Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Unveiling a new noun!

It could be argued that we already have too many words. Thick unabridged dictionaries would reinforce that impression.

Yet there are many things for which I don't think there is a good enough word. For instance, we know what a "slut" is: a sexually loose woman. But what is a male slut?

And what is a good positive term for the person who believes that God's revelatory work for this age met its completion with the close of the Canon, leaving us with an inerrant, binding, and sufficient written revelation?

So I take this occasion to introduce yet another neologism. My biographers will add this to other creations of mine such as HSAT (Having Said All That) and emerg*** (to cover both emergent and emerging).

And so, without further eloquence, I give you —
oba ma [oh-BAH-mÉ™] (noun) An empty thing onto which people project their own ideas, thoughts, fears and/or aspirations. Example: "Boy, that video Mamma Don't let your babies grow up to be pastors was really quite an obama over in the Pyro meta!" [adjective o ∙ ba ∙ mi ∙ ti ∙ cal]
Remember: you were here when it happened!

UPDATE: feel free to offer examples of using "obama" in a sentence.

11 comments:

candy said...

Oh...so I can blame you for all the acronyms that leave me scratching my head...like HSAT.

DJP said...

Just doing my small bit in the fight against Alzheimer's, Candy.

(c;

Anonymous said...

Dan, I love it when you make up (or should I say 'recognize') new words. Like strategerizing.

HSAT, I think this post will create quite an Obama, with a few Biden's thrown in for good measure. IMHO.

DJP said...

Well now, credit to whom credit is due: strategerizing is actually a Bushism. (Actually, it's from faux-Bushism "strategery.") He's very misunderestimated as a neologizer.

But it's kind of fun: if you Google "strategerizing," this site comes up first.

See what an education regular readers get? Pity the net's not cast wider.

NoLongerBlind said...

Personally, I have a greater depreciation for the old-fashioned malapropismist approach,
of which Slip Mahoney was a master.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, there are probably many women whose word for "male sluts" would be "males."

DJP said...

Ouch.

Rachael Starke said...

"And what is a good positive term for the person who believes that God's revelatory work for this age met its completion with the close of the Canon, leaving us with an inerrant, binding, and sufficient written revelation?"

Bible-ist?

I actually thought the pastor video post was a kind of pastoral Rorshach test... which is why I intentionally resisted the urge to weigh in. :)

Kyle said...

See: Chimera, as in Madam Bovary.

P.D. Nelson said...

Dan I have enough trouble at my own work place when I use language that reflects my own logophilia with regards to older words that my forebears used. Now you thrust upon me neologisms and I am in fear of my life. I implore you cease and desist . }:^{>

Moon said...

"But what is a male slut?" see that's why in spanish nouns have a gender...we have a noun for that but its a curse word.

"what is a good positive term for the person who believes that God's revelatory work for this age met its completion with the close of the Canon, leaving us with an inerrant, binding, and sufficient written revelation?"
A timothian Christian? (2 Ti 3:16-17)

And so, without further eloquence, I give you —o ∙ ba ∙ ma
LOL! hmmm why does this not surprise me :P....