"um-weird"

[Jonathan Lighter]

But now that I think about, I kinda like "ur-weird" too!

JL

On Sat, Sep 12, 2009 at 11:04 AM, Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "um-weird"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Sat, Sep 12, 2009 at 11:00:43AM -0400, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > Many years ago when the list was young someone began to refer to erotica
> as
> > "um, literature."  E.g.: "The word maily shows up in certain sorts of,
> um,
> > literature"
> > Wilson may have been involved in this.
>
> I think the original was "um-friend", from "This is my, um,
> friend," and IIRC this was well before Wilson's involvement in
> the list (but I'm too lazy to search right now).
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
> OED
>
> > After a while, it seemed reasonable to make "um" a prefix meaning
> something
> > like "pornographic, erotic." Now it can be affixed to adjectives as well.
> >
> > That's Inglish forya.
> >
> > JL
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Sep 12, 2009 at 10:45 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> >
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> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > > Subject:      Re: "um-weird"
> > >
> > >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > At 9/12/2009 09:20 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > > >Let me put it this way.  "Goblin Market" is so um-weird ...
> > >
> > > Jon, would you define "um-weird" for me?  I assume, since it is
> > > repeated thrice, you did not mean "un-weird" or "ur-weird".
> > >
> > > Urban dictionary doesn't define it yet, but tells me that this is
> close:
> > >
> > > Lyv     5 up, 13 down
> > >
> > > A really weird person
> > > Lyv is um weird
> > > get this def on a mug Mug
> > > by Lyv Feb 24, 2003
> > >
> > > Unfortunately, Lyv doesn't tell us what she means by "um weird".
> > >
> > > Joel
> > >
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"There You Go Again...Using Reason on the Planet of the Duck-Billed
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