Guest Post: How to Speak Geek

Editor's Note: Daniel J. Hogan isn't one to get offended by being called a geek. Rather, he's the geek half of blog Ginger and the Geek and a resident expert on geek speak. Just yesterday I sat in a room and glazed over a bit when a couple of CiesaDesign's tech guys got to speaking geek about the Bloggle's launch. Those of you in my shoes will appreciate Dan's candid glossary of geek, while those of you in his shoes will undoubtedly get a chuckle out of some hidden jokes I'm certain are over my head. Want more geek speak from Dan? Follow him as @DanielJHogan on Twitter, if you dare... Enjoy! -- Kate

Geeks are everywhere, and if you don’t want to feel left out on all of their Highly Important Conversations, you need to talk the talk. Here are just a few terms to help keep you in the loop.

Apple Z (or Ctrl Z) – If you hear a geek shouting this, something bad has happened in a computer program. Apple or Ctrl Z is the keyboard shortcut for Undo, allowing the user to go back and change something, usually for the better. See also: Frak, Spider-Man 3

Batcave – In comics, it is where the Batman keeps his gadgets, but in the workplace, it could be where your tech geek keeps their gear and computers. “I’ll be in the Batcave rendering some animation.” See also: Fortress of Solitude, Parents' Basement

Canon –Similar to branding, canon means something is part of the official universe of a fictional work. “I wanted to like that new Star Trek comic book, but it wasn’t canon—Spock never went to the University of Minnesota.” See also: Fan Fiction, Get a Life

Cosplay - Short for costume play, cosplay is the act of dressing up as a favorite character from a work of fiction (comic book, film, etc). "We're going to cosplay as the cast of Firefly at Dragon*Con." See also: Stormtrooper Armor is Expensive

Frak – A TV safe “dirty word” from Battlestar Galactica. “Who the frak moved my action figures?”

n00b – A put-down spelled with a lowercase ‘n’ and two zeroes, a n00b is someone who is a rookie, and inexperienced. Short for newbie. “Nice work, n00b, you ruined a whole day’s work.” See also: What Does This Button Do?

Retcon – To change the accepted history of something or someone in a fictional work. Similar to rebranding. Short for retroactive continuity. “They retconned the Batman’s origin so that his parents were killed by pirates.” See also: Han Shot First

Steampunk - A subgenre of science fiction and fantasy where steam power (or similar pre-internal combustion engine technology) is used, along with a Victorian era look. See also: Airships, Brass, Goggles

Troll – A person who purposely leaves negative comments online (usually anonymously), in hopes of angering the author or readers (also called trolling). If you think someone is trolling, they probably are. See also: Any Newspaper’s Website, Film Blogs, Sports Blogs