notes: Outside of the U.S., this technique is known as postal code marketing.
- n. A person who writes, edits, and publishes a zine; a person who reads only zines. Also: 'zinester. Example Citations: In addition to excerpts from dozens of zines, the authors offer how-tos for would-be zinesters on raising money, distribution, the pros and cons of collaboration and more. —Booth Moore, "The Macro View of Micro-Publishing," The Los Angeles Times, November 3, 1998 Zine culture, more than most previous cognates, is an inherently shattered culture — it's only defining characteristic being that it has no defining characteristic. But just now, some of the shards are heading uptown — and it doesn't seem to mean that they're leaving anything, their principles or even their continued participation in zine and alt culture behind. Former and continuing zinesters like Munroe and Lynn Crosbie are signing on with big publishers (HarperCollins and Doubleday, respectively) and early reports suggest they're not dumbing down or straightening out for the privilege. —Bert Archer, "Heady zine scene permeates mainstream," The Toronto Star, October 10, 1998 Earliest Citation: For three years, 1989-91, Janice was art director for Factsheet Five, a sort of megazine that listed and reviewed hundreds of zines and acted as a clearinghouse for zine fans, called zinesters. —Pat Guy, "Wacky magazines know no limits," USA Today, August 3, 1992 Notes: The word zine (1965) is short for either magazine or fanzine. Writer David Futrelle defined zines perfectly as "tiny, self-published mini-magazines chronicling personal obsessions and pop culture oddities."
- adj. 1. Relating to a computer security vulnerability that is exploited before the vulnerability is known to security experts. 2. Relating to information obtained or discovered before it is publicly available. Also: zero day, 0day. Example Citations: Security and vulnerability tracking companies' reactions were more dramatic: they immediately raised alert levels, both because the flaw was an unpatched "zero-day" bug, and also because exploits were already out and about. Danish security company Secunia, for instance, tagged the new flaw as "Extremely critical," its highest warning; Symantec, meanwhile, gave it a rating of 9.4 on its 10-point scale for vulnerability alerts. —Gregg Keizer, "Attackers Exploit New Zero-Day Windows Bug," InformationWeek, December 28, 2005 Some vendors say they're doing the industry a service by paying others to uncover vulnerabilities, presumably removing software bugs. I agree it's a good thing not to have researchers posting harmful zero-day exploits on the Internet without giving the affected vendor time to address the issue. I also agree it's a good idea for security vendors to collect zero-day information so they can provide preemptive protection capabilities to their products. But these ends are better achieved through controlled research within reputable and established security research organizations. —Christopher Rouland, "It's NOT ethical for security companies to buy vulnerability information," Network World, September 12, 2005 Earliest Citation: "Hackers raise the bar for security and find holes that wouldn't otherwise be found," said Kent Browne of Condemned.org, a group of volunteer hackers that target child pornography sites. Browne said even the best intrusion detection tools identify only about 50 per cent of these exploits. The so-called zero day exploit list, which is circulated between elite hackers, features a minimum of 100 fresh vulnerabilities a week, he claimed. —"'We're the good guys' claim hackers," VNU Newswire, April 13, 2000
- adj. Relating to a highly motivated employee who has few personal responsibilities and so can work long hours, travel frequently, or be called in to work with little notice. 无拖累的（未婚、无子女、可以经常加班出差等员工）。 周玉亮 首译 Example Citation: "The ideal zero-drag employee is young, unmarried and childless with no responsibilities and an eagerness to do well." —Diane E. Lewis, "Wedded to workplace," The Boston Globe, March 11, 2001 Earliest Citation: Everything is faster. Zero drag is optimal. For a while, new applicants would jokingly be asked about their 'drag coefficient.' Since the office is a full hour's commute from San Francisco, an apartment in the city was a full unit of drag. A spouse? Drag coefficient of one. Kids? A half point per. —Po Bronson, "Instant Company," The New York Times, July 11, 1999 Notes: In physics, drag refers to the resistance experienced by an object moving through a fluid medium (such as air). Zero drag is an ideal state where the object experiences no resistance at all, much like an eager, no-spouse, no-kids, no-pets employee. Related Words: