refer to sexual intercourse; in particular, conceiving a child without using assisted reproductive technology. Due to the environmental damage, this type of conception is nearly non-existent in the novel's setting. junktube: a household tube that transports waste to an incinerator; an invention that has apparently succeeded the waste container. limp: "uncool" or unexciting. meg: an all-purpose intensifier meaning (as an adverb) "very" and (as an adjective) "awesome/amazing" or "huge/substantial." Presumably an adaptation of the real-world English slang term mega. "No wrong": a figure of speech meaning "Don't worry" or "No worries." null: boring, bored, or uninterested. prong: erection. "re: (someone or something)": literally, "regarding (someone or something)." For example, "Is this re: Violet?" means "Is this about/regarding Violet?" School™: the educational institution that has replaced state schooling; now privatized by corporations that teach students how to be better consumers using mostly holographic teachers. skeeze: used as a noun or verb to mean "flirt." skip: (adjective) happy, pleased, or satisfied. the spit: (often, the big spit): a popular fashion or trend. squeam: squeamish. squelch: (adjective) sullied, messy or dirty; (verb) to sully something or to get something dirty. to be with: (intransitive verb) to be ready and willing to participate. to do (something) slalom: to weave between obstacles in a zigzag pattern. unit: a word used as a friendly, slang title to address individual persons, the way teens in real life might address their friends as "dude," "man," "guy," or "girl," or as an interjection also the way real-life teens use the word "dude." An occasional female variation is unette. (A possible play on the corporate perspective of the population as mere pawns in their capitalist agenda.) upcar: a car that flies, especially using tubes (rather than roads) and having an autopilot feature. The original vehicle known as the car is referred to in the novel by the retronym downcar. "What's doing?": a phrase meaning "What's happening?" both literally and as an idiomatic colloquialism or greeting. youch: physically attractive: i.e. "hot" or "sexy." ?: the question mark has much broader usage as a punctuation mark in the writing of the novel's fictional universe than in ours. In addition to a question, the symbol "?" represents a speaker's tone when the speaker is wondering whether the listener is comprehending, or when the speaker is expressing rhetorical disbelief, a doubt, or a guess. Consumerism Anderson depicts the failing futuristic society as an outcome