Twitter Me Timbers –or– I'll Be a Steampunkin' Baby Bump!

Being an English major, I've fallen into the habit of speaking with good grammar as much as I try to write with such. However, when I am relaxed and happy I speak with double negatives, shoddy grammar, and drop my endings, such as in "gettin'." It's become teasing fodder for Jeff, but I think it's only fair, as I try to guide him into saying words like "host," and "boat" to hear his wonderful Wisconsin accent.

(That said, the "mouse in the house" easily comes out of him this week. Lovely!)

As an English tutor for several international students, I find myself being a sort of cultural and language ambassador. Most hard for me to explain are the slang words; I don't use them that much myself, as a) I am older by 10 years over most of the students and b) meanings of slang words change so fast that they're hard to keep up with. I'm better at the vernacular sayings, such as "see you later, gator/pigeon/sugarplum," "how goes it?" and "'chupto?"

Lately there have been words and slang entering the American English language that I cannot stand, and I grit my teeth whenever I hear them. Fortunately, gritting teeth can often be mistaken for grins, so I don't cause too much public dissent.

Below is a small list of the ones that annoy me the most:

• baby bump – I used to think this was cute, but as time goes on I find myself realizing the irritating nature of the phrase used to describe the maternal swelling associated with pregnancy. "Baby bump" makes me think of some horrible disease that afflicts only infants: "Did you hear about Karen's new son Evan? He's got the baby bump!" I think that reverting to "pregnancy belly" or "baby belly" is fine. In general, bumps are not seen as harbingers of great joy.
• steampunk – For the love of all that is holy, can someone finally tell me what this actually means? I get the steam, but where does the punk come in to the equation? Many steampunkers don't seem to listen to the music and just like the brass-and-gears look. As one phile of the aesthetic put it, "I like the look of steampunk but hate the name, and I don't like much of the music. Why don't we call the style [itself] neo-Victorian or Victorian fantasy?" Amen, brother.
• twitter – Okay, I get the fact that it's a gadget. I get the fact that is truncates everyone's lives down into less than 200 words. I get that it's another electronic device that allows for communication. I just don't like "twitter" as a verb. Not that I don't expect people to put down their technology and go back to the ways of the telegraph and smoke signals, but the next young pup to ask me: "Do you twitter?" is either going to get an eyefull of mud or a ten-minute lecture describing how I am not of avian descent.