Foobie

Garson O'Toole adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Sat Mar 6 22:04:54 UTC 2010


Thanks to Victor Steinbok for the great information about Foobie D.
Robot and the relationship to Foobar and FUBAR.

Ann Burlingham wrote
> "Foobie Blech" comes to mind, but I can't think from where - Mad Magazine?

Many thanks to Ann Burlingham for mentioning this expression. It
brings back memories.

In the computer game nethack (a descendant of rogue) the term FOOBIE
BLETCH was used to label a scroll with unidentified magical
properties.Other names were also used for unidentified scrolls, e.g.,
VE FORBRYDERNE and TEMOV.I do not know if FOOBIE BLETCH comes from an
earlier appearance in Mad Magazine. I also do not know if FOOBIE
BLETCH was used in rogue or another game before nethack.

This information is based on a posting to the usenet newsgroup
rec.games.roguelike.nethack by Sam Powell dated 2000 January 3.

Usenet newsgroups contain "foobie" in many guises.

A term for a fan of the rock group Foo Fighters:
2000 Feb 13 alt.music.foo-fighters
Foo F. 4 Song cd?
Forgive me is this is a dumb ass question, but I am a newbie Foobie.

A variable name used by programmers in the language Lisp; derivative
of foobar/fubar; used in other languages, e.g., prolog.
2000 Mar 31 comp.lang.lisp
Dangling Closing Parentheses vs. Stacked Closing Parentheses
> (defvar foobie '(

A term contained in a long list of insults.
2005 Feb 5 alt.alien.visitors Art Deco
"retard"
"dumbass"
"wuss"
"moron"
"pussy"
"pottymouth"
"fuckhead"
"asshead"
"chicken shit"
"idiot"
"asswipe"
"bible thumper"
"dingbat"
"fucknozzle"
"asshole"
"dipwad"
"turd ball"
"greasebutt"
"net-whore"
"psycho-fraud"
"pervert"
"bullshitter"
(multiple names excised at this point)
"foobie"
"bug shit crazy"

Below is a use of term foobie by a member of the model railroad
community in 2006.
2006 Aug 19 tankertoad70
http://forum.railroadforum.com/index.php?showtopic=10603
Oregon, California & Eastern - 1 SD45 (Athearn, definitely a foobie,
but a gift and a bootiful one to boot!)

Garson

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



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