Boom!

[Ben Zimmer]

Steve Jobs was partial to using "Boom!" to punctuate his keynote
presentations, as I mention here:

http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2996/

I link to a post about an "Easter egg" in Mac OSX Lion that includes
several Steve-isms, including "Boom!":

http://www.cultofmac.com/106482/check-out-this-awesome-steve-jobs-easter-egg-apple-sneaked-into-os-x-lion/

--bgz


On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 4:06 AM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Since JL started that long thread on recent catch phrases, I thought I'd
> add another one.
>
>  From Politico (as quoted by Kevin Drum):
>
> > “And then,” Norquist said, “he went down on the floor, and he gave a
> > colloquy about how we’re against any tax increases of any sort. Boom!”
>
> This "Boom!" has seen increased frequency in the last couple of years.
> It's the rhetorical equivalent of "THAT'S what I am talking about!" or
> "There you have it!".
>
> I suppose, I could be falling for a recency illusion, but I don't think
> so--the common use of "Boom!" is quite different--usually "something
> happens", with a reference to an high-impact event.
>
> What's odd about it here is the source--I did not expect this kind of
> street talk from Grover Norquist. Perhaps he's trying to be hip. Or
> maybe I'm totally unhip.
>
> BTW, "Boom!" was one of my sons' first articulable word. He would drop
> on his butt from standing position, then look at me and say, "Boom!"
> There might have been semantic content in his earlier chortling, but
> this one was clear, deliberate and repeatable. That was almost 9 years ago.


--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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