Alphabetical Entries: T

In 2019, Merriam-Webster added a meaning for "they" that has finally entered the mainstream: it can be "used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary." People who are nonbinary—"someone who feels that their felt gender doesn't fit with socially constructed norms for their biological sex," according to Psychology Today—often prefer pronouns such as "them/they." See also genderqueer, nonbinary pronouns, singular they.

thinker, thinking/reflective/intelligent/learned person, thinking/intelligent being, intellectual, philosopher, sage, scholar, brain, highbrow.

this term for countries that are marginalized economically and politically in the international system (also infrequently used to describe minority groups as a whole within a larger culture) is criticized for being imprecise (definitions vary), simplistic (the countries differ widely from each other), antagonistic (like "nonwhite," it's a catch-all way of marking "us" and "them"), and demeaning (no matter how you look at it, being third is not as good as being first or second). "The Third World is gone.... The countries once assigned to the Third World are still there, but the concept of the Third World is no longer connected to any reality" (Robert J. Samuelson, Newsweek). The First World supposedly included industrialized democracies, the Second World was the communist bloc, and the Third World was everyone else. However, with the disappearance of the communist bloc as such, this already simplistic geopolitical system no longer works. "Nonaligned" and "unaligned" are political rather than economic concepts. Left are such labels as: emerging/emergent nations, developing nations, overexploited (or economically exploited) nations, newly industrializing/industrialized country (NIC), nonindustrialized nations, impoverished populations, post-colonial regions. The World Bank uses LICUS (Low-Income Countries Under Stress) and the British government refers to those at the bottom as "fragile." The New York Times style guide recommends "economically underdeveloped or emerging nations." As in all good writing and speaking, precise description is better: name the relevant nations and identify what they have in common. Bonus thought: "Study after study has taught us that there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women" (former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan). See also culturally deprived/disadvantaged, illiterate, primitive, savage.

when possible, avoid compartmentalizing feminism into "waves." A seamless garment more appropriately exemplifies this particular work that is never done. Writer and political activist Naomi Wolf is credited with helping launch the third-wave movement with her 1991 book, The Beauty Myth; in a 1992 Ms. article, "Becoming the Third Wave," Rebecca Walker wrote about and further popularized this new phase of feminism. Walker, Catherine Gund, Dawn Luncy Martin, and Amy Richards established the Third Wave Foundation, and published landmark books: Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future (Jennifer Baumgardner and Richards) and To Be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism (Walker). According to Jennifer Baumgardner, "The Third Wave rejected the idea of a shared political priority list or even a set of issues that one must espouse to be feminist.... Third Wave feminism was portable—you didn't have to go to a meeting to be a feminist; you could bring feminism into any room you entered.... Reclaiming words like "slut" and "girl" replaced protests. For an in-depth look at this era, see The Women's Movement Today: An Encyclopedia of Third-Wave Feminism, ed. by Leslie L. Heywood. Feminist organizer Shelby Knox has identified a fourth wave and Jennifer Baumgardner describes the new movement: "By the time Obama and Hillary were facing off in the Democratic primaries, a critical mass of younger feminists began expressing themselves. They were tech-savvy and gender-sophisticated ... creating blogs, Twitter campaigns, and online media with names like Racialicious and Feministing.... Because of media advances and globalization, waves of mass change are coming faster and faster. The waves are all part of the same body politic known as feminism, and combine to become a powerful and distinct force." See also feminism, feminisms, waves (feminism).

see you people.

the main crops of some American Indian nations: corn, beans, squash. There seems to be no parallel for brothers.

the three Magi. A committee of the Church of England said the term "Magi" was a transliteration of the name used by officials at the Persian court, and that they could well have been women.

see one-man/two-man/three-man.

the original thugs were members of a professional gang of thieves and murderers in India who strangled victims, and the term still seems male although there is nothing to prohibit it being used for women too. Unfortunately, in the U.S., it seems largely reserved, statistically undeservedly, for Black men, and used to trigger stereotypes of black criminality. Check your work to see who you're calling a thug. See also bad guy.

tiger. By using the base word inclusively, terms like "tiger's eye," "tiger lily," and "have a tiger by the tail" are not sex-specific either. In its meaning as a daring or fierce woman, tigress is a judgment call. See also feminine word endings.

tiller, tiller operator.

timber cutter/worker, logger, tree cutter, forester, woodcutter, log roller.

time waits for no one.

Model T. The innocent-sounding "tin lizzie" comes from the name Elizabeth (also Liza or Lizzie), which was such a common name for Black women (H.L. Mencken posited that its popularity came arose from Eliza in Uncle Tom's Cabin) that it was used from the 1880s until the late 1920s as a generic name for any Black woman, but especially a servant, maid, or cook (Stuart Berg Flexner, I Hear America Talking). Flexner says the name was given the car because it, like the maid, "worked hard all week and prettied up on Sundays." (Henry Ford said the car was available in "any color you choose as long as it's black.")

tinsmith, tin manufacturer.

without exception, unanimously, of one mind/accord, with one voice, at one with each other, willingly, agreed on all hands, in every mouth, carried by acclamation/unanimously, to a one; like-minded; every last one of them, everyone.

in the first "Star Trek" TV series in the 1960s, this phrase was used; in the late 1980s, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" used "to boldly go where no one has gone before" (Ruth King, Talking Gender).

to each their own, there's no accounting for tastes, it takes all kinds, chacun à son goût, to each her own/his own. See also singular "they".

yes, these are difficult to replace. They have a specific meaning due to toastmasters clubs. When possible, use emcee, host, speaker, announcer, introducer, lecturer, talker, guest lecturer, orator, declaimer, speechmaker, rhetorician, elocutionist, preacher, interlocuter, symposiarch.

refers to men only; there is no parallel for women.

defined as someone hired to deflect accusations of discrimination against the employer, this often implies the person was unqualified for the job; avoid.

this is the hero of English folklore; if you should ever need a sex-neutral expression like it, he was known in some accounts as hop-o'-my-thumb.

nonsexist; from the Hindi word "tamtam."

see food names for people.

active/agile/athletic/boisterous/adventurous/physically courageous/competitive child, live wire, one of the gang, strong/vigorous/direct/spirited/self-confident child, rude/blunt/messy/rough/tough child, logical/mechanically minded child. Tomboy used to refer only to boys, then to both girls and boys, and now only to girls. In Women of the World, Julia Edwards says of foreign correspondent Dickey Chapelle: "Although she called herself a tomboy, she was better described as a tomgirl, for she didn't want to be a boy. She just wanted to do the things boys get to do." Sociologists and behavior experts suggest that the concept of tomboy (along with the term) is obsolete; behavior that another generation found tomboyish is considered normal today. Sociologist Barrie Thorne spent 11 months observing boys and girls on a playground; only twice did she hear them use the word "tomboy" although adults did so fairly commonly. Many children were clearly unfamiliar with the term and several said they'd never heard of it. She predicts the word will disappear within the next decade. See also sissy.