I have always made up my own colorful words and expressions along my way in life.

I am a word-porn kind of gal and sometimes if I can’t find an adequate word that exactly describes a situation or a way that a person is behaving, I just take the liberty of making one up.

I am almost certain that the following four words and expressions originated in my brain—although I am open to being mistaken. I have even looked these words up and couldn’t find them used in the way that I use them on Google.

So, here are four of my special terms and ways of communicating with descriptive meanings and examples of how you can start using them too.

Let’s see if we can use these expressions sufficiently enough as a community to get them added into the dictionary at some point in the near future.

1.  Cringles.

This word is perfect for when you find yourself in a situation with the cutest little baby bunny, kitten or other excessively tiny and cute creature that you can imagine. You may find yourself wanting to squeeze this adorable creature as tightly as you possibly can, but know that if you do, that you would squish it to death. And that is most definitely not what anyone would want to do.

This term can also be used when describing beloved people (especially ones mate or children) who are being exceptionally charming and delectable.

I use this word in sentences, such as, “Oh my God, that baby bunny is so cute, it is giving me the cringles!” Or, “I love you so much and that amazingly loving card you gave me is making me get the cringles for you.”

I can’t think of another word in the English language that adequately describes this feeling. Other people who I have known for any amount of time have adopted this word into their vocabulary as well.

2.  Hovercraft.

Yes, yes I know this is a word in the dictionary, but I use it in a completely unique fashion.

This word first originated during my college years at a pizza and beer get-together while I was talking to my husband-to-be. We were exchanging pleasantries and making eyes at each other, when all of a sudden, one of his friends came over and just stood there looking at us and started listening in to our private conversation. We paid him no attention, as we were lost in each other’s company that night. But, it was still awkward!

This went on for some time, and I kept thinking that this individual would finally get a clue and leave on his own, but it was not to be. I became increasingly more frustrated as we both ignored him but he didn’t seem to have any intention of departing and I desperately wanted to talk privately to this magnificent creature of a man who had already captured my heart.

All of a sudden out of nowhere, I looked at his friend and blurted out of nowhere, “Stop being such a hovercraft and go hover somewhere else.” He looked slightly befuddled and somewhat insulted, but luckily the other man, who I would eventually marry, burst out laughing and diffused the situation for me.

Since that night, about 20 years ago, we have routinely used this expression when our children won’t leave us alone when we are having a serious conversation and in other similar situations.

And no, I don’t believe that there is any other word in existence that quite compares to this one for specific situations when a person is butting into your private conversations in particularly irritating ways.

3.  Wing-tipper.

This word came into existence when I first started being aware of dating in high school.

I realized that there were some people who just couldn’t live outside of a relationship and serially dated one person after another, never knowing how having their freedom for a bit of time could benefit them.

I envisioned birds that fly close together and how a person might be able to jump from one wing to another without taking breaks in-between flights. Hence the term wing-tipper originated.

This word can be used in a sentence such as, “That wing-tipper broke up with his old girlfriend on the same day that he started dating her best friend.” Or, “She can’t stand being alone, so she incessantly wing-tips from one relationship to the next.”

4.  Going up.

First of all, I have to come clean about this expression. My sister actually made it up. But we have used it so often in conversation and written communication between each other that it feels as if I have contributed enough to its existence to get at least some credit for this newly minted saying.

One might think that this is about elevators. Not so fast. This is used between my sister and I (and now a bevy of our friends) as a euphemism for when someone dies.

Technically, this saying might not always be used as a euphemism at all times, but instead as a bit of a calloused expression.

As a euphemism, this may be used in a sentence such as, “She was loved by so many and it is a shame that she went up so early in life.”

Another expression of this phrase might go something like, “He is such an unpleasant person that treats others so badly that his time to go up can’t come soon enough.”

So, there you have it—words that don’t exist quite yet by the masses, but need to be added to our language quickly.

I’m sure there are other much needed words floating around that I am not aware of and I would love to hear about them.

Together, we can fix this language of ours so that it might become a little more all-inclusive of the words we find ourselves at a loss for as they don’t yet exist.

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Editor: Bryonie Wise

Photo: elephant archives