by Bart King
chimping: Making an “Ooh! Ooh!” sound when looking at photographs of yourself or your friends. Example: “Jenny sha-mailed us photos from the party and we all started, like, chimping.”
cling-on: A girlfriend who is like a shadow, never leaving your side.
co-inky dink: Coincidence!
conked: Having curly hair straightened.
Crayola storm: A girl who wears as many bright colors as she can all the time.
creep-ola: Creepy, bad, off-limits. If your best friend’s little brother wants to go out with you, it can be creep-ola!
cutiful: Between cute and beautiful.
cutissimo (cute-ees-ee-mo): The ultimate state of cuteness.
dandruff: A girl who “flakes out” and ditches her friends.
de-friend: To break up with a friend. “After what Kylie said, I had to de-friend her.”
devastated: Amazed! Blown away! Really impressed!
diss: To disrespect or insult.
do someone a crutch: Do somebody a favor.
duh-moment: The feeling you get right after you ask a dumb question. “I had a duh-moment after I asked her where she got her birthmark.”
e-mauler: A person who writes mean e-mails.
eleventeen-year-olds: Any 9 to 12 year-old girl who tries to look older than she is.
EWOW: “Excessive Winking on the Web.” What happens when a girl uses too many “winks” in her messages. Example: Hi QT! ;-) Howz it goin? ;-) Ta-ta! ;-)
eye candy: Any attractive person.
eyebrella: Hairy eyebrows.
face-mail: Talking to someone in person.
fake ’n’ bake: A tan that someone got in a tanning salon.
felectricity (fee-lek-tris-ity): When cat hair sticks to your clothes.
fine: A good word to use when you’re tired of arguing with a boy.
five minutes: How much longer you need to get ready. (The actual time may be slightly longer!)
frippet: A girl who is a show-off.
froufrou (froo-froo): Fluffy trimmings, like ribbons, ruffles, and lace. (Froufrou is a real word; it came from the rustling sound a girl in a dress makes.)
girl crush: Adoring a super-cool girl (in a platonic way!)
glossaholic: A girl addicted to lip gloss or ChapStick.
go ballistic: To become really angry.
hangabur: What you used to call a hamburger.
harsh the mellow: To upset people.
have a cow: What your parents do when you make one little mistake. (They’d actually “have a calf” if this ever literally happened.)
hello-ha: A cute way to say “Hi” with a Hawaiian flavor.
hissy fit: Apparently, angry girls throw these, but we’re not sure how far. (Actual hissing may occur.)
hobbit: A boy with hairy feet.
homicidal: As you know, if something is “killer,” it is really good. But if it is “homicidal,” it’s even better! Example: “Their basketball team is killer, but we are homicidal!”
hottie: We don’t really have to define this, do we?
ickyboo: When saying “ick” isn’t enough.
jargogle: To really mess something up. (This is a real word.)
jim-jams: Pajamas.
juice: Gossip.
kerfluffle: A mess.
kick it: To hang out.
killer: Really good.
kindergarten nap head: The bad hair that results from an afternoon nap.
kittywhompus: Really messed up, worse than a kerfluffle.
kumbaya (koom-bye-ya): Taking something to heart and really believing it. Example: “Robin gets all kumbaya about whatever Jason says.”
logorrhea: Non-stop talking; diarrhea of the mouth. (Another real word.)
lush: Very good.
me-mail: If a girl writes an e-mail that is all about herself, it’s me-mail.
minor ducats (duck-its): A small amount of money. “Ducats” were small gold coins used in Europe centuries ago.
Monet (moan-ay): A person who looks good from a distance, but up close, not so much. From the French painter whose artwork is the same way.
moo-juice: Milk. (Okay, so we’re immature.)
muggle: Anyone not in your group of friends.
mundane: A normal person.
Nakiesha: Term for any girl who acts like she’s a queen. “That Nakiesha walks like she’s the Homecoming queen.”
napnesia: Waking up from an afternoon nap and being totally out of it. Example: “I had such bad napnesia, I didn’t even know my name.”
newbie: A new person to any group. (Spelled “nOOb” when IMing.)
ning-nong: A nerd.
nipplecrite (nipple-krit): A girl who doesn’t wear a bra, but thinks you should (or vice-versa)!
nooj: A guy who is a harmless troublemaker.
On the D.L.: On the “down low.” This is the secret information only the truly hip people know. “On the D.L., I like chocolate!”
outie: Either a bellybutton that sticks out or a short way of saying “I’m out of here.”
pack clothes: The type of clothing worn by girls in a certain clique. Example: “Looks like corduroy pants are the pack clothes for today.”
pelmet: A very short miniskirt.
pencil beaver: A boy who chews on his pencil or pen a lot.
perflippity: Silly.
phonytail: The kind of ponytail that bald men grow.
prat: British slang for a foolish or stupid person.
quaggle: To quiver, like jelly. (Actually, a real word.)
rude o’clock: What time it is when someone wakes you up and you want to sleep.
sadaddict: A girl (maybe a Drama Queen) who is hooked on feeling sad.
salad dodger: A person who’s a bit overweight.
scandal-icious: A juicy piece of gossip.
servant distance: That weird thing that happens when one person is trailing behind the group. Example: “Amelia is always five feet behind us. Why does she do that servant distance thing?”
sha-mail: This is a Japanese term for sending pictures with cell phones.
sherblit: Any cute little thing.
shimmy: To dance.
sista: The correct way to say “sister” if you’re talking about your friends and not your female sibling. “You sistas never steer me wrong!”
skrunkle: To curl up under a warm blankie and get cozy.
solid: A favor.
skimp: A girl who never lends anyone her clothes.
snap: This is a word that can be used almost any way you want. It’s really good as an exclamation of surprise or approval.
snarky: In a bad mood.
spenny: Expensive.
spiteor (spit-ee-or): A person who spits a lot when he talks (a.k.a. splattermouth).
stage-phoning: Loud talking on a cell phone in a show-offy way
stink eye: To give someone a dirty look.
sugar fairy: A girl who’s always a little too sweet.
tanorexic: A girl who has a tanning disorder. She thinks that she’s too pale, and so she tans constantly.
teacher breath: Bad breath, especially if it smells like coffee.
tootles: Depending on who you talk to, either a really cute or really sad way to say “good-bye.”
trout pout: The weird lips a girl gets if she uses too much lip plumper.
tufty: A cowlick that just won’t go away.
Venus: A beautiful girl.
vidiot: Person who watches too much TV.
walk of shame: What you have to do if you wear the same clothes two days in a row.
whatever (what-EV-er): The perfect comeback line to someone who is annoying you. Or an extremely annoying word to hear from someone you’re talking to!
wicked: Really good. Example: “That actress who played the witch was wicked.”
ya-huh: A good comeback to “Nuh-uh.”
yayness: When you want to say “Yay” in a different way. Example: “I aced the test! Yayness!”
zipperhead: A p
erson with a closed mind.
zzz-mail: An e-mail with a lot of attachments that takes forever to send.
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[7] 1. April 2. Maine 3. Isabella 4. OHIO
Dolls and Stuffed Animals
“Dolls are just like real life. You buy loads of clothes for them, and still only end up with a few good outfits.”
——Penny Nichols
The cool thing about dolls (besides dressing them up and giving them new hairstyles) is that you have to use your imagination to play with them. Since the dolls don’t usually move or really talk, it’s up to you to act and speak for them. This can make playing with dolls a whole world of creativity, as dolls trade clothes, go to parties, and solve the world’s problems.
Of course, dolls aren’t just for little girls. After all, there is no right or wrong age to play with dolls. Some girls never get into dolls, while others never give them up.
Barbie
Barbie really is the queen of dolls. Most dolls are lucky to last a year in toy stores before they disappear forever. But Barbie has been around since probably before your parents were born! She showed up in 1959, and since then, over 700 million Barbies have been sold. (That’s twice as many people as there are in the United States right now.)
A woman named Ruth Handler ran the Mattel Toy Company in the 1950s. Ruth saw a German doll named “Lilli.” This doll was a woman, not a baby doll which was unusual back then. Ruth’s daughter, Barbara, was 11 years old at the time, and Ruth wondered if an “adult” doll would be interesting to a girl getting ready to be a teenager.
Ruth named her new doll after Barbara (Barbie!). And while Barbie was originally a favorite with 11- to 12-year-olds, she is now most popular with much younger girls. Preschool girls are one of her biggest fan bases!
Through the years, Barbie has had many different versions and jobs:
1959: A star is born! (Okay, molded out of plastic, but still.)
1968: Talking Barbie came out! She could say six phrases in Spanish or English, like “Would you like to go shopping?” and “I love being a fashion model.”
1970: Living Barbie came out. Some girls were disappointed because Living Barbie was not actually alive.
1979: Kissing Barbie was stolen from girls by their brothers because G.I. Joe asked them to.
1980: Black Barbie and Hispanic Barbie came out. It only took 21 years!
1982: The Eskimo Barbie was released. What’s next? Icelandic Barbie?
1987: Icelandic Barbie came out.
1988: Korean Barbie hit the stores.
1991: Czechoslovakian Barbie? (Many girls were really confused.)
1992: Totally Hair Barbie arrived; her hair went all the way to her feet. She was the best selling version of Barbie ever. Rappin’ Rockin’ Barbie — Yo! also arrived this year. Girls and rappers rejoiced together in wild street parties.
1993: The Barbie Liberation Front removed the voice boxes of Barbies in over 40 states and replaced them with ones from G.I. Joe. Girls were surprised to hear their dolls saying, “Eat lead, Cobra” in deep voices. Boys were amazed to hear their action figures say, “Will we have enough clothes?”
2000: Barbie for President was released. (Since girls can’t vote, Barbie lost the election.)
2002: Lingerie Barbie comes out. Not the smartest idea.
There have been complaints about Barbie over the years. Some people complain that Barbie encourages mindless shopping. For instance, seven different Barbie Play Sets with shopping themes came out in 2003: Sweet Shoppin’ Barbie, Shop & Style Fashion Barbie, Let’s Grocery Shop Barbie, and so forth. Maybe instead of shopping, Barbie could do something more productive with her time, like tutoring Groovy Girls or going to college.
Another sore spot has been Barbie’s body. If the original Barbie were the height of an average woman, her bust measurement would be about 39 inches. (That’s big.) But her waist would only have been 19 inches! (That’s tiny.) And what’s up with those little feet? One Barbie came with a scale that showed her weight as 110 pounds. Most grown women weigh more than that! Since Barbie didn’t seem normal with this body type, she was “reconstructed” in 1998 to be less outrageous.
Finally, a 2005 study of girls and their dolls found that Barbies were treated worse by their owners than any other dolls. The bad treatments ranged from giving the dolls haircuts with scissors to putting them in the microwave. According to the report, no other toy or brand name created such a response. (The researchers theorized this was because there are so many Barbie types, they don’t seem unique.)
In 2004, Mattel started a line of Barbie clothing in Japan for real girls. Called “Barbie Couture,” the fashion line included $400 mini-skirts and $250 sweaters. Hey, it’s the price you have to pay to get dolled up. (Get it? BTW, couture is a French word that means “fashion.”)
*One of the most expensive Barbie dolls was called the “Inland Steel Barbie” from 1967. Only four of them were ever made. Recently, a family in Virginia found two of these dolls in its closet and put them on eBay. The opening bid was $7,000!
There have been many “spin-off” characters in the world of Barbie dolls. The most famous is her former boyfriend Ken. That’s right, Barbie and Ken broke up (from 2004-2006), so Barbie could date an Aussie surfer named Blaine. But hey, who expects two dolls to have a lasting relationship, anyway?
Ken was named after Barbara Handler’s real brother, uh, Ken. Like Barbie, he’s come out in many different versions. These have included Ken a Go-Go, Baywatch, and Shaving Fun versions of the Ken doll. Our favorite Ken was the Earring Magic Ken. He wore an earring and dressed in fake black leather and purple fabrics. He also had frosted hair. No wonder he was Earring Magic Ken.
*In a number of interviews, Ken has said that he really hates it when girls dress him up in Barbie’s clothes.
Mattel also released Barbie’s younger sister, named Skipper. One version of this doll was Growing Up Skipper. This doll was unique because when you pushed her arm back, she “grew” breasts. Skipper also got a slimmer waist and became almost an inch taller when her arm was pushed back. This was supposed to teach girls about their bodies, but when girls pushed their own arms back and nothing happened, they were just disappointed.
In 1966, Barbie got a little brother and sister who were twins: Tutti and Todd.
American Girl Dolls
When American Girl dolls first came out in 1986, they were supposed to be quality dolls that were historical and educational. You’ve got to like that! Since then, Mattel bought the company, and now makes Barbies and American Girl dolls.
The American Girls Collection ties American history in with the dolls through a series of books featuring the dolls as characters. They are smart and innocent; one writer describes them as being “talkative without being mouthy, and bright without being egg-headed.” In general, American Girl dolls come in a wide range of skin and hair colors, and they are all about 9 years old. (Have you noticed the dolls seem younger than the same characters in the books?) So these dolls have a lot going for them, and they have neat accessories. On the other hand, they ain’t cheap!
The American Girl Today dolls are more modern; you know, like today? They come in a wide variety of types, which is nice. Along with companion books, these dolls also have an unusual accessory: Clothing that the human girl can wear so that she’ll look like just her doll. This is cool and scary at the same time.
*Two American Girl Place stores (in Chicago and New York) have stage shows, doll hospitals, and hair salons where dolls can have their hair done for $15. And at the American Girl Café in New York City, girls can eat with their dolls seated next to them in special booster seats.
Barbie, C.S.I.
Imagine a dollhouse that is accurate down to every last detail. There is wallpaper in the kitchen and little blankets on the beds. And there is a Ken doll lying face-down in the living room. He’s been poisoned!
A woman named Frances Glessner Lee made incredibly detailed dollhouses in the
1940s. These weren’t for play; Frances was a police officer who constructed small crime scenes using dollhouses and dolls. These were used as classroom tools for the police to use as training for Crime Scene Investigation (C.S.I.).
Her “dollhouses of death” were so good, the doors in the dollhouses could be opened with tiny keys. And they were so effective as teaching tools, that dioramas like them are still used in universities and police academies today.
Bratz!
Bratz might be the opposite of American Girl Dolls. Where the American Girl Dolls are doing chores and making the world a better place, the Bratz are up to who-knows-what! Coming out in 2001, Bratz are still the new dollz on the block. This line of dolls was designed for the 9- to 12-year-old girl who might have “outgrown” Barbie and American Girl Dolls. (Girls in this age group are sometimes called “tweens,” because they’re between little girls and teenagers.)
So how are Bratz different? Well, first of all, they don’t seem to care about American history! These dolls also all have huge eyes, pouty lips, and faces with “attitude.” One of the Bratz outfits is a patent leather jumpsuit with high heels. We guess being bratty means you can wear heavy makeup and skimpy outfits! (And what’s up with their feet?)
The Bratz dolls are identified as having a “passion for fashion.” They have become popular not just because of their different “look,” but because they have a lot of accessories that set them apart from other dolls. One thing that we’ve learned from these dolls is how fashionable it is to have a name that ends in the letter “a.” Bratz dolls include Sasha, Katia, Felicia, Dana, Nevra, Fianna, Kiana, Nona, Oriana, and Valentina. Sheesh. (Or should we say “Sheesha”?)
There are boy Bratz dolls, too, like Eitan. (Even though he is only about 12 years old, he has a soul patch!) And of course, there are the younger Bratz, like the Big Babyz. These are toddlers, but because these babyz have a “passion for fashion,” they wear miniskirts while holding bottles for accessories. (We’re not kidding.)
