shralp!

[Laurence Horn]

At 7:12 PM -0500 1/10/08, James Harbeck wrote:
>In the current issue of _Ski Canada_, I read this in an article on
>tree skiing: "Traditionally, the actual shralping of shrubs and alder
>in order to create nicely spaced glades was often done by local
>bushmen and patrollers during a ski area's off-season."
>
>The actual... what? After a little web jaunt (including a stop by
>shralpordie.com) I learned from the Urban Dictionary that "shralp"
>means
>
>To "rip," "shred," or "tear" something up. As in skateboarding or
>doing very good at something.
>He shralped up the bowl with his awesome moves.
>
>Hm. ISTM the author of the article didn't use it in that sense, so
>either there's a more physical sense -- like rip, shred, tear up,
>what have you -- or the author didn't know how to use the word and
>the editor didn't want to admit he didn't know either.
>
>If you search on Google, you find the term associated with
>snowboarding a fair bit, evidently in the sense that Urban Dictionary
>has it, but with a clear implication that a literal sense would be
>shredding, chewing up, or what have you.

The untidy byproducts of which are presumably known as shralpnel.

LH

>
>OK, but am I the last one here to have seen this word? Or the first?
>Or what up?
>
>James Harbeck.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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