What a source does — and does not — prove
Sources should support the particular meaning, regional note, or historical claim being made. A dated example shows that an expression was used at that time; it does not identify the first speaker. A dictionary page shows documentation, not today’s popularity. A New Words blog observation does not necessarily mean inclusion in the publisher’s main dictionary.
Launch entries
The first collection is research-assisted original writing. References were checked during launch preparation. Some straightforward vocabulary has one dictionary reference; more ambiguous entries have additional reporting or primary sources. We do not claim every entry has two independent witnesses or a human expert review.
Ongoing automated entries
- Take a candidate from a bounded editorial queue.
- Retrieve allowed, relevant reference material. Short aliases and absent definitions do not pass as evidence.
- Draft an entry from that evidence with AI assistance.
- Run a separate model pass for unsupported factual claims, ambiguity, adult-language labeling, and inappropriate prose.
- Validate the data shape, length, source identifiers, original examples, duplication, and non-graphic reference style.
- Keep uncertain entries out of the public release. If fewer than five entries pass, preserve the working edition rather than publish invented material.
A model’s agreement is not proof of correctness. Automated review is disclosed in the entry, and corrections remain welcome.
Origins and communities
We distinguish origin from popularization. African American English, LGBTQ and Ballroom traditions, regional varieties, and other communities are not automatically relabeled “TikTok language.” When the record does not support a confident origin story, the entry says so.
Adult language
Adult entries explain vocabulary without erotic narration, graphic media, or instructions. They have explicit maturity labels and context notes. A person label is not a diagnosis or a reliable statement about anyone’s private life. Ambiguous words such as gooner are explained across their different contexts.
Examples and dates
Examples are composed for the dictionary and labeled as original. They are not invented quotations attributed to real people. Checked dates identify an editorial check, not the term’s invention or its trend peak. Regional labels are contextual, not a rule about who may use a word.
Versioned publication
Each edition has a release ID and a content hash. HTML, the search index, data exports, API, and MCP resolve against the same published edition. The prior edition remains available for recovery. The target is five new entries per UTC day, subject to sufficient evidence, valid output, and budget.
View the current manifest · Publication status · Suggest a correction