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At long last, Merriam-Webster has flung open the doors of its prestigious dictionary and invited the world in. And in it came, faster than you could say "nebulocity." With the Open Dictionary now accepting submissions, amateur wordsmiths of all stripes can disclose brand-spanking-new words that have never seen the light of publication. As you can imagine, this daring move sets the stage for an array of morbish or craptastic terms. And we couldn't be happier. If not for this bold linguistic experiment, we never would have known what a badonkadonk is. Feeling a little timid about submitting your own secret utterance? Never fear; this is a kindly environment (and the guardians at the Merriam-Webster gate have set up a few filters), so you won't come off looking like a dipstick or a vidiot.

When Ryan Jones instant messaged with some young people and couldn't understand a "thing they were typing," it made him mad -- and inspired him to create the Internet Slang Dictionary and Translator. The site, a resource for those who find themselves befuddled or enraged by what masquerades as language on the Web today, offers translations, a dictionary, a "Website Validator," and a "Guide to Netspeak." So when you walk in the room and catch your child feverishly typing "p911," you won't be in the dark. And when you're joking with a friend who suddenly writes, "c|n>k," you'll be able to laugh knowingly and shoot back, "lawlz!"