[Ads-l] gimp suit

[Jesse Sheidlower]

On Sat, Jul 22, 2023 at 11:26:38PM +0200, Daphne Preston-Kendal wrote:
> > On 22 Jul 2023, at 20:26, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > 
> > <https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-gimp-suit-allowed-roam-135439357.html>
> > https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-gimp-suit-allowed-roam-135439357.html
> > 
> > Bing AI at first refused to define this, saying "Hmmm, let's try another
> > topic."
> 
> 
> The reference is to ‘The Gimp’, a character in Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. GDoS cites only a stage direction, but the name is also mentioned in dialogue. 
> <https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/5tgbmyy>
> I think its association of the character’s name with the other senses in the entry is probably correct, but maybe Tarantino has written or given an interview somewhere about why they named the character that.
> 
> Earliest use of the compound I can find in Google Books is interestingly a different use, in the film industry. The book has only snippet view here in Germany, but I think it’s talking about a motion-capture suit used to map a human actor’s movements onto a CGI model character.
> 

[etc.]

_gimp suit_ was entered into OED in March, defined as 'A bodysuit, typically made of tight leather, rubber, or vinyl, usually covering the wearer's head, and often having straps and other attachments for use in bondage or similar sexual activities', with a first quotation from 1995. (There's also _gimp mask_ from 1996.)

For _gimp_ itself, OED also cites the stage direction from the 1993 Pulp Fiction draft; the etymology is 'origin uncertain', but probably from _gimp_ 'foolish person' (1924).

Jesse Sheidlower

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