Word on the Street

A Portland Glossary

retrosexual n.

A male who, according to Merriam-Webster’s online open dictionary, “adopts a traditional masculine style in dress and manners” (think short hair, football, and fishing versus shaggy side-parts, kickball, and Phish-ing). Introduced into the American vernacular in the early 2000s, “retrosexual” is submitted for consideration more commonly than any other word to m-w.com (with more than one alternative meaning). The term, however, remains relatively unknown in Portland, which, according to a recent survey by snack-within-a-snack giant Combos, ranks as the least manly city in America. Antonym: metrosexual. See also: manxiety, whiskey, Mad Men, Isaiah Mustafa (The Man Your Man Could Smell Like)