THE FIRST WORD

boffo
Since weekly Variety's founding in 1905—the daily paper came later, in 1933—Variety has been an influential chronicler of the business of entertainment. It coined its own language. The paper might describe a film's box office as "boffo," i.e. excellent.

Other Variety-speak terms include oater (a western movie), praiser (a publicist) and sprocket opera (a film festival). To "ankle" means to quit or be dismissed from a job, without necessarily specifying which.