Way with words

Global – Sideways Dictionary uses humorous analogies to explain technical jargon.

• The project was created by The Washington Post and Google’s incubator Jigsaw
• Users can add their own analogies to the site

The Sideways project introduces a range of technological terms, from ad-blocking to net neutrality, and provides entertaining analogies to engage users and help them better understand the rapidly changing world of technology.

‘Because if everyone understands technology better, we can make technology work better for everyone,’ says the website. Users can also upload their own analogies, which will be moderated by editors to ensure accuracy.

It is available as a Chrome extension, which scans articles for complicated technological terms and enables users to easily search for these terms on the Sideways website while reading. Alongside each analogy the site suggests related terms and each expression is accompanied by tags so that users can click through to a page with all of the related hashtags in one place.