Article includes Gorram as new slang for 2004 by tlacook

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Article includes Gorram as new slang for 2004

POSTED BY: TLACOOK
UPDATED: Friday, December 31, 2004 07:44
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Sunday, December 26, 2004 1:06 PM

This is too cool! :)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/26/weekinreview/26gloss.html

2004: IN A WORD
Glossary
By GRANT BARRETT

Published: December 26, 2004

It was the year for FLOPHA, backdoor drafts and the clear and the cream. If this sounds ridonkulous or crunk, well, it was that kind of year for slang and jargon.

Here, a few would-be words that rose to prominence in 2004.

ana, adj., anorexic. The term came to the fore in 2004 through a mention in "Bergdorf Blondes" by Plum Sykes: "ana = anorexic = thin = perfection."

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But it has been common for years in circles concerned with eating disorders.

backdoor draft, n., the filling of military jobs through reactivation of former troops or through mandatory enlistment extensions known as stop-loss orders. Although an issue in the 2004 campaign, "backdoor draft" was referred to as early as 1999, on Internet discussion sites for soldiers.

Bangalored, adj., (of a corporation, project or employment) having been relocated to India, esp. when technological; having lost business or employment due to such a relocation.

Christianophobia, n., behavior opposed to Christians or Christianity.

After the United Nations added anti-Semitism to a resolution this month already condemning Christianophobia and Islamophobia, the Vatican emphasized that Christianophobia is on the rise because Western antiterrorism efforts are perceived as something akin to Christian crusades. (The suffix "-phobia" usually means "fear" but in this term its use is similar to its appearance in "homophobia," where "bias against" or "dislike of" are more accurate than "fear of.") See Eurabia.

clone and kill, v. phr., a catch phrase among those who believe whole humans (including fetuses) will be cloned and then destroyed for scientific study or organ harvesting.

clear and cream, n., euphemisms for performance-enhancing drugs. Both usually used with the definite article: the clear, the cream.

crunk, adj., good, fun, fine. A product of the Southern hip-hop scene. Inconclusively said to be derived from crazy drunk.

Eurabia, n., a (perceived) alliance of Europe and Arab nations (in opposition to Israel, Jews or the United States). An Egyptian-born writer Bat Yeor popularized the term but did not coin it.

FLOHPA, n., collectively, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, the swing states in the 2004 presidential election. From the postal codes FL, OH and PA.

gorram, interj., a euphemistic oath, used in place of an actual curse word. From the space cowboy television series "Firefly."

mash-up, n., a blend of two songs or albums into a single cohesive work. Both the term and trend originated in Britain about three years ago, but stateside, rapper Jay-Z was a 2004 mash favorite. Among other works, his Black Album rhymes were mixed by Danger Mouse with the Beatles' White Album to create the Grey Album.

nonanalytical positive, n., circumstantial evidence used in place of medical tests as reason to suspend a sports player for a doping violation.

phish, v., to acquire passwords or other private information (of an individual, an account, a Web site, etc.) via a digital ruse.

podcasting, n., the automated distribution of radio-like programming - interviews, music or even content from established broadcasters - to portable digital audio players. From iPod (the most popular portable MP3 player) plus broadcasting.

purple state, n., a state that does not have a clear Republican or Democrat majority; a swing state.

ridonkulous, n. (very) ridiculous. Also ridonculous, redonculous, redonkulous, redonculus, redonkulus, ridonculus, ridonkulus, redunculous, redunkulous, ridunkulous, ridunculous, ridunkulus, redunkulus, redunkulus, ridunkulus.

spim, n., unwanted commercial messages received in an instant-messaging program. From spam plus instant messaging.

visibility whip, n., a worker responsible for orchestrating the placards, chants and other demonstrations of support among delegates at a political convention.

Despite the name, one doesn't ordinarily see or hear a visibility whip, but this year the executive producer of the Democratic National Convention, Don Mischer used an expletive on the air during a CNN broadcast when balloons weren't falling as planned.

wiki, n., a community-built Web site that allows content to be edited by anyone. From the Hawaiian wiki, which means fast, or wikiwiki, which means very fast.

Wikipedia, Wiktionary and Wikinews are examples, although many smaller sites exist, too, often for software projects.

Grant Barrett is editor of Double-Tongued Word Wrester, an online dictionary, and project editor of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang for Oxford University Press.

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Sunday, December 26, 2004 1:41 PM

STARPILOTGRAINGER

Heh... that's really cool, especially since they said it's from Firefly, specifically.

They should have included 'shiny' though. ;)

Star Pilot Grainger
"Remember, the enemy's gate is down."
LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/newnumber6
http://www.unreachablestar.net - Comics & SF News/Reviews/Opinions

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Sunday, December 26, 2004 2:15 PM

ANNIK

So, if we work really hard this year, will we get "dong ma" on the article for next year's new words??? LOL!

Great article!

Cheers,
Annik
... my sister's a ship. We had a complicated childhood.

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Sunday, December 26, 2004 2:21 PM

TMURRIE

That's so cool, the show is getting more famous after it got cancelled. Now all we need is a movie...wait a second.

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Sunday, December 26, 2004 5:40 PM

MOOSE

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Monday, December 27, 2004 2:42 AM

ANOTHERFIREFLYFAN

Dong ma IS a word. It's chinese, for 'Understand?'

But they soo need to have 'shiny'. Even though it's also already a word, this is a totally new usage. And I know that I personally use it a lot more than 'gorram'.

~AFf

Keep flying

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Monday, December 27, 2004 6:30 AM

RABIT

I agree that I use shiny more than gorram, but we as a society tend to focus on the negative (swearing) than on the positive (complimenting)...

Just glad to see Firefly get the notariaty that it deserves!

Rabit

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Monday, December 27, 2004 8:11 AM

FORRESTWOLF

They should have included alternative usages, like "gorramit" :) Or maybe some examples, like "It's the gorram Reavers!"

Any other alternative ways of saying gorram?

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Monday, December 27, 2004 2:08 PM

UNCHARTEDOUTLAW

That's pretty darn cool! Now we need to add "frell" from Farscape!

-Taylor

The Uncharted Outlaw!
Captain of Prosperity (99-K64)

See my Site:
http://www.geocities.com/norcalriviera
See my Firefly Store: http://www.cafepress.com/NorCalRiviera

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Monday, December 27, 2004 2:26 PM

FORRESTWOLF

Actually, I was gamemastering a Firefly game the other day, and someone SAID "Frell" accidentally :)

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Monday, December 27, 2004 2:33 PM

ANNIK

Quote:
Originally posted by AnotherFireflyfan:
Dong ma IS a word. It's chinese, for 'Understand?'

Ummm ... yes, I know that. However, its more common usage among the Lo Fan is a rather new-ish sort of thing, IMNSHO.

Cheers,
Annik
... my sister's a ship. We had a complicated childhood.

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Monday, December 27, 2004 2:51 PM

CHOSEN1

Quote:
Originally posted by Forrestwolf:
Actually, I was gamemastering a Firefly game the other day, and someone SAID "Frell" accidentally :)

I feel their pain. When I was heavy into Farscape (watching it religiously every week) the word "frell" would escape my mouth entirely unbidden. I once called something at work a "frelling disaster". I said it in such a way that I earned a real dirty look from my boss. Now I can't stop saying shiny, even if people do look at me weird.

"First you want to kill me, now you want to kiss me. Blow."

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Monday, December 27, 2004 3:50 PM

QUICKSAND

Weird.

Isn't "Gorram" also Chinese, as with most of the slang on the show? (except Shiny?)

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Monday, December 27, 2004 3:58 PM

CYBERSNARK

Nope; "gorram" = "God damn" (technically it'd be "Gorramn"). The D-to-R sound change is a fairly common effect in some languages (specifically Irish, where "dh" is pronounced "r").

Or maybe it could just be an oblique reference to a town in Maine, on Earth-that-was.

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Monday, December 27, 2004 7:47 PM

QUICKSAND

It'd seem odd to have a reference to the Irish (or Maine) in a culture that is primarily the mixture of Chinese and American (the last two world powers).

Any Chinese-speakers out there care to weigh in?

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Tuesday, December 28, 2004 1:15 AM

REGRESSION

Yep sure,

Gorram is definitely God-damn. dongma is definitely chinese for understand?, however badly pronounced it is.
Personally, the chinese is so bad that ive given up trying to decipher what everyone is saying...

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Tuesday, December 28, 2004 3:16 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

Ha Ha Ha! Our plan is bearing fruit. The infiltration of American culture is beginning. When the BDM hit theatres we will become as popular as Star Trek and Star Wars. Mine is an evil laugh!

This is so ruttin' shiny. Now if we can just get "shiny" and "ruttin" on this list we will be in great shape.

__________________________________________

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Meet Up:
http://firefly.meetup.com/9/boards/

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Tuesday, December 28, 2004 4:06 AM

FORRESTWOLF

But evidence of Scottish influence, at least, is clearly demonstrated by Nathan Fillion wearing a brownKILT in those celebrity photos we recently saw :)

Seriously, though, Firefly has more than just the dominant Sino-American influence. There's Londonium - the British-influenced Core world, and Osiris - another Core world that sounds rather Egyptian in name.

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Wednesday, December 29, 2004 2:43 PM

QUICKSAND

I'd argue that China having a population over a billion might have a little influence too, but yeah, Firefly is up there.

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Wednesday, December 29, 2004 5:22 PM

SOUPCATCHER

Quote:
Originally posted by Regression:
...
Personally, the chinese is so bad that ive given up trying to decipher what everyone is saying...

Yeah. I imagine it's hard to hear the actors mangle the pronounciations. Ying has done a great job deciphering what they were trying to say. Check out the Firefly Chinese Pinyinary: http://fireflychinese.home.att.net/ . And while you're over there, check out the Firefly Funsite, too. Ying's created and maintained a great resource.

---------------------
"What sort of raw meat do you people feed your cruiser captains, Hamish?" - Queen Elizabeth III of Manticore

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Thursday, December 30, 2004 5:24 AM

MRSKBORG

Oh thats so cool - the odd Gorram and Shiny have been known to escape my lips unbidden as has the occassional Frell, has to be said. Oh, and as much as I love Nathan - was not a kilt he was wearing - no tartan - no kilt.

"This movie may be a beautiful butterfly, but I loved that damn caterpillar." Joss Whedon.

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Thursday, December 30, 2004 6:09 AM

FORRESTWOLF

Ah! Thank you - so it's just a leather flappy-thing, I guess :)

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Friday, December 31, 2004 7:44 AM

MRSKBORG

Yep flappy leather skirt type thingy....twas very fetching though.

"This movie may be a beautiful butterfly, but I loved that damn caterpillar." Joss Whedon.

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