Another Sunday, another episode of the Sunday G&T Show, the Trek-focused internet radio show hosted by friends Nick Minecci and Terry Lynn Shull!
Before today’s show went completely off the rails discussing the Star Trek: Voyager episode “The Omega Directive,” the show as able to tend to some of its normal business. They even included a moment of reflection and tribute to astronaut Neil Armstrong, who passed away on August 25th at the age of 82 after complications following cardiovascular surgery.
Once all of that was taken care of, it was back to the usual low-brow shenanigans, anchored as always by a little diddy we like to call “Ask Dayton.” What was on the minds of show listeners this week? Behold:
Dear Dayton: With the recent news that words like “f-bomb” and “sexting” are to be added to the Oxford English Dictionary, are there any words you’d like to see added, removed or simply amended? Would you prefer to be forever immortalized as a verb, a noun or even an adjective?
Secondly, when will the executives at CBS finally come to their sense and green-light the “Ensign Nick Minecci, Zombie Redshirt” book series? How long till loyal G&T show listeners get to enjoy the thrilling tales of Nick chomping down of Teri’s brain and all the Lovecraftian hijinks?
English. It sure is some kinda bitch, ain’t it?
All languages evolve over time (unless you’re…you know…Galindian or something), and English certainly is no exception. So, as we schlep along we’re sometimes going to be faced with the odd enhancement to this slapdash, epileptic, hodgepodge collection of grunts and other noises we use to communicate with each other. Some of your more hardcore types object whenever a particularly controversial word is added to the lexicon, claiming some need to defend the honor or purity of the language. However, as James Nicoll once said:
“The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.“
So, there.
Now, regarding the addition of “f-bomb” and “sexting” to the dictionary, these aren’t even the worst offenders, if you ask me. After all, this is also the year that “lolz” gets the nod. That’s right. Actual text-ese verbiage has entered common oral discourse. Fuck us. Fuck us as a species right in the face with the blunt end of a Louisville Slugger.
Okay, okay. Even though I’m liable to crack a joke at some of the weirder choices for new word additions, I really do tend not to get too excited about such things. Words are tools, after all; some I’ll use, some I won’t. Some I’ll use correctly, and others I’ll mangle and pervert to my own twisted purposes. Why? Because my grasp of countless grammatical nuances permeating the English language is about as solid as a bowel movement after you’ve gone to Taco Bueno to curb your post-pub crawl munchies.
Do I have any words I’d personally like to see added to the dictionary? One of my personal favorites is “Pezhead.” It’s a wonderful little descriptor for those situations when calling someone “Dickcheese” or “Fuckstick” might not be appropriate. Know what I’m sayin’?
Another favorite, for which I cannot take credit but would love to see gain greater usage? “Twatwaffle.” Its original employment was as a noun, to describe a rather unpleasant douche nozzle a friend of mine endured one day at work. Upon hearing it, I claimed it as my own, reveling in its glory and the wondrous uses to which it could be put. For future reference, if I call you a twatwaffle and you’re unsure as to what I might mean, I rank twatwaffles three levels below cockpimples on my pyramid of annoying people.
As for making “Dayton” a word in its own right…you know, beyond it being a city in Ohio and stuff…I don’t know that this would work. I mean, let’s be real: the name just doesn’t have the zing or pizzazz of other names, right? No, no, I can admit it. There’s just not enough punch to it to make it a verb, which is where you’d think it’d best fit. On the other hand, it might be cool if it could be used in some other, unconventional fashion. For example:
“He’s got Tigerman on the ropes, bouncing his head off the turnbuckle, and NOW HE’S GOT HIM IN A DAYTON! IT’S ALL OVER, FOLKS! GAME OVER!”
Or
“He’s choking on that chicken finger! His face is turning blue! Somebody administer the Dayton!”
Or
“She was already heating up pretty good by this point, but then I gave her the Dayton and she went nuts. Best ride in the whole fuckin’ park, dude!”
:: Ahem. ::
Now, as for this business about Ensign Nick, Zombie Redshirt getting his own book series, I have to tell you that this has about as much chance of happening as seeing a remake of Red Dawn. Wait…bad example. This has about as much chance of happening as a politician saying something stupid. Okay, back up. That’s no good, either. This has about as much chance of happening as a reboot of The Brady Bunch.
Wait, what?
Shit. I guess I better start writing.
This question and its answer was read during the show as part of G&T Show Episode #58, August 26th, 2012. You can hear Nick read the answers each week by listening live, or check out the replay/download options when the episode is loaded to their website: The Sunday G&T Show. Listeners to the show are also encouraged to send in their own questions, one of which will be sent to me each week for a future episode.
As always, thanks to Nick, Terry, and Mike for continuing to make me a part of their show.
Dayton, about two years ago I tried to introduce the verb “dag” into the vernacular. It’s actually an acronym meaning “darker and grittier”. It was inspired by the reboot of many 60′s and 70′s beloved properties being “re-imagined” in a less than their original idyllic or sterile way. “Battlestar Galactica” is an excellent example, except in this case it worked. Used in a sentence: I hear they’re going to dag “My Three Sons.” Or, as an adjective: “Can you believe the dag job they did on ‘Bonanza’”?
I found out that “dag” (as a slang noun) actually exists in Australia and New Zealand and it means “an unfashionable or socially conservative person”. So chances are we just might hear it this week during the coverage of the RNC. As for my verb, I think it will be used more and more with each unnecessary “re-imagining” of our more innocent past heritage.
Some work. Most don’t. Dag nab it.
–Ted
I listened, but never heard “dag” used during the RNC.
Dag nab it.