[Ads-l] to troll =? take the mickey

[Andy Bach]

I was introduced to the phrase in Australia and it was less about inducing
a reaction as diminishing you or what ever you'd just got done talking
about ("just swam the the Nullabar strait" "that little river? My granny
swims it before breakfast for a lark!")   As if the piss-taker hoped you'd
just slink away, tail betwixt your legs.

On Wed, Jul 11, 2018 at 6:42 PM Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at gmail.com>
wrote:

> My understanding of “take the mickey/piss out of someone” is to talk in a
> manner to incite someone to irritation or anger as a generally accepted
> social ritual for humor. Wikipedia (
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taking_the_piss <
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taking_the_piss>) has a more expansive
> definition.
>
> In AmE, I would be inclined to say “fuck with/play around someone”, though
> the semantic range seems a little different.
>
> It occurred to me recently that “troll” may be closer to “take the mickey”.
>
> Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/troll#Verb <
> https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/troll#Verb>) says: (Internet slang) to
> provoke, harass or annoy. The OLD (
> https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/troll <
> https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/troll>) says: Make a
> deliberately offensive or provocative online post with the aim of upsetting
> someone or eliciting an angry response from them.
>
> Both of those definitions sound like the object of trolling is
> inflammatory, but there is a usage such as, “I’m just trolling you”,
> meaning, “I’m just joking around/fucking with you” with a light humorous
> sense instead of a sinister one.
>
> 1. Urban Dictionary (I stopped at page 10)
> a. Oni-Unit December 27, 2005
> https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=troll&page=3 <
> https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=troll&page=3>
> Not all trolls go to a message board and spam it with flames, racism, and
> Goatse before getting banned 5 minutes later. Trolling is a hobby in the
> same vein as prank phone calls, and the true objective of trolling is to be
> clever and creative in getting a reaction out of the troll victims.
>
> b. BadBoyBubby June 13, 2005
> https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=troll&page=7 <
> https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=troll&page=7>
> Trolls are also a source of genuine humour, which depends entirely upon
> whether the troll is a good or a bad troll. It's usually fairly easy to
> spot the difference between such actions: a bad troll resorts only to weak
> uncreative arguments whereas a good troll will create a subtle set of
> arguments which draw people in with cunning twists to provide a thread of
> non sequitur humour.
>
> 2. Want You Gone
> 20 April 2017
> Chris Brookmyre
> https://bit.ly/2zy3EfG <https://bit.ly/2zy3EfG>
>         'There is no problem. I’m just trolling you, Jack.’
>         Parlabane shakes his head, lets out a laugh despite himself.
>         ‘You really had me there,” he admits.
>
> 3. Dragon Lady: A Gender Swapped LitRPG Adventure
> 4 January 2018
> Alyson Belle
> https://bit.ly/2N8hRlv <https://bit.ly/2N8hRlv>
> He laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. “Oh, relax, Goldie. I’m just
> trolling you all….
>
> Benjamin Barrett
> Formerly of Seattle, WA
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
-- 
Andy Bach
Afbach at gmail.com
Not at my desk

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org