warp speed

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The Word of the Day for June 10 is:

warp speed   \WORP-SPEED\   noun
     : the highest possible speed

Example sentence:
     When Mario saw Helen enter the elevator, he grabbed his laptop and vaulted 
down the stairs at warp speed to get to the meeting room ahead of her.

Did you know?
     "Warp speed" is an example of a phrase that entered the public 
consciousness through science fiction and eventually gained enough popularity 
to end up in the dictionary. The expression was popularized on the 
science-fiction show _Star Trek_ in the 1960s. On the show, "warp speed" 
referred to a specific concept, namely the idea of faster-than-light travel. 
Within a relatively short period of time, _Star Trek_ gained a devoted and 
intense following. Fans were soon discussing the fictional concepts of the 
show, including warp speed, with great enthusiasm. Eventually, the term "warp 
speed" was adopted by the general population. In the process, however, it lost 
its specific fictional meaning and came to mean simply "the highest possible 
speed."





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