to order something such as a book, DVD or handbag before the item goes on sale, to ensure that you are one of the first people to get it.Pre-order The Crying Light, the new album from Antony & the [..]

a mis-shop is something that you buy that turns out to be a mistake and you realise that you should not have bought itI’m afraid that my new handbag is a real mis-shop. I can never find anything in it [..]

the use of formal public relations or political campaigns to create what seems to be a popular grassroots movement about a particular issue. Astroturf is artificial grass, and astroturfing is a word t [..]

a woman who does not want to get married or to have children because she is happy to live by herself and do what she wants when she wantsThis new breed of singleton has been dubbed a ‘freemale’ becaus [..]

debts that a lender, such as a bank or a mortgage company, is unlikely to be able to recover because the person or company that borrowed the money cannot afford to pay it backPutting $700 bn of taxpay [..]

a very poor underprivileged person, especially a child, who lives in a slumHow can this slumdog succed in life?

an extra bonus that the German and British governments will pay to everyone who scraps a car which is at least 9 years old in Germany and 10 years old in BritainThe German government’s scrappage incen [..]

somebody who tries to sell their property and buy something smallerthe credit crunch means that would-be downsizers are having problems selling and moving

an informal word for a resident of South AfricaSaffers, don't forget overseas voting has started!

a bag carried by a man, similar to a woman's handbag, in which he puts his money, credit cards, mobile phone and so onIt’s a good question - what exactly IS a manbag?On one level it’s self-eviden [..]