Nipply

[Gareth Branwyn]

It's fascinating to me how terms become "viral," and seemingly, all of a
sudden, pop up everywhere at once. Take "nipply," meaning that there's a
chill in the air. I'm not sure when I first heard this, but it's
definitely not new. I hadn't heard it used in years, but now, I've heard
it three times in the past few weeks and someone just submitted it to
the Jargon Watch column. This go-round, I think I first heard it used by
an extreme sports figure (Johnny Mosley? Tony Hawk?) on television
(obviously a significant broadcast point for slang). Then a computer
programmer friend used it in a phone conversation the other day and a
San Francisco computer developer just sent it to me as a Jargon Watch
item (obviously unaware that it's not a new term). Then my wife used it
last night when I asked her how cold it was outside as we were leaving
for dinner. My wife watches little TV and doesn't hang out online. When
I asked her, she said she'd only heard it recently, maybe at one of her
gigs (she's a musician).

I think the first time I heard the term was in an extreme sports
context, so maybe it originates there, or is at least popular in such circles.