[Ads-l] [Non-DoD Source] Re: Drop the mike (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Ben Zimmer]

Literal mic drops have a longer history in hip-hop and standup comedy. This
article talks about mic drops from Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, Chris
Rock, et al.:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/01/25/a_history_of_the_mic_drop_when_did_people_start_dropping_the_mic.html

The "Among the New Words" treatment just covers the more figurative usage.

On Mon, Jun 13, 2016 at 1:11 PM, Mullins, Bill CIV (US) <
william.d.mullins18.civ at mail.mil> wrote:

> CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED
>
> "Dropping the mic" also often has an element of "f--- you" to it; the
> speaker has made his case and is finished, and it is up to the audience to
> benefit from the wisdom that has just been offered.
>
> Perhaps Michael Richards is the source:
>
> From ProQuest, transcript of a CNN Broadcast.  _International Wire_ 20 Nov
> 2006
>
> "ANDERSON: According to Pitts, Richards launched a venomous personal
> attack against the rowdy group that stunned the 300 in attendance.
>
> PITTS: Just got totally silent. It just took all of the air out of the
> room. He dropped the mic and just walked off. There was never any "I'm
> sorry for what you just saw." "
>
>
> >
> > Related to "mic drop," nominated in the Most Useful category in the 2015
> ADS WOTY voting. In the "Among the New Words" installment in
> > the forthcoming issue of AmSp (the second one covering WOTY nominees),
> we define "mic drop" as "Definitive end to a discussion after
> > making an impressive point, in the manner of emphatically dropping a
> microphone at the end of performance" and provide cites back to
> > 2008. ("Mic drop" is also in Oxford Dictionaries with a more literal
> definition.)
> >
> > On Sat, Jun 11, 2016 at 4:05 PM, Jonathan Lighter <
> wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Or, pedantically and usually, "mic."
> > >
> > > I've been hearing this a lot on TV lately (like within the past month).
> > > UD has one ex., from 20
> > >
> > > "A phrase describing the action performed after getting the better of
> > > someone.
> > >
> > > "Calling someone out so hard that you just walk away indisputably
> > > victorious (See 8 Mile)
> > >
> > > "'After serving someone, I just drop the mic, and walk away'"
> > >
> > > Here's one in imperative form that may not really fit. It seems to
> > > indicate being stunned:
> > >
> > > "My 14-year-old, apolitical daughter came home from school about a
> > > month ago and announced at the dinner table to me, my husband, and her
> > > 15-year-old brother: '[Insert name of female classmate] said that
> > > Hillary Clinton is a liar.' Drop the mic. We all looked at each
> > > other."
> > >
> > > Cf. "Obama just dropped the mic on the White House Correspondents'
> Dinner."
> > >
> > > Not 100% sure what this means.
> > >
> > >
> > >
>
>

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