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Buzzwords are frequently used in news media. These are words that do not typically occur in everyday speech, but are common among newscasters, talking heads, and pundits on cable news.

These ‘news words’ are accepted by audiences for their implied meaning. But often loaded words are misused or used out of context. The actual definitions can be different than what is implied.

Newswordy is a growing collection of these words, updated every weekday. Along with each word is a definition, a quote with its use (or misuse) in the media, and a news and Twitter feed on the subject.

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Newswordy

Contingency.

1. A future event or circumstance that is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty; 2. A provision for such an event or circumstance.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said the city was ready with ‘evacuation contingencies’ for low-lying places like Coney Island in Brooklyn, Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan and parts of Staten Island and the Rockaways in Queens—areas that are home to 250,000 people.

James Barron, The New York Times