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Too much technobabble? This dictionary for tech jargon uses analogy rather than definition for clarity

The number of technology terms seemingly grows on a daily basis. For example, following the recent CIA cyber intelligence leaks which focused on iOS malware, many were introduced to the term “zero-day.” Some may have even been introduced to “malware” for the first time.

But a new website, a collaboration between the Washington Post (which frequently covers tech leaks) and Jigsaw (a Google firm,) aims to make it easier for laymen to understand new technology terms. Better yet, the resource, called the Sideways Dictionary, uses analogies to explain the term, rather than straightforward, but often just as confusing definitions.

So, based on the introductory paragraph, for “zero-day,” Sideways says it’s “like medics discovering a new virus. No cure exists because no one was aware of the problem before. The race begins to develop a vaccine before the virus spreads.

The website is simple to use

The website is simple to use

The ‘dictionary’ currently has around 75 terms, but each one has a handful of analogies, just in case users don’t get the first. These are open to submissions – to offer an analogy, users just have to sign up and log in. However, from the start, Sideways courted tech bigwigs to offer up some analogies for the site. For example, Google’s Eric Schmidt and Vint Cerf, who co-invented the internet provide analogies. And considering they would have come up with much of this in the first place, they’re surely best placed to provide explanation.

There are a number of analogies for each term

There are a number of analogies for each term

Other terms include Ad blocking, Bandwidth, Bitcoin, Doxing, Firewall, Trojan, Virtual Private Network and tons more.

To access this list of technology jargon and have it easily explained via word-based imagery, head to sidewaysdictionary.com – the site’s optimized for both the web, and your device, and it’s incredibly simple to use.

And if you want to know more, check out the video below.