windoid = W = Windoze

window shopping n.

[US Geological Survey] Among users of WIMP environments like X or the Macintosh, extended experimentation with new window colors, fonts, and icon shapes. This activity can take up hours of what might otherwise have been productive working time. "I spent the afternoon window shopping until I found the coolest shade of green for my active window borders -- now they perfectly match my medium slate blue background." Serious window shoppers will spend their days with bitmap editors, creating new and different icons and background patterns for all to see. Also: `window dressing', the act of applying new fonts, colors, etc. See fritterware, compare macdink.

--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.

An idiom which does not refer to the purchasing of plate-glass windows, or any other kind of windows for that matter. It refers instead to the act of looking at -- and usually drooling over -- items for sale, without purchasing them. In French, it is more colorfully referred to as lèche-vitrine: window-licking. Classically, people do this in a mall or similar area, where shops have windows at the front through which one can view the merchandise. However, one can also apply the term to the practice of viewing products on the World Wide Web without buying them.

As an act, window-shopping can serve any or all of several purposes:

While window-shopping is popularly viewed as a female ritual, one only has to look at male geeks drooling over the latest geek toys to find ample counterexamples.


Linguistic reference:

Burke, David. Street French 2: The Best of French Idioms. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996.

She chews on her bottom lip thoughtfully while watching the red ink roll from her pen to the top right corner of the paper.

note to self:
doesn't want kids, doesn't indicate interests, appears to be only out for the lay. Must be kidding me.

Age 43 Sagittarius
Gender Man seeking a Woman
Location anytown, USA
Looking for... Just Dating · Intimate/Physical
Marital Status Separated
Ethnicity Caucasian
Hair/Eyes Dark brown wavy hair, brown eyes
Body Type 5' 10'', fit and trim
Education College Grad
Employment Works full-time self employed
Profession Computer-related / Hardware / Software
Religion No answer
Political Views No answer
Smoking nonsmoker
Drinking Drinks occasionally
Kids No kids, doesn't want any
Interests No answer

More about me:

I'm a nice guy, well educated, understanding, and interested in one thing - pleasing you. There is no greater turn-on for me than satisfying you and if that takes hours so much the better. I'm average physically but with unusual stamina. If you are interested in a physical relationship in which its all about you then call me.

"Come on! Time to put yourself out there and quit hiding. Take a look at these."

"I don't WANT to date anybody"

"It's not going to kill you to do a little window shopping"

So here she was reading through a stack of resumes of potential mates, humoring her friend. Something felt so cold about this.

She carefully places the paper on the stack marked for "special file" then picks up the next in the pile her well meaning busy body friend had handed her this morning.

Age 48 Gemini
Gender Man seeking a Woman
Location big city, USA
Looking for... Committed · Intimate/Physical
Marital Status Divorced
Ethnicity Caucasian (white)
Hair/Eyes Light brown hair, blue eyes
Body Type 6'3"
Education College Grad
Employment Works full-time
Profession No answer
Religion Born again Christian, attends services weekly
Political Views No answer
Smoking Non smoker
Drinking Drinks occasionally
Kids Yes - but not at home
Interests Dining · Family · Movies · Music · Outdoor Activities · Nascar

More about me:

Hi, I'm 47 years old in excellant shape, I waterski,snow ski,run, I can do all the sports things.My parents taught me how to treat women with respect. I am looking for someone who is slim and petite. Someone who knows her way around the kitchen, and someone to rub my feet at night. I want that special woman to be able to run, hike,bike, be athletic and also let loose and have fun once in a while. I love going to the ocean, which is seasonal in the north so sometimes I have to make a trip to Florida in the winter months. If you are looking for an easy going, fun and devastatingly handsome guy here I am! Let me be the center of your world!

She spits out her coffee in laughter spraying drops over the ad. He couldn't possibly be for real. In big letters she writes GASTON across the top. Still laughing, she tosses it into the now large discard pile before picking up the last of her friends picks.

Age 39 Leo
Gender Man seeking a Woman
Location smallville, USA
Looking for... Just Dating · Intimate/Physical
Marital Status Divorced
Ethnicity Caucasian (white)
Hair/Eyes Light brown hair, brown eyes
Body Type 5' 7'', average body
Education College Grad
Employment Works full-time
Profession Executive
Religion agnostic
Political Views Middle of the road
Smoking Doesn't smoke
Drinking Drinks occasionally
Kids Yes - at home part-time
Interests Arts & Crafts · Community Service · Dancing · Dining · Family · Movies · Music · Outdoor Activities · Photography · Reading · Theater · Travel

More about me:

Wouldn't you love to find a man who is intelligent, loyal, warm and funny? One that's a great dad, sensitive and intuitive? To capture all of who I am in this space is an impossible task to fill. I love to travel. I have a passion for life and enjoy the theater,unique restaurants, new and different foods, Jazz concerts, and movies that grab your mind and make you think. I have a British accent. I know how it feels to struggle and how it feels to want for nothing. I have made good choices. I have made lousy ones. I am not perfect, but isn't it the flaws that give those wonderful old houses charm and character? Let's discover each other's nooks and crannies. Let's talk over a cup of coffee.

Oooooooo, her friend is a sly one. Handing her a package of duds with only one true gem, knowing he would shine that much brighter in comparison to the rest. Her interest is piqued. This one appears too good to be true. She taps her fingers on the paper before drawing a red star in the corner. She puts this one aside, by itself. Then, with a flourish files the rest into the brown paper bag to be put later into the garage into the red recycle bin.

She contemplates the sheet before her. Considering. He will not know of her unless she calls, but does she want to? The answer is no. This feels wrong. She will not go looking for a mate in this manner, sifting through black ink on white copy paper. She will not reduce relationships to cold perusal. She tosses the paper with the rest.

Perhaps she will bump into him on the street, knocking packages onto the ground. Perhaps she will look up into clear eyes and feel that charge of electricity, serendipity. At least now she knows what she's not looking for. Images on display. Mannequins in windows. Impersonal love in newspaper print.

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