[Ads-l] DUFF

[Jonathan Lighter]

Reminds me of the older "doof."

JL

On Sun, Feb 22, 2015 at 9:20 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <
adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: DUFF
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> A review of the movie "The Duff" in Variety has some more information
> about the apparently abstract nature of the term "duff".
>
> Short link:  http://bit.ly/1JARTDs
> http://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/film-review-the-duff-1201438357/
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Faced with being a "Duff" - a term that, according to Wes, doesn't
> literally refer to looks or weight, but functions as more of a
> catch-all phrase for dorky third wheels - Bianca sets out to rectify
> her situation . . .
> [End excerpt]
>
> The character Wes is a quarterback and lifelong neighbor of the main
> character.
>
> Garson
>
>
> On Sat, Feb 21, 2015 at 2:51 PM, Dave Wilton <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Dave Wilton <dave at WILTON.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: DUFF
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > It's undoubtedly completely unrelated, but a nickname for the B-52
> bomber is
> > the BUFF, or Big Ugly Fat Fucker. It dates to the Vietnam War.
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> Behalf Of
> > Marisa Brook
> > Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2015 1:09 PM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: DUFF
> >
> > >From someone who's has one foot (or at least a couple of toes) in the
> > YA-writers' world...it's worth pointing out that Kody Keplinger was very
> > young when she started her writing career. As I recall, she landed an
> agent
> > and publisher at the age of 17. One of the review-magazines, commenting
> on
> > "The DUFF," made a note of her "snarky teen-speak" alongside lauding her
> for
> > her realistic characters. I wouldn't be surprised if Keplinger's novels
> have
> > been capturing a lot of interesting slang that's actually found among
> > teenagers!
> >
> > Marisa Brook
> > Ph.D. candidate, Department of Linguistics, University of Toronto
> > http://individual.utoronto.ca/mbrook/
> >
>
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