Metatalktail Hour: Something Inexplicious

October 22, 2022 1:59 AM

Welcome to the weekend, fam. Today's MetaTalktails is about words we didn't know we needed, either found or manufactured. To wit, I offer what I feel is a much needed addition to our collective vocabulary: "horridorable," to describe something that is at once both horrifying and adorable*.

What are some more words we definitely need? What are some more horridorable things?

Orrr, just tell us how your week has been, what's on your mind, what's good ... but no politicontretemps, please, it's all just too distrussing!

* video found via Massimo on Twitter

posted by taz (staff) to MetaFilter-Related at 1:59 AM (71 comments total)

Way back when, my roommate at the time and I came up with the word "phlenph" to describe our collective mood in our early twenties. It was at least cromulent, if not more so, but needed to spoken aloud for full effect.
posted by mollweide at 4:07 AM on October 22, 2022

I like "phlenph." It's like a wetter "meh."
posted by taz (staff) at 4:21 AM on October 22, 2022 [4 favorites]

My friends and I didn't invent "pwn3d", but do other people pronounce it "poned" (rhymes with "owned", obviously) or just us?
posted by Tehhund at 4:22 AM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

I pronounce it (no I don't, I've never said this word out loud in my life) "roned," because for some reason, I always see the "p" as a Greek "ρ" (Greek letter "rho").
posted by taz (staff) at 4:50 AM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

The industry standard pronunciation of "pwn" is "pone," at least in the security space. There may be greater variation in the pwning noobs industry.

I wrote extensively -- readers may prefer the term "excessively" -- on my family's vernacular. While several terms are elevated from language learning attempt to vocabulary, it gets kind of indistinguishable after a couple of decades. Some are in the Sniglet category with "horridorable" which seems overlapping with "spoopy."

It's not even 5AM so I please forgive me if I can't provide my favorite example of horridorability.

In life update stuff, well, this week has been occupied tending to a quarantined family member. Said quarantined family member is doing very well but also occupying the room in which I sleep which is a little disruptive. Said quarantined family member is also instrumental in keeping my entire life from falling apart, so that also isn't helping a lot from my end.

I've been more or less useless at work this week. I went to some work meetings and like your favorite foul-mouthed Instagram tarot reader might, I told everyone the best course of action. These might sound like valuable contributions to the conversation, and I'm sure they are in the moment, but being the designated corporate Cassandra means I'm sure suffering is in the cards. Possibly mine.
posted by majick at 5:01 AM on October 22, 2022 [5 favorites]

So, this is a thread for Sniglets?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:05 AM on October 22, 2022 [1 favorite]

I remember almost no actual canonical Sniglets from when I read the books, with the exception of "asso asso," which I believe is someone who cuts through a gas station to get where they're going. I went probably 20 years with this term in the back of my mind puzzling over why it might be funny enough to publish as a Sniglet. Sure, people driving like that are "asso"s but repetition seemed beneath the bar of a true Sniglet.

20 years. Maybe more.

Turns out that's what they call an Exxon out east.
posted by majick at 5:10 AM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

Ignoying is a word a friend's child came up with. It works in a couple of different ways, and I'm not sure which is my favorite:

Uh, my coworker is so ignoying (ignorant + annoying)

I've been ignoying him all day (annoying him by ignoring him)
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:59 AM on October 22, 2022 [8 favorites]

My dog Gizmo is part chihuahua and part yorkie. They are often called chorkies. Sounds kinds chokey to me. So I call him a yohuahua. Much more fun to say.
posted by Splunge at 6:46 AM on October 22, 2022 [7 favorites]

It's not exactly a word we coined, but around our house we say "MeUndies" when you've told all you can tell about something and can't answer any more follow-up questions. Because once, I'd heard an ad for MeUndies on a podcast and told my wife about this underwear subscription service, and she just kept asking follow-up questions that I couldn't answer because everything I knew I learned from a 30-second ad.

Turns out that this situation comes up all the time. "Did you hear they're putting a haunted hamburger place where the Friendly's was?" That's literally all I know, I cannot answer any more questions. This is a MeUndies situation.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:10 AM on October 22, 2022 [11 favorites]

Narcissizen (när′sĭ-sĭz'ən)

NOUN: 1. The enlightened and calm acceptance of the suffering of everyone around you. Narcissizen reaches its highest peak of perfection when the practicioner (see: sollipshartha) has the presence of mind to scold others for their failure to calmly accept their own misery.
posted by mph at 7:17 AM on October 22, 2022 [4 favorites]

My father coined the word “decleviate” which basically means “to leave” or “to depart.” Making up words and then using them infuriates my very proper mother who was raised with a strict adherence to proper English and grammar. So introducing a made up word rankles her. And as such, we use the word as much as possible when in her presence.
posted by Sassyfras at 8:22 AM on October 22, 2022 [3 favorites]

I like "hlep" for something annoying someone does to "help" which is no help whatsoever. (I didn't coin this one; I first saw it on Making Light 15 years ago.)

I've been using "incorrect" as a verb ever since I noticed how witless my last phone's autocorrect was (it would not believe that "Were" could ever start a sentence; it would always change it to "We're": "We're you going by the store after work?" etc.) I used it aloud yesterday at work after I changed part of the file name on an invoice from 20221012 to 20221021 (that was wrong because invoices are named after the vendor, invoice number, and invoice date, not the date the invoice is posted). One of my coworkers said she'd never heard that (out loud? I felt certain the word had come up in texts before).
posted by johnofjack at 9:02 AM on October 22, 2022 [6 favorites]

johnofjack: I've been using "incorrect" as a verb ever since I noticed how witless my last phone's autocorrect was

I call that autocorrupt.
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:16 AM on October 22, 2022 [12 favorites]

autocorrupt is what happens when someone vomits in your car. Doesn't matter what you do. The ghost of that smell never goes away.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:28 AM on October 22, 2022 [5 favorites]

an old fave from the washington style invitational

ignoranus


stupid AND an asshole
posted by lalochezia at 9:31 AM on October 22, 2022 [8 favorites]

There was that rude woman on the airplane that one time. Decided it was the perfect occasion to use the term "flying buttress".
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:44 AM on October 22, 2022 [8 favorites]

Floop is when cat lies on back on floor, back toes curled, front paws pulled up, inviting and enticing big floofy belly, which he actually does want scritched.
Horripilation has been in my head for a week, can't remember where I first read it, but it's a good word for this time of year.
posted by winesong at 10:01 AM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

I think I have priority [2014] in coining Goldiloxian - for when something / everything is Just Right.
posted by BobTheScientist at 10:08 AM on October 22, 2022 [5 favorites]

Horripilation

My automatic assumption is that this describes hair removal gone horribly awry.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:12 AM on October 22, 2022 [7 favorites]

Hugemongous which is far superior to ginormous.
posted by bookworm4125 at 11:05 AM on October 22, 2022 [3 favorites]

Ignoying is a word a friend's child came up with.

Reminds me of a boss I had who would become flustrated.

And if something can be luke warm, can't it also be luke cool?
posted by Rash at 11:12 AM on October 22, 2022 [6 favorites]

I once described my high school reunion as Schadenfreuderriffic. Whether that is a portmanteau of schadenfreude and terrific or schadenfreude and horrific depends on just how much delight you take from just how much suffering of others, I suppose
posted by jacquilynne at 11:15 AM on October 22, 2022 [12 favorites]

And if something can be luke warm, can't it also be luke cool?

It depends on the temperature of Luke's hand. And anyone who doesn't know spends the night in the box.
posted by mochapickle at 11:49 AM on October 22, 2022 [10 favorites]

I’ve been using “adorrifying” for “adorable and horrifying.”
posted by Mister Moofoo at 12:33 PM on October 22, 2022 [3 favorites]

I have a made-up drug name in my head for either “whatever drug they make people forget stuff with in fiction” or a supposed brain chemical that interferes with memory:
Forgettinal.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 12:36 PM on October 22, 2022 [5 favorites]

Last year around Christmas I referred to the offset wedge-shaped utensil commonly used to serve pie as a “pie-handle.”
I went on to say, and to prompt That Look (you know the one) from my sister, “because it can handle all 100 digits of pi.”
posted by Mister Moofoo at 12:42 PM on October 22, 2022 [4 favorites]

Ever since I learned the word zugzwang I have found myself in several zugzwang situations.
posted by bleep at 12:44 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

Forgettinal

The safe, new, non-habit-forming alternative to that old stand-by, Dammital
posted by Rash at 12:51 PM on October 22, 2022 [6 favorites]

After a long day, an ex of mine, would get tirod. Pronounced tie-rod.
posted by Splunge at 12:52 PM on October 22, 2022 [7 favorites]

And if something can be luke warm, can't it also be luke cool?

It depends on the temperature of Luke's hand. And anyone who doesn't know spends the night in the box.

"What we have heah...is a failuah to temperluate."
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:53 PM on October 22, 2022 [5 favorites]

Oh and also I find that a great fill-in swear for situations where swearing is frowned upon, but that has a couple of good hard consonants so it’s satisfying to say, is
“petunia.”
posted by Mister Moofoo at 12:55 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

A few years ago my phone charmingly auto-corrected okey dokey to okey donkey. We now use that as an expression of assent to/support of an idea that's not great.

"I know I was just trying to scrape out the old grout, but I cracked a tile, so I'm just going to retile the wall too! It'll be quick!"

"...okey donkey."
posted by kimberussell at 12:56 PM on October 22, 2022 [14 favorites]

I started saying “Ucky Ducky” for “okey dokey” some reason, and even scribbled a little cartoon duck with that name.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 12:59 PM on October 22, 2022 [3 favorites]

I was inordinately pleased when I spontaneously came up with the word "preciprocate," talking about doing something nice for someone in advance of them doing something nice for you (in the context of a mutually appreciative relationship where you're always delighting in doing something nice for the other person, not in an unpleasant keeping accounts kind of way).

I love all these - thanks for the great MetaTalktail idea, taz!
posted by kristi at 1:51 PM on October 22, 2022 [11 favorites]

“petunia”

*discreetly wipe my eye with a hankie* Gesundheit.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:26 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

When I was 19, a 16-year-old coworker and I coined “absurky” for absurd+quirky.

We later abandoned it when we decided it sounded like a dreadfully dry Thanksgiving meat analogue.
posted by armeowda at 3:55 PM on October 22, 2022 [4 favorites]

A really gorgeous marmalade cat is marmalarvelous.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:34 PM on October 22, 2022 [6 favorites]

I got in a minor bike whoopsie this week and was left with a pretty gnarly shin bruise, the color of which inspired Little eirias to coin the word “hurlple.” Quite suitable.
posted by eirias at 6:01 PM on October 22, 2022 [6 favorites]

Effed. Not a word yet, but definitely a reality. I have a best fiend. Her sister used to call cole slaw, cold slop.
posted by Oyéah at 6:25 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

When you dig a trench around the edge of your bowl of oatmeal to pour milk into, that’s the moatmeal.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:37 PM on October 22, 2022 [9 favorites]

After a long day, an ex of mine, would get tirod. Pronounced tie-rod.

My Dad used to say tirod the same way!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:40 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

Does anyone else remember the Nickelodeon channels' Angry Beavers cartoon? They delighted in mispronouncing words like tie-red, cit-eye-zen, and bea-voir, among others. I still think it was a hoot.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:46 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

I have seen people right on the edge of calling some thing or other a "thing-a-ma-bob" or a "hoot-a-ya-jigger" and it is just wrong.

It is a skootcher.
pronounced: skoo-cher

Anyone can see that it's a skootcher.

As in "Hey, gimme a couple of them skootchers!" while up on a ladder as the errant person stands errantly. Or like "See, ya just take one of these skootchers here and bonk it in place with the hammer (bonk) and you're golden."

People who have not seen me in years, or decades, they'll snap right back into right living if we're working together; I am willing to help, and able.

Fact: These items absolutely are skootchers.

I don't even notice I'm using the word. Old friends/co-workers/whoever generally get a kick out of it. Old girlfriends in particular seem to have a lot of fun*, it really does snap us right back in time, maybe we'd been hanging curtains, we're right back in that room, smiling.
*Except for this one, who is fussy, and generally not having fun if I'm around.
posted by dancestoblue at 9:51 PM on October 22, 2022 [4 favorites]

An older one I like: an ohnosecond, the amount of time between a child saying "I have to pee" and "oops, too late."

I have always thought "a fantabulous night for a moon dance" is pure poetry and today was surprised to learn that fantabulous made it into the dictionary a long time ago.
posted by evilmomlady at 4:21 AM on October 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

I am just here to say that today I have made Cornish Fairings from the almanac book I have where there is a biscuit recipe for every month. They are the March recipe, to celebrate St Piran's Day. This recipe is similar, though mine has cinnamon and three teaspoons of ginger rather than one (and I put in three heaped, so probably more like five). Recommend.
posted by paduasoy at 5:58 AM on October 23, 2022

Crapsicles. Crapsody. Grimpoteuthis (oh wait, that exists).
posted by Phanx at 6:35 AM on October 23, 2022

I had a friend who called 'tighty-whities' (basic boy's white briefs underwear).... "Dun-Dun-Dunn's" (Google it) because it's super hero outer wear. Man panties. Those are dundunduns.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:01 AM on October 23, 2022

When my daughter was tiny, she drew a stick figure jumping from happiness and the stick figure was saying, "OSOM!" So that's how we say 'awesome' in text form.

Chipotle is Chip Wobble. I do not remember why. It just is.

Suitcases are Swedish lunchboxes. Again, I do not remember why.
posted by cooker girl at 7:31 AM on October 23, 2022 [2 favorites]

The Norwegian art of the packed lunch, Matpakke - Most Boring Lunch in the world - Ever? - YouTube, apropos.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:42 AM on October 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

When I am entertaining people for several days I will invent "preterrands" (pretend+errands) so I have reason to leave the house.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 9:30 AM on October 23, 2022 [5 favorites]

My friends and I are birdwatchers but at the advanced beginner level. While other birders go birding, we’ve learned to look for other birders to point the way. We called that birdering, and we are hoping to one day get the word into Merriam-Webster-
posted by AMyNameIs at 6:29 PM on October 23, 2022 [3 favorites]

Double dip here; sorry.

Just off the telephone with one of my best friends. He's in East Texas, probably scratching himself. I've known him 36 years at least, maybe 38, and he knows me well, and has suffered accordingly.

I sent him a link to what I wrote up-thread, about the word, and correct usage of the word -- skootcher. He did not dispute what I wrote but he pointed out that I only included partial usage of the word, "skootcher" as it being an item.

But "skootch" is also a verb. As in "Hey, we'll just skootch that little gem right in here." when moving a dresser, particularly if it is into a tight spot, or what others think is a tight spot though I know better. We might have to bonk something with a hammer (or if that doesn't work I can get out my BFH -- Big Fucking Hammer -- and we're in business) to make it all work out but that's no problem.

It's a great word, flexible, it covers a lot of ground. Matthew insisted that I come back in here and tell of it's goodness.

As far as I know it's mine, no idea where it came from but, great as it is, I suspect god gave it to me, to share with all of you, to enrich your lives and stuff.
posted by dancestoblue at 8:40 PM on October 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

I'll give you skootcher, which I've never heard before, but the verb skootch (/scooch/scootch) has been around for a while.

(still a good word, though)
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:32 PM on October 23, 2022 [4 favorites]

That sticky stuff emitted by aphids, is usually called honeydew. We call it honeydoodoo.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 10:23 PM on October 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

My grandfather used to use the word 'putatigeric' in meetings (put a tiger in it) to see if anyone ever asked him what it meant, which they did not.
posted by paduasoy at 2:23 AM on October 24, 2022

I did this thirty months ago.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:53 AM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

I'd assume prospiracy is when you're planning to give someone CPR.
posted by zamboni at 11:29 AM on October 24, 2022

I assumed a prospiracy is when two or more contestants in the Spirograph Amateur Invitational turn out to be professional ringers. So to speak.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 1:42 PM on October 24, 2022

I would assume prospiracy is the opposite of conspiracy, being a wild and ludicrous theory about good things happening.
posted by dg at 1:46 PM on October 24, 2022

And a spicypiracyspiracy is a conspiracy to plunder hot sauce on the open seas. Yarr.
posted by mochapickle at 3:44 PM on October 24, 2022

Ricochet Biscuit, you raise the exquisite/inquisite -> quisite sense.

paragress: two steps forward, one step back.
posted by k3ninho at 4:19 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

Prospiracy is a lot more effective than amateurspiracy.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:57 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

I've been using "incorrect" as a verb ever since I noticed how witless my last phone's autocorrect was

For this kind of scenario I prefer "autocoREKT"
posted by aubilenon at 8:58 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

Prospiracy is a lot more effective than amateurspiracy.

This reminds me of my hypothetical band name Haruspicy Meatball (with the hit song "Shut Up (I Know That's Not How it's Pronounced)")
posted by aubilenon at 9:02 PM on October 24, 2022 [2 favorites]

Protato-"pro" who hangs around doing nothing, for pro money.
Divats-The holes a diva leaves in you, when they claw your face.
App-lied-when you inflate you abilities on an employment application.
Zenescent-when you are way too chill.
Militchia Men-Hide in the backwoods too long, waiting for the civil war to start.
posted by Oyéah at 1:04 PM on October 25, 2022

I have blind spots in my reading eye, and sometimes my brain will fill in the middle of a long word before my eye can catch up. That's how, every February, I'm surprised when Protestants' Day rolls around.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:49 PM on October 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

For that annoying person who keeps explainng:

"I overstand!"
posted by mono blanco at 4:07 PM on October 26, 2022 [4 favorites]

I wrote extensively -- readers may prefer the term "excessively" -- on my family's vernacular.

majick I am in awe. I want to make a documentary about your family.
posted by bendy at 9:56 PM on October 27, 2022

When I'm cuddling with my cat and he does that super fast headshake, where his ears slap and sting me repeatedly, I call it "ear whipping." When he stands on my femoral artery and my leg goes numb, I tell him he's cutting off my blood supply with a catiquet (or purrniquet).

Honestly, whoever came up with "adorkable" is still my hero and always will be.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 10:24 PM on October 27, 2022

When I'm cuddling with my cat and he does that super fast headshake, where his ears slap and sting me repeatedly, I call it "ear whipping."

In our house, that's "ninjears."
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:46 AM on October 28, 2022