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Author
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Topic: D'oh
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Earl Junior
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 12:11 PM
  
D'oh (as popularized by Homer Simpson) will be listed in the Oxford English Dictionary 2002 Revised Edition. I'm not really sure how I fell about this. It isn't the first time that a catch phrase and/or slang temr has become mainstream or altered the definition of a word. But it is the first time a cartoon character has done so. Part of me wants to say "cool." But another part of me wants to scream in agony that a cartoon has influenced our society enough to change a dictionary. ------------------
"The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, 'You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.'"
- George Carlin ---------- Check me out. I got a web presence.
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Clickie
Cereal Subunit
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posted June 14, 2001 12:45 PM
Gah! That's pretty scary.But, like EJr, I still want to say it's cool! But, but...gah. IP: Logged |
nebulous menace
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 01:12 PM
It's a cartoon. That has like 90 times the depth and intelligence of your average sitcom. Yes, it's full of yellow people with funny hair. How does that make it any less qualified to change the language than. . .say. . . Suddenly Susan? IP: Logged |
Clickie
Cereal Subunit
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posted June 14, 2001 01:28 PM
I should certainly hope that "Suddenly Susan" never changes the language, either.IP: Logged |
Fast Learner
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 01:33 PM
I think that's awesome!But then I'm a huge fan of the evolution of our language. IP: Logged |
SpicyJ
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 01:40 PM
As long as we can get "Woohoo!" and "Glavin!" added.  IP: Logged |
Knifey-Spooney
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 01:52 PM
Don't forget meh (m-e-h: meh), as popularized by Lisa Simpson. (okay, maybe popularized is the wrong word. Used once, is more like it. But it still is the best word yet for the expression of apathy. At least I think so. Meh, I don't really care, to tell you the truth.)IP: Logged |
Crestfallen Sloth
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 02:56 PM
Well, like EJ and Clickie this bothered me a bit. Although, I have to admit that I couldn't help the slap-happy grin that chased across my face after I really thought about it.the hyphenated word twenty-four-seven made it in there, why not d'oh? I think "Yoink!" should be in there too. It's the perfect takethatfriggin'thingouttayourhand expression, munched down to five simple letters. ------------------
Screws Fall Out all the Time, the World's an Imperfect Place. -The Breakfast Club IP: Logged |
Bombadil
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 03:00 PM
It's not the first.Popeye comics introduced the word Jeep into the language. IP: Logged |
Clickie
Cereal Subunit
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posted June 14, 2001 03:08 PM
To be precise, Popeye didn't introduce Jeep into the language, it popularized it. See http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000310.html for more details.IP: Logged |
Cheatara
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 03:14 PM
BRB is in the newer websters dictionarys.IP: Logged |
Bombadil
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 03:24 PM
Well, Clickie, I doubt that Homer Simpson was the first person ever to say "D'oh" either.IP: Logged |
Clickie
Cereal Subunit
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posted June 14, 2001 03:47 PM
You'll notice that EJr said Homer popularized the phrase, too.IP: Logged |
Bombadil
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 03:53 PM
Well, then, I'll be sure to look up every word to every post I make in the future just in case the spirit of the thread doesn't apply as I mean it to.IP: Logged |
Djelibeybi
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 04:28 PM
And just so you know, "Cowabunga" is in the dictionary, compliments of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.IP: Logged |
Earl Junior
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 04:40 PM
Well, I'll be damned. I knew that about Popeye, but it seems to have slipped my mind.Cowabunga is in the dictionary?!?!? I am at a loss. IP: Logged |
Clickie
Cereal Subunit
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posted June 14, 2001 04:46 PM
I didn't mean to be mean or anything...it just seemed like something I could say to add another post to my post total. I'm sorry, Bom.IP: Logged |
Y2Karen
Cereal Subunit
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posted June 14, 2001 05:40 PM
I'll tell you one reason I'm glad it will be in the dictionary: A lot of people don't realize there's an apostrophe in it, and the entry in the dictionary will leave them with no doubt.D'oh! IP: Logged |
Toon
Shuttlecock
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posted June 14, 2001 07:42 PM
quote:
But another part of me wants to scream in agony that a cartoon has influenced our society enough to change a dictionary.
I'm deeply offended by your casual dismissal of "cartoons..." Okay, no, I'm not. But I am mildly irritated by this society's general dismissal of animation as something trivial, "for kids," somehow less important than live-action television or film.
It never really goes anywhere beyond mild irritation. As an English major, I'm delighted to see new words entering the language -- better that than corrupt old words, neh? ------------------
-=> Toon "No, it's an omen! It's a higher power trying to tell me through bunnies that we're all going to die!"
-Anya in BtVS IP: Logged |
Mara
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 07:46 PM
Toon - total agreement with your stance on animation. At least we're not taking words away. Big Brother, anyone? And finally, cross your fingers that 'weerie' gets in there at one point. ------------------
"How would you react if I told you I'm not from Guildford after all, but from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelguise?"
"Why? Is that the sort of thing you think you're likely to say?" - The Hitchhiker's Guide
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BlackLight Bottlerocket
Self-Made User
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posted June 14, 2001 09:07 PM
I like "D'oh". That doesn't mean it should be in the disctionary. It's NOT a word you'd ever use in a piece of correspondence, a school paper, or anything of the sort. Good PHRASE, but not really a WORD, and personally i think it's got no place in the disctionary. That said, the people at OED piss me off sometimes. twenty-four-seven? I don't THINK so! I only hope that was an example above, and isn't seriously in there. "Irregardless" is, and that pisses me off enough as it is. Anyhow... I think where i'm about to jump off into rates it's own thread so before i digress any further, i'll just start another thread. /BLB IP: Logged |
Nix
Self-Made User
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posted June 15, 2001 01:27 AM
quote:
It's NOT a word you'd ever use in a piece of correspondence, a school paper, or anything of the sort.
And this means it's not a word at all???? I can imagine saying "d'oh" in a piece of correspondence. There are a lot of words I wouldn't use in a school paper. I wouldn't say "groovy" in a paper, but it is certainly a word. Like a dictionary is such a sacred thing! It's a lexicon of words we use in our language, useful for many things. It's not like the Bible for Pete's sake. I think this is cool! Evolution of our language is a great thing. [This message has been edited by Nix (edited June 15, 2001).] IP: Logged |
Knifey-Spooney
Self-Made User
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posted June 15, 2001 09:07 AM
Wait. "Irregardless" is in the dictionary? No way! That's just not right. It's almost along the same lines as "inflammable", which I always have to think about extra hard before I realize that it means flammable. Which is stupid. Anyway, "irregardless" is redundant. It is nothing more to me than an indicator of stupidity. ------------------
"Me fail English? That's unpossible!" IP: Logged |
SpicyJ
Self-Made User
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posted June 15, 2001 09:12 AM
quote:
It's not like the Bible for Pete's sake.
"Lord, the woman you gave me deceived me, and I ate. D'oh!"
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Acsumama
Shuttlecock
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posted June 15, 2001 11:33 AM
The dictionary is a reflection of popular usage. Language shapes the dictionary, not the other way around. So if people use the word "D'oh", then it should be in the dictionary, for the edification of those who hear it but don't know what it means. That's the purpose of the dictionary -- you can look up words you come across but don't know. If it's not a word that's appropriate in some contexts, then I'm sure the dictionary would note that.IP: Logged |
Bolingbroke
Self-Made User
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posted June 15, 2001 12:21 PM
Spicy -- maybe that should be, "D'oheth!"  ------------------
"Burma-Shave tastes funny, besides why would a flapjack need gobs of Burma-Shave?"
-- The Brevity Game IP: Logged |
Toon
Shuttlecock
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posted June 15, 2001 03:15 PM
Wait. "Irregardless" is in the dictionary?------------------
-=> Toon "No, it's an omen! It's a higher power trying to tell me through bunnies that we're all going to die!"
-Anya in BtVS IP: Logged |
deliriumfish
Self-Made User
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posted June 15, 2001 03:50 PM
Other word added will be duh, bad hair day, internet, cyberphobia, Y2K, and a new meaning for "pants". weird. ------------------
This sort of mental fuzziness leads to rampant smoking of wasabi and
an increased tendency towards gambling on foosball tournaments. IP: Logged |
SpicyJ
Self-Made User
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posted June 15, 2001 03:52 PM
It'd work for Job, too."Naked came I from my mother's womb. D'oheth!" SJ
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"...if you didn't like burning hot showers of molten, rocky death, then you just had to live with the dirt!" - Sandrylene, telling us how bad she had it when she was our age. IP: Logged |
Toon
Shuttlecock
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posted June 16, 2001 07:19 PM
D'oh is not a verb, and as such does not get the -eth suffix.
[/pedant]------------------
-=> Toon "No, it's an omen! It's a higher power trying to tell me through bunnies that we're all going to die!"
-Anya in BtVS IP: Logged |
Jesse Dangerously
Self-Made User
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posted June 16, 2001 09:03 PM
The thing about inflammable is that people always assume that the "in-" prefix is nullifying, as it is in "inoperative" or "indelible". It isn't, though. The root meaning of the word is "able to become inflamed".Now, as regards the induction of "d'oh" into the dictionary. I believe that a dictionary is meant to be a guidebook to decoding the language of others, not a special list of words that are right and good. It seems all anyone uses a dictionary for nowadays is to check spelling or to prove that a word does or does not "officially" "exist". A dictionary provides likely interpretation for words you are likely to encounter. oh uh there's my doorbell. d'oh! IP: Logged |
Maimy
Self-Made User
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posted June 18, 2001 01:21 PM
Toon rocks.------------------
I find myself sitting in a public PC cluster waving to a disembodied hand on a pop-up screen. This is not doing my reputation as a serious academic any good.
--Angel Fish IP: Logged |
Knifey-Spooney
Self-Made User
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posted June 18, 2001 01:27 PM
There seems to be an echo in this forum. Toon inquired about the truth of "irregardless" being in the dictionary only a few posts after I did the same thing. Hmm. Just thought I'd point that out.Irregardless, there's still no excuse for that sort of behavior. IP: Logged |
Knifey-Spooney
Self-Made User
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posted June 18, 2001 01:31 PM
Addendum: I understand that inflammable means "able to become inflamed." However, is it appropriate to say that if nylon catches fire, that it is inflamed? I think not. If nylon catches fire, it is on fire. I'd say body parts are inflammable. My gums can become inflamed. When they do, we say they are inflamed. We do not say they are on fire. So then, why do we use the word inflammable? Flammable seems to pretty much do the trick. IP: Logged |
Anti Em
Self-Made User
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posted June 18, 2001 01:40 PM
The OED is a specialized type of dictionary that has the goal of not only documenting/defining words that are used commonly (or not so commonly) in our language, but also to explain their origination and development (etymology). In this case, I bet there's going to be a mention of The Simpsons in the OED definition of "d'oh."In the case of "irregardless," I'm going to guess that it's listed as a variant or as non-standard usage of the "right" word - "regardless." Similarly, most dictionaries contain the word "ain't," even though it ain't really a word. I icsited!!!* Just this morning, I finally talked my boss into ordering the OED CD for our writing dept! YAY! (I'm SO entirely jazzed!) -------------------------
* Once got a note from my nephew using this phrase. Of course, I instantly adopted it. Edited 'cause I can't spell.[This message has been edited by Anti Em (edited June 18, 2001).] IP: Logged |
Bolingbroke
Self-Made User
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posted June 18, 2001 03:29 PM
D'oh is not a verb, and as such does not get the -eth suffix.
[/pedant]Well, of course not -- but there was a specific episode of "The Simpsons" in which Homer said that (can't remember which one). [defensive]Believe me, I know all about archaic verb conjugations![/defensive] ------------------
"Burma-Shave tastes funny, besides why would a flapjack need gobs of Burma-Shave?"
-- The Brevity Game IP: Logged |
Clickie
Cereal Subunit
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posted June 18, 2001 03:35 PM
Was it the one where Marge dreamed that Homer and Marge were Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?IP: Logged |
Wraith
Self-Made User
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posted June 18, 2001 04:32 PM
I feel that we should add more definitions for the word pants. It has so many possiblities. Hmm... BCS...-Wraith. IP: Logged |
Spifferito
Cereal Subunit
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posted June 18, 2001 04:49 PM
I've just read through this thread, and my reactions were as follows:D'oh! to d'oh being added to the dictionary (isn't irony fun?) The english language is evolving?! I think I'll draw a line across the floor and step onto the side that says it's devolving. I think that the dictionary is a bit more sacred than just any old book, because it sets the example of what is right. Sure there's the need to know what you're reading, but the little italicized "nonstandard" does nothing to discourage people from using it. I vote that instead of "nonstandard", we just tag "...and whoever uses the word is a big idiot because this is WRONG!" to the ends of the definitions. I'd also like a dictionary entitled "Dictionary of the correct Enlish language" connotations and popular use be damned. I think I'd just like to know what words are supposed mean. IP: Logged |
Toon
Shuttlecock
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posted June 19, 2001 08:03 AM
There seems to be an echo in this forum.------------------
-=> Toon "No, it's an omen! It's a higher power trying to tell me through bunnies that we're all going to die!"
-Anya in BtVS IP: Logged |
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