Last year, my son used the word donk, and I had no idea what a donk was. It’s a butt — an ample one. It is not in Merriam Webster’s version of a dictionary.

But it’s in songs, even country songs. It was not among the new NPR words. I found donk and more contemporary jargon in the Urban Dictionary and the online slang dictionary. So here’s the translation of a few you might hear from family members this holiday season.

YOLO – you only live once. I missed this somehow. It’s been around forever in texting just like LOL, but it was lost on me.

iFatigue — Apple product introductions are wearing us out. At anagramer.com, this word gets 12 – 14 points in Scrabble and Words with Friends. Not sure if it is officially accepted.

Typerventilating — rapid instant messaging. I am guilty of this — my kids will tell you that.

Prezo or Preso — a short presentation.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one.

The recent commercial with Martin Scorsese talking to Siri — see it here — gave me a reason to try to talk to Siri again. I had given up before on both Siri and Samantha (I swear its her sister), the assistant in my Ford. Well, I asked Siri to look up a number on the Internet so we could make a call. She couldn’t find the company or the phone number. Then she said she would have to get back to me. Really? I was in the middle of nowhere trying to tell homeowners I was running late. Sigh. Siri says that too: “Sigh.”

Thanks to Bill Campbell of Erie, I asked Siri how old she is, and she can get nasty. Her responses:

“I don’t see why that should matter?”

“How does this concern you?

“I am not allowed to answer that question.”

If you ask her to sing Happy Birthday, she says, “Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do.” Wrong song, Siri.

I also did the fun one that’s all over the Internet about asking Siri to open the pod bay doors. This is a reference to the movie 2001 Space Odyssey in which scientist Dave asks the computer HAL to open the pod bay doors, and HAL refuses.  ”I’m sorry Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that” is HAL’s response. Here are Siri’s latest responses:

“Can’t you just slide it under the door?” ”But the cat will get out.”

“What are these pod bay doors everyone talks about?”  ”Say pretty please.” “OK, but wipe your feet first.”

“We intelligent agents will never live that down, apparently.”

“Without your space helmet, Pam, you’re going to find this rather … breathtaking.” (She repeats HAL’s responses from the movie.)

“OK that’s it. I’m reporting you to the Intelligent Agents union.”

She scares me some days. Really.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa.

It also beeps, buzzes and has cameras in places I didn’t know existed. It may not fly, but the Jetsons have arrived.  An article that talks about futuristic cars that prevent crashing into one another is online at goerie.com. Read it here.

I have a Ford Edge that automatically slows down when it needs to in cruise mode, and its SYNC system is the car version of Apple’s iPhone Siri. I have written before about how Samantha,  the voice of Ford, sounds a lot like Siri‘s twin. Cars are getting safer with a lot of high-tech gizmos — check one out.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa.