zapping, vbl. n. slang.
(ˈzæpɪŋ)
[f. zap v. + -ing1.]
The action of zap v.; spec. the practice of skipping advertisements when watching television programmes.
| 1972 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 8 Jan. 17/7, I wouldn't take the zapping he has taken, to use the contemporary word, for a million dollars. 1983 Times 27 Oct. 8/3 The practice is known in the US as ‘zapping’. Apparently people who have remote control devices are substantially more likely..to switch over to another channel when ads come on. 1983 Austral. Personal Computer Nov. 32/2 You could add suitable sound-effects to an applications program—zapping noises as a word processor deletes characters, maybe? 1984 Listener 9 Feb. 14/2 For the ITV companies there is the additional problem of ‘zapping’ to contend with—the habitual use of the fast-forward button to bypass the commercial breaks in recorded material. |