creeper

[Wilson Gray]

In BE, a "creeper" is a man who sneakily pursues, usually
successfully, other men's wives or girlfriends.

Cf. a verse from Midnight Mover, written by Steve Cropper and Wilson
Pickett, sung by Wilson Pickett:

"I'm a midnight _creeper_
"All-day sleeper
"I'm a midnight hugger
"Stoned-soul lover"

It's often the case that husbands or boyfriends have to work the
graveyard shift. Old joke:

Wife:
Honey, while you were at work last night, a robber broke in!
Husband:
Whoa! Did he get anything?!
Wife:
Yes, but I thought it was you!

-Wilson

On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 11:34 AM, victor steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       victor steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: creeper
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The "creep" part sounds about right to me. There seems to be some
> differentiation going on between "creep" and "creeper". "Creep" is
> something one would expect to hear on NYPD Blue of Law & Order--a
> generally negative description of a man (more often than not--but need
> not be), someone unpleasant, particularly a suspect in a crime (in the
> TV show context), or in a generic sense, e.g., "some creep". "Creeper"
> is closer to "pervert" than "creep".
>
> There are 151 definitions in UD for "creeper", with the many
> suggesting "older guy stalking/ogling young women". "Creep" only has
> 49 definitions, including several for the verb and some that overlap
> with "creeper" in the sense "pervert". But the majority seem to be
> closer to "loser', "unpleasant", "jerk".
>
> Top UD entry for "creep" is "1950's word used by women to decribe an
> undesirable man." The "1950's" bit is a touch gratuitous, but
> generally represents a number of other entries in UD. And I have
> little doubt that some people substitute one for the other--I suppose,
> the real question is whether these coexist generally or if there are
> people who exclude one in favor of the other (more specifically, if
> they exclude "creep" in favor of "creeper"). Google is useless for
> such a task, but here are a couple of news/blog items:
>
> --Stanley Tucci, definitely a creeper in The Lovely Bones.
> --While working on a campaign to keep college women safe from assault
> on campus, my partners referred to the would-be rapist by calling him
> a "creeper.
> --By now, most kids know the old creeper kidnapper trick: Attacker
> pretends he is lost and needs a clueless child to help him find his
> way.
> --Awesome, right? I haven't needed to use it yet, but I'm thinking I
> will go ahead and spray any creeper that comes too close and risk
> going to jail.
>
> But, there are other uses for "creeper"--a "creeper burglar", "creeper
> vine" and "creeper" as in "creepy or scary movie".
>
> VS-)
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 10:01 AM, Gordon, Matthew J.
> <GordonMJ at missouri.edu> wrote:
>>
>> I don't believe I use 'creeper' but my sense is that it's not synonymous with 'creep' for its users. My definition of 'creep' is much broader than the one you provided. A 'creep' is more of a general pejorative, not a term just for someone who's creepy. It's much closer to 'jerk' for me, but then I don't think I've used 'creep' in years. If my sense of 'creep' is widespread, then the development of 'creeper' might be seen as motivated by the semantic gap left to describe a creepy person, especially a sexual predator.
>>
>> -Matt Gordon
>>
>>
>> On 3/12/10 7:43 AM, "Amy West" <medievalist at W-STS.COM> wrote:
>>
>> I've been noticing a term that my kids here in Worcester and their
>> cohorts (13 and 10 years old respectively) have been using and also
>> spotted in one of my student's (18-year-old freshman) papers:
>>
>> They use "creeper" to mean what I would call a "creep," as in a
>> creepy, scary, or shady person. "He's a creeper."
>>
>> I have not done my due diligence to see how widespread this is. It's
>> just a productive use of the -er ending to form a noun from a verb.
>> For them a "creeper" is someone who "creeps" around, skulking around.
>> There's a sense of menace in their use of "creeper" (and frankly in
>> my own use of "creep") that isn't captured by MW C11's definition of
>> "creep" (n) as "an unpleasant or obnoxious person."
>>
>> [The context where I first learned the use: I was pointing out
>> someone at an SF con who I wanted them to avoid because he has
>> sexually harassed young women. "Oh, he's a creeper" was their
>> response, meaning if I had just said "Avoid that guy: he's a creeper"
>> I could have been more direct.]
>>
>> ---Amy West
>>
>
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--
-Wilson
–––
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"––a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
–Mark Twain

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