Word up
In a telly programme he did some time ago the TV critic (he writes about television, he doesn't wear dresses. Actually he might do, but I've never seen it. Anyway...) Charlie Brooker was explaining that he had seen a programme so terrible it had moved beyond the dictionary's ability to describe it, and suggested that two words be combined to try and imply the level of awfulness. With his usual scatological style he described it as 'shittifying'.
This notion, of mashing up who words with negative meaning to somehow create a word describing negativity squared, appeals greatly. This week I was asked to describe how something had gone and, to be honest: 'shitastrophic' was the only thing that fitted the bill.
This tickled colleagues so much that I have heard somebody use the term ‘shitastrophy’ to describe a recent incident, unfortunately I think it might have been in reference to something I had done.
The expansion of the lexicon is not restricted to negative things; certainly one of my favourite terms is ‘geekgasm’; used to describe a successful shopping trip to a comics or gaming shop, or a particularly excellent episode of Doctor Who. In fact you can prefix ‘gasm’ with just about anything to describe a rushing gushing feeling of joy at experiencing something rather lovely ‘bookgasm’, ‘foodgasm’, ‘decentpintgasm, although the last one might be stretching it.
I am expecting to see more mashed up words appearing in the media. The first place you will see them is in weather forecasts. This is because weather forecast presenters have that sort of psudo-science aura that allows them to use terms that sound made up, but are actually true, like ‘occluded’. Having shot their bolt and exhausting the thesaurus so early in the year trying to find frightening words to describe snow, they are going to have to invent new climate terms.
Until new terms to describe things we should be afraid of or outraged by are coined, newscasters will have to rely on using the existing vocabulary, but delivering them in increasingly emotive terms. Fox news is leading the field in this, rightly concluding that their viewers do not want to see a rational, measured explanation of what’s happening in the world delivered at a reasonable volume but instead want to watch the sort of rant that’s a combination of a toddler throwing a tantrum, an evangelical preacher and a maniac with tin foil wrapped round his head standing on the street corner screaming abuse at cats.
This notion, of mashing up who words with negative meaning to somehow create a word describing negativity squared, appeals greatly. This week I was asked to describe how something had gone and, to be honest: 'shitastrophic' was the only thing that fitted the bill.
This tickled colleagues so much that I have heard somebody use the term ‘shitastrophy’ to describe a recent incident, unfortunately I think it might have been in reference to something I had done.
The expansion of the lexicon is not restricted to negative things; certainly one of my favourite terms is ‘geekgasm’; used to describe a successful shopping trip to a comics or gaming shop, or a particularly excellent episode of Doctor Who. In fact you can prefix ‘gasm’ with just about anything to describe a rushing gushing feeling of joy at experiencing something rather lovely ‘bookgasm’, ‘foodgasm’, ‘decentpintgasm, although the last one might be stretching it.
I am expecting to see more mashed up words appearing in the media. The first place you will see them is in weather forecasts. This is because weather forecast presenters have that sort of psudo-science aura that allows them to use terms that sound made up, but are actually true, like ‘occluded’. Having shot their bolt and exhausting the thesaurus so early in the year trying to find frightening words to describe snow, they are going to have to invent new climate terms.
Until new terms to describe things we should be afraid of or outraged by are coined, newscasters will have to rely on using the existing vocabulary, but delivering them in increasingly emotive terms. Fox news is leading the field in this, rightly concluding that their viewers do not want to see a rational, measured explanation of what’s happening in the world delivered at a reasonable volume but instead want to watch the sort of rant that’s a combination of a toddler throwing a tantrum, an evangelical preacher and a maniac with tin foil wrapped round his head standing on the street corner screaming abuse at cats.
Labels: Charlie Brooker, language, Media, News, Weather forecast
1 Comments:
Snowmaggedon !!!
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