Talibangelist, Talibangelical

Benjamin Zimmer bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU
Thu Jun 18 15:08:07 UTC 2009


"Talibangelist" and "Talibangelical", blending "Taliban" with
"evangelist" and "evangelical" respectively, are popular epithets on
left-wing blogs to refer to extreme right-wing fundamentalists.
("Televangelist" is an obvious model.) Both terms seem to have emerged
on the Daily Kos in late 2004:

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http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2004/11/18/151041/24/135
roboton, Nov 18, 2004
At any rate, we must create an image that is so grotesque and
extremely far left that it causes the Talibangelists to shit bricks
and raise as much "end of the world" hell as possible.
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http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2004/12/24/18317/056/16
yankeedoodler, Dec. 24, 2004
about the commercialization of christmas. that complaint has
disappeared, drowned out, probably, by the talibangelists who decided
it made more sense not to attack their corporate allies.
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http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2004/12/26/135830/42/91
Dancing Larry, Dec. 26, 2004
Term from a Kosmonaut: Talibangelist.
Rolls right off the tongue.
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http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2004/12/31/172816/49/29
yankeedoodler, Dec. 31, 2004
 i don't call them fundamentalists or christian right anymore. i use
republican taliban (yes, the repubs have responsibility for giving
them a vehicle for spreading their hate) or
talibangelicals/talibangelists. what i like about the second term,
btw, is that it separates the wingnut evangelicals from evangelicals
who, for example, support someone like howard dean.
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--Ben Zimmer

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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