[Ads-l] [Non-DoD Source] Query from Huffington Post: "Dumpster Fire" (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill CIV (US)]

CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED

Perhaps Ms Fallon is being subjected to the recency illusion?  As a personal insult, it is in Urban Dictionary in 2010, and as a (more or less) synonym for disaster it goes back to 2008.

And I'm not sure it is ubiquitous.  I've seen it occasionally in blogs.  Recent media cites (Infobank) show it in reference to Clinton/Trump campaigns, the Superman vs. Batman movie, Johnny Manziel, the Washington Redskins.  There are enough cites in sports reporting that, if it is in fact growing, I'd suggest that as a vector.

On Mar 3, Clinton's deputy campaign manager sent out an email referring to the previous night's Republican debate  with the subject line "last night's dumpster fire."

These things come and go.  A decade ago, you'd often see online references to someone "beclowning" themselves.  A couple years ago, you'd often see reference to Obama as a SCFOAMF ("Stuttering Cluster Fuck of a Miserable Failure").  Now, neither of them are as common as they had been.

> ----
> 
> Today I received the request below about "dumpster fire"  but don't have an answer.
> Would someone else perhaps be able to help?
> 
> Gerald Cohen
> 
> 
> 
> From: Claire Fallon [claire.fallon at huffingtonpost.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 1:59 PM
> To: Cohen, Gerald Leonard
> Subject: HuffPost interview query: "Dumpster fire"
> 
> Hi Gerald,
> 
> I'm a Books and Culture writer at HuffPost, and I'm working on an article about the phrase "dumpster fire" and its rather sudden ubiquity as
> an insult. I'm interested in speaking to lexicographers like yourself who might have some insight on its rise to popularity.
> 
> Please let me know if you'd be interested in speaking to me for the article; I'd love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> Best,
> Claire
> 
> --
> Claire Fallon
> Books & Culture Writer | THE HUFFINGTON POST claire.fallon at huffingtonpost.com
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - Caution-Caution-http://www.americandialect.org
CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED

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