A New Word (sort of)

From time to time I come across an interesting new term that the young people are using. With a little under eight months to go before shuffling off the key 18-34 demographic coil, it's imperative that I keep myself in-the-know with what’s hot like Tickle-Me-Elmo and the Back Street Boys. I will share my findings here and I hope you will do the same.

I gleaned this latest ditty from the video game world. I cannot attest to its freshness as the word has no born on date. Ben Franklin could have been using the term back in 1984 or whenever it is he lived. Good ‘ol Ben. The man invented air*, founded a country, and still found time to pillow half the colonies. A God among men. But I digress.

The term is “brick.” Now I know what your thinking, “Did I wash my hair this morning, or merely use conditioner in a sleep deprived stupor.” “Brick” is a common word with a fresh new meaning.

brick (brk)

v.

1. To render an object, usually a carriable (not necessarily mobile) electronic entertainment device, unusable thereby turning it into a functionless mass.

Examples:

I bricked my iPod when I dropped it into the toilet.

Microsoft has been bricking Xbox 360s with a buggy firmware update.

To brick something is to turn it into a brick or paperweight. I’m not talking brick, as in a useful building block used by a mason. I’m talking brick as in a useless hunk of clay with a lazy attitude. You can’t brick a refrigerator. You may be able to brick a television, but maybe not because the object might have to resemble a brick in some way.

So there you have it. Brick. If you are writing a script with a technically minded twenty-something, it just might give you the legitimacy you crave. Anyone else have any “words” they’d like to share?

*Ben Franklin did not invent air.