By JILL LAWLESS | Associated Press Writer
6:23 PM CST, November 16, 2008

LONDON (AP) _ At least someone is excited about "meh."

The expression of indifference or boredom has gained a place in the Collins English Dictionary after generating a surprising amount of enthusiasm among lexicographers.

Publisher HarperCollins announced Monday the word had been chosen from terms suggested by the public for inclusion in the dictionary's 30th anniversary edition, to be published next year.

The origins of "meh" are murky, but the term grew in popularity after being used in a 2001 episode of "The Simpsons" in which Homer suggests a day trip to his children Bart and Lisa.

"They both just reply 'meh' and keep watching TV," said Cormac McKeown, head of content at Collins Dictionaries.

The dictionary defines "meh" as an expression of indifference or boredom, or an adjective meaning mediocre or boring. Examples given by the dictionary include "the Canadian election was so meh."

The dictionary's compilers said the word originated in North America, spread through the Internet and was now entering British spoken English.

"This is a new interjection from the U.S. that seems to have inveigled its way into common speech over here," McKeown said. "Internet forums and e-mail are playing a big part in formalizing the spellings of vocal interjections like these. A couple of other examples would be 'hmm' and 'heh.'

"Meh" was selected by Collins after it asked people to submit words they use in conversation that are not in the dictionary. Other suggestions included jargonaut, a fan of jargon; frenemy, an enemy disguised as a friend; and huggles, a hybrid of hugs and snuggles.

A free concert will be held at Cashman Field on Wednesday.

There won't be much music, but there'll be lots of rallying, as Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama will appear with a "discussion with area voters."

Cashman Field seats 9,000, and we expect every seat to be filled.

It's free to the public, but you can RSVP at this link.

Doors open at 2:30 p.m., with the rally beginning at 5 p.m.

For one year as of yesterday, cell phones will now be allowed in Nevada race and sports books.

Cell phone ban regulation 22-135 (which includes any two-way electronic communication) was put into place in 1999 by the Nevada Gaming Commission to prevent people from betting for other people, as well as talking to bookies when the lines changed.

But that was 10 years ago, when cell phones weren't as ubiquitous as they are now, making it much more difficult to enforce.

But enforcing was still a requirement, and often when taking a call (or even texting someone) in the sportsbook, security would approach us and ask us to turn off our phone. We were even told to stop using the phone, when we were using the calculator part to determine odds.

And what of mobile gaming devices, which were approved by the gaming commission for use in sports books?

Cell phone use will be now be allowed but "monitored" for one year to see how it goes and then decided whether the ban will be permanent.

Now we can play online poker on our mobile device in the sports book in peace!