whuggle

[Laurence Horn]

On May 15, 2012, at 9:11 AM, Amy West wrote:

> On 5/15/12 12:00 AM, Automatic digest processor wrote:
>> If this family =
>> of items has really been around since the 1990s, as it appears, it =
>> should be probably be recorded somewhere.  (Was there a relevant ATNW in =
>> which these terms were recorded?)  Or does it only belong in a virtual =
>> lexicon, rather than an actual one?
> I think I see what you mean: a quickie Google search turns up a bunch of
> glosses of it like but no primary instances of its use, except in the
> last item here.
>
> http://llt.msu.edu/vol8num3/lam/default.html
> http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/whuggle
> http://www.ghostweather.com/papers/GenderMOO.htm
>
> Here's the thing: it's used in the chat box so it's pretty ephemeral.
> We're not going to see it uses it in, oh, a game review or a fan story
> or a discussion on a blog or a board.
>
> Here's one:
> http://www.madman.com.au/madboards/viewtopic.php?p=307332&sid=a2653a8872ab0820c1f17011af0f0eb8
>
> 8 instances of whuggle there.
>
> I think I'll ask my teen (hey, Neal, how about you ask yours as well) if
> he hears his peers using this term in spoken conversation. I know that
> they've moved things like "pwned" into their active spoken vocab. They
> may not have done the same with "whuggle" if it doesn't fill a need.
> (What need "pwned" fills for them other than bugging me, I'm not quite
> sure: an ironic, slightly mocking assertion of superiority?)
>
> (Because I'm a day late and a dollar short due to reading on the digest,
> I apologize if I have repeated what others have already said. And I also
> apologize if I have stated the obvious or the already known.)
>
> ---Amy West


Nope, no one's said a word, so I appreciate the feedback.  I'd give you a *whuggle* but I'm still not sure about the (n)etiquette involved.

LH

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