"catfishing"--early WOTY candidate?

[Joel S. Berson]

At 1/17/2013 12:48 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>On Jan 17, 2013, at 12:01 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>
> > Another WOTY?  "Te'o-ing", to succeed "Tebowing"?
>
>I like it, but why "both LDS phenomena"?  Tebow isn't a Mormon
>AFAIK, but a garden-variety evangelical Christian.  Possibly fundy,
>I don't know, but not LDS.

Apparently my error.  (Was I confusing Tebow with some other recent
pro quarterback, who came from a Utah college?)  We'll have to find
some other connection between the two gentlemen.

Joel


>LH
>
> > And both LDS phenomena.
> >
> > Joel
> >
> > At 1/16/2013 08:05 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
> >> So we know about the hoax allegedly perpetrated on Manti Te'o, in
> >> which the celebrated Mormon linebacker from Notre Dame, who finished
> >> second in the Heisman Trophy competition in part because of the
> >> heartbreaking human interest story involving the simultaneous deaths
> >> of his beloved grandmother (of something) and girlfriend (of
> >> leukemia, following a car accident), which inspired him as he led
> >> the Fighting Irish to their top-ranked position in the college
> >> football polls and the national championship game (where they
> >> eventually got blown out).  It now develops that the girlfriend who
> >> heartbreakingly died never actually existed, although Te'o evidently
> >> was unaware of this (although there are conflicting stories).  What
> >> makes all of this backstory WOTY-worthy is that this practice of
> >> perpetrating such a hoax was known, at least on ABC's World News
> >> Tonight, as "catfishing".  When I check this verb in
> >> urbandictionary, however, what turns up is a gloss that strikes me
> >> as unrelated:
> >>
> >> ==============
> >> To have one large pubic hair protruding from one's zipper, whether
> >> purposely or by accident. The term comes from the long barbels, or
> >> whiskers that stick out from the mouths of catfish. While the
> >> whiskers of catfish house their taste buds and are used to search
> >> for food in murky waters, the act of catfishing will only serve to
> >> make you look like a complete slob, oblivious airhead, or creepy perv.
> >>
> >> "So I was giving a presentation the other day, and I looked down and
> >> realized that I was totally catfishing! I was so embarrassed, so I
> >> spent the rest of the time with my back to the audience!"
> >> ==============
> >>
> >> A very useful verb to be sure, but nothing to do with hoaxes
> >> involving non-existent girlfriends.  And the only other listed
> >> meaning has to do with emulating the catfish in laziness and
> >> bottom-feeding, again unrelated.  So what gives?  Should I be
> >> checking "catphish"?
> >>
> >> Ah, I just noticed that the original report that broke the hoax--
> >>
> >>
> http://deadspin.com/5976517/manti-teos-dead-girlfriend-the-most-heartbreaking-and-inspirational-story-of-the-college-football-season-is-a-hoax
> >>
> >>
> >> --does refer to a recent movie "Catfish" that had some of these
> >> plot element. I guess I'd have gotten the reference if I'd ever
> >> seen the movie. So this is evidently a demovie verb formation of
> >> the kind along the lines of "Gaslighting" someone.  Most
> creative, perhaps?
> >>
> >> LH
> >>
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> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
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>
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