[Ads-l] Negging

[Ben Zimmer]

On Wed, Mar 6, 2019 at 1:42 PM Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:

> Just came across this word. Don't remember seeing it.
>
> Wikipedia says: Negging is an act of emotional manipulation whereby a
> person makes a deliberate backhanded compliment or otherwise
> flirtatious remark to another person to undermine their confidence and
> increase their need of the manipulator's approval.[1] The term was
> coined and prescribed by the pickup artist community,[1] several of
> whose members have proposed it as an effective method to build
> attraction.[2]
>

As noted on Wikipedia, this was popularized back in 2005 in Neil Strauss's
book "The Game." Here's a cite from Wiktionary.

2005, Strauss, Neil, quoting Erik von Markovik, The Game: Penetrating the
Secret Society of Pickup Artists, Text Publishing Company, page 151:
She's an 11. This is going to take some hardcore negging.

Also "neg" as a noun:

2005, Strauss, Neil, The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup
Artists, Text Publishing Company, pages 20-21:
The purpose of a neg is to lower a woman's self esteem while actively
displaying a lack of interest in her--by telling her she has lipstick on
her teeth, for example, or offering her a piece of gum after she speaks.

--bgz

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