Two new words related to film obsessives get a mention in today's Guardian: avatards & twihards. The former is a blend of the film title Avatar and retards and is being used to describe hardcore fans of the James Cameron movie who are going to see it again and again. Avatar itself is an old word which has undergone a shift in usage. Originally relating to the physical form a spirit would take in some religions, it now often relates to the virtual identity a player creates in an online game, or an image used to represent yourself on an online forum. Twihard is a blend of Twilight and diehard, and it's pretty easy to see where this comes from. In fact as I look at the sofa in our living room I see a Twihard sitting there, staring at me disapprovingly as my keyboard taps interfere with her "enjoyment" of Cedric Diggery, sorry I mean Robert Pattinson.Edited to add: there's probably a link between the way Avatard has been formed and another word, celebutard, which appeared a couple of years ago (see here for more).
