creeper

Sat Mar 13 16:54:21 UTC 2010

Not about "creeper" directly, but in my eclectic
television half-watching last night while
pretending to work on something else, and with my
ears cued in by recent messages here, I had two
experiences with "creepy" -- both in reruns so I
don't know the dates (without research):

1.  "Scooby Doo, Where are You?".  One of the
gang refers to a walking mummy, wrapped in the
customary cloth bands and chasing the gang, as "creepy".

2.   "The Rockford Files".  Rockford's lawyer
Beth is being harassed by a man who has sent her
unsolicited mail, most recently satin sheets and
a box of pornographic videos.  She refers to the
man -- whom she has not seen face-to-face -- as "creepy".

Two different senses, I would say.

Joel

At 3/13/2010 09:24 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>A_creeper_ seems to creep you out more than a creep.  In this week's Bad
>Girls Club Season Finale, a BG commented,
>
>"She just seems like a creeper. One of those people you would't want to be
>alone with in your house."
>
>JL
>On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 6:10 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: creeper
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > 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:
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > > 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
> > >>
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > -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
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
>--
>"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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