Fuzzwords of '90s Got You Puzzled?

Ripley's Jaw-Popping Curiosity + Jacqueline Terry of Montgomery, Ala., is among the "Dislocationists,Contortionists, and Elastic People" appearing in Dear Mr. Ripley: ACompendium of Curioddities from the Believe It or Not! Archives, byMark Sloan, Roger Manley and Michelle Van Parys (Bulfinch/LittleBrown, $19.95). Terry, rumored to be the daughter of anorthodontist, balanced on her upper teeth in this 1948 photographsent to Robert Ripley to document her application for inclusion inhis syndicated cartoon feature, "Believe It or Not!" The bookincludes 226 black and white photos and a short biography of Ripley,who was born 100 years ago.D. & R. F.

If the fuzzwords of the '90s have left you feeling differentlyabled, The Oxford Dictionary of New Words (Oxford, $10.95) may be thehelpline you need.

"Differently abled" is one of three variants frankly defined as"euphemistic ways of saying `disabled' " under the dictionary's"abled" entry, with a passing reference to the similar use of"challenged." Like the next entry, the related "ableism"("discrimination in favor of the able-bodied"), "abled" isgraphically coded as a "people and society" word, invented todescribe people with particular characteristics.

But the fun isn't limited to the language of the politicallycorrect, although their "wimmin" and "womyn" (respellings of "women"aimed at removing the root "men"), "animalist" (meaning both ananimal rights campaigner and one who discriminates against animals)and "chair" (as a neuter replacement for "chairman" or "chairwoman"rather than as a piece of furniture) are all included.

Some new terms might be seen as retrocorrect, such as"handbagging," "a forthright verbal attack or volley of stridentcriticism, usually delivered by a female politician." Entries mayfall into a subject area not directly covered by concepts ofcorrectness, though there is overlap. Categories include: drugs,environment, business, health and fitness, lifestyle and leisure,music, politics, science and technology, war and weaponry and youthculture.

Humor plays a dominant role in many new coinages, even in thesober world of business, which seems to have infinite variations on"golden parachute" (a fired executive's payoff for leaving quietly)."Golden handcuffs" are benefits that make it difficult to leave acompany, a "golden hello" is a hiring bonus and a "golden retriever"is money used to lure back a former employee.

Perhaps because of their freshness to American ears, some ofthe most entertaining neologisms are British. Take for example"Taffia," a supposed network of Welsh movers and shakers, "formed bytelescoping Taffy (a nickname for a Welshman) and Mafia."

This kind of detail, contained in the extended sections onhistory and usage accompanying each definition, will delight wordnerds eager to access the infosphere with such factoids.

Coming into the End Zone, by Doris Grumbach (Norton, $9.95).In this autobiography, a novelist and critic reflects on the changesbrought about by her retirement move from Washington D.C. to a smalltown in Maine and ponders the impact reading and writing have had onshaping her life. Norton has also reissued two of Grumbach's novels,Chamber Music ($9.95), about the 90-year-old widow of a famouscomposer, and The Missing Person ($9.95), the story of a glamorousmovie star whose life resembles that of Marilyn Monroe.

Jazz, by Toni Morrison (Plume, $10). Harlem early in the 20thcentury is the setting for this novel about the violence thatovertakes the lives of a cosmetics salesman, his wife and theseductive teenager who comes between them.

Very Old Bones, by William Kennedy (Penguin, $10). The Phelanfamily of Albany, known to readers of Ironweed and Quinn's Book,takes up its tragi-comic pursuit of life again in this novel aboutOrson Purcell, unacknowledged bastard son of the artistic member ofthe family, Peter Phelan. The plot centers on a 1958 family reunionstaged to help unburden family members of their secrets.

Inside the New Temple: The High Cost of Mistaking Medicine forReligion, by James Stacey (Conversation Press, $12.95). In thisreview of the health care crisis, a Chicago area medical writer looksto consumers to halt soaring costs, primarily by lowering theirexpectations. "Once we understand, in a visceral way, that medicinecannot buy immortality, our expectations will moderate," he writes.

Artspoke: A Guide to Modern Ideas, Movements, and Buzzwords,1848-1944, by Robert Atkins (Abbeville, $17.95). Art history indictionary form, this illustrated volume is a companion for theauthor's earlier Artspeak: A Guide to Contemporary Ideas, Movementsand Buzzwords. Alphabetically arranged definitions of art terms arepreceded by two introductory features. An "Artchart" places 55movements in chronological order on a bar graph and a "Timeline"section offers thumbnail summaries of world events and artdevelopments during each year between 1848 and 1944.

New on the mass market racks: Fatherland, by Robert Harris(Harper, $6.50), a thriller set in an imaginary 1964 Berlin ruled bya triumphant Nazi regime preparing to celebrate the 75th birthday ofAdolf Hitler; A Lingering Doubt, by Warwick Downing (Pocket, $4.99),a mystery about a lawyer's struggle to save an innocent youth fromthe death penalty; Burden of Desire, by Robert MacNeil (Dell,$5.99), a romantic suspense novel set in Nova Scotia during World WarI, by the co-host of PBS's "MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour"; A Murder inWartime, by Jeff Stein (St. Martin's, $6.99), a nonfiction account ofthe 1969 execution of a suspected Vietnamese double agent.