actorfic

actorfic (countable and uncountable, plural actorfics)

I think your efforts might be better rewarded by trying to finish that and making it the best X-Files story you can, instead of writing actorfic which, by my definition, is *not* X-Files fanfic.

2000 March 26, Jintian Li, “Re: Decency question”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

I've seen the occasional thing... and I know it is out there... but the suggestion I saw sort of implied that actorfic was more prevelant^([sic]) in the Star Trek fan fiction community.

2005 May 5, Laura Hale, “Re: Star Trek Actorfic”, in alt.startrek.creative (Usenet):

An early article on Slate, otherwise sympathetic to slash fiction, declared that "actorfic" violated fanfic's basic principle of being fantasy: "Writers risk enraging straight actors. Slash infuriates actors even when it focuses only on fictional characters."

2007, Kristin Thompson, The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 179:


bandfic

en-noun

bandfic (countable and uncountable, plural bandfics)

However, no other site I've seen boasts as much bandfic as Fanfiction. net. The Musical Groups section contained 140 different singers and bands, from oldies (Beatles) to rap-metal (Korn, System of a Down) to rap (Li'l Bow Wow, Sisquo^([sic])) and pop (Britney, N'Sync, Aaron Carter) with many more uncategorized artists listed under Miscellaneous.

2002 April 14, LadyCyrrh [username], “[ART] The Annex Reviews, 4/14/02”, in alt.sex.stories.gay.moderated (Usenet):

Fandom as a whole would be better served by having separate LoTR, HP, and bandfic archives, for a start.

2002 September 22, Mary Ellen Curtin, “Re: Fanfiction.net problems”, in alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated (Usenet):

Westcott doesn’t even consider the thornier question of fan fiction based on real and often living people, for instance, the “bandslash” or “bandfic” phenomenon built around rock-star characters and often homoerotic subplots.

2008 July 15, Keith Goetzman, “Is Fan Fiction Flouting the Law?”, in Utne Reader:

(fandom slang) Fan fiction focusing on the imagined activities of a real musician or musicians.


bandslash

It's an archive of bandslash about the rock group Orgy, who are best known for their hard-hitting remake of New Order's early 80s chestnut "Blue Monday."

2002 August 10, LadyCyrrh [username], “[ART] The Annex Reviews, 8/10/02”, in alt.sex.stories.gay.moderated (Usenet):

Even more amusing is that those doing the wishful humping in bandslash aren't your usual pin-ups. Bandslash has gone indie. This is a shadowy world where the boys in Franz Ferdinand are each others' fetish objects, and former Libertines Carl Barat and Pete Doherty, lovers.

2006 October 26, Kitty Empire, “Pop idols trade licks”, in The Observer:

(fandom slang) Slash fan fiction which pairs real musicians, especially ones belonging to the same group.


popslash

Popslash writers use pop stars as their protagonists, constructing fictional narratives that supplement and enhance those disseminated by the media.

2006, Kristina Busse, “'I'm jealous of the fake me': Postmodern subjectivity and identity construction in boy band fan fiction”, in Su Holmes, Sean Redmond, editors, Framing Celebrity: New Directions in Celebrity Culture, Routledge, →ISBN, page 254:

Consequently, popslash grew popular among media fan writers, many of whom created similarly brilliant and science fiction-like premises to explore celebrity culture as a metaphor for gender identity and other performances of the self.

2006, Francesca Coppa, “A Brief History of Media Fandom”, in Karen Hellekson, Kristina Busse, editors, Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet: New Essays, McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 56:

The popslash phenomenon gathered momentum after a 2001 story that imagined Chris Kirkpatrick of the band 'N Sync experiencing a sudden overnight gender change, […]

2011, Katherine Meizel, Idolized: Music, Media, and Identity in American Idol, Indiana University Press, →ISBN, page 46:

(fandom slang) Slash fan fiction which pairs pop musicians, especially ones belonging to the same boy band.


slugthrower

He had been pulling the trigger of his slugthrower all this time, but now the firing pin clicked at last upon an empty firing chamber.

1965 December, Gordon R. Dickson, “Warrior”, in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, volume 76, →ISSN, page 71:

Each had a holstered sidearm: slugthrower, not stunner.

1978, Poul Anderson, The Avatar, New York: Berkley, →ISBN, →OL, page 162:

From the confident manner with which she held her long-barreled slugthrower, Mirina guessed that some of the medals were for marksmanship.

1996, Jody Lynn Nye, The Ship Errant, Baen, →ISBN, →OL, page 65:

(science fiction) A firearm that fires bullets.


Eldar

→ Russian: Эльда́р (Elʹdár)

Coined by J. R. R. Tolkien as Quenya Eldar, plural of Elda.

(fantasy) An elf, one of a particular group of elves, or an elflike creature.

(science fiction) An elflike race of aliens from Warhammer 40,000, now known as Aeldari.

Эльда́р

magical humanoids from Tolkien's writings


kidfic

kidfic (countable and uncountable, plural kidfics)

Ok, so we'll never get this scenario on the show, but I thought it would be interesting to try something other than Requiem babyfic and more along the lines of "kidfic." I found myself wondering what Mulder and Scully's son might be like and how Scully would handle the awesome responsibility of raising him alone.

2000 September 1, Starbuck031992 [username], “NEW: Will (1/1) by little scully”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

I knew EXACTLY why you were asking such a stupid ass question. Only someone writing/reading kidfic would even care. Next time, try asking on the fic list.

2004 March 16, SamPiper, “Re: Did Scully...”, in alt.tv.x-files (Usenet):

In a month or so I plan to begin the update process again at The Nursery Files, which as you probably know is the X-Files babyfic/kidfic archive.

, neoxphile [username], “Writers, please submit your baby/kidfics to The Nursery Files”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

(uncountable, fandom slang) Such fan fiction collectively.


babyfic

babyfic (countable and uncountable, plural babyfics)

This is babyfic with a realistic drooly biting babbler in the starring role.

1998 September 6, JenRose, “Rec: Iolokus IV: Res Judicata- Actually ranting, raving praise.”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

Yep, we're headed for an onslaught of sappy babyfic. Hang onto your hats, girls and boys! <g>

2001 May 20, Daska K., “Beware the onslaught....”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

Whereas fan fiction has been understood to be primarily about sex and subversive readings — as Jenkins' work on female fans and "slash" suggests — babyfic on the other hand, demonstrates the need to contain and work through the extreme possibilities of the canon.

2003 April, Robin Silbergleid, “'The Truth We Both Know': Readerly Desire and Heteronarrative in The X-Files”, in Studies in Popular Culture, volume 25, number 3, page 61:


noromo

Being a hard-core "noromo" (parlance for "no romancer," someone who believes the show's UST, or unresolved sexual tension, is the key to its vitality), I have also flamed "shippers" ("relationshippers," those who want Mulder and Scully to get it on in the film) with now embarrassing vituperations, such as, "Why don't you just go get the lame job you're destined for at the state budget office?"

1998 June 22, John Cloud, “Cinema: An X-Phile Confesses”, in Time:

There had always been a separation between the noromos and the shippers, but at the start of the eighth season, another significant division was born.

2002, Tom Kessenich, EXaminations: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6-9 of The X-Files, Featuring the Reviews of Unbound I, Trafford Publishing (2002), page 5

Once it became generally accepted that Mulder and Scully were romantically involved off screen, the noromos stopped watching in disgust, while the shippers lamented not being allowed to witness the transition in the relationship.

2002, Elizabeth Weinbloom, "'THE X-FILES'; A Botched Romance" (letter to the editor), The New York Times, 2 June 2002

(X-Files fandom slang) A person who opposes the idea of a romantic relationship between Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.


genderswap

The problem is exactly the one you have stated: many people would not be comfortable with a sudden genderswap in the Doctor, when the possibility has not even been hinted at in the past.

1996 July 4, Bill Billingsley, “Re: Sci-Fi Gender Role Reversal was Re: 9th Doctor”, in rec.arts.drwho (Usenet):

But I liked the fact that they *were* friends and not lovers, as *the* most obvious thing to do with a genderswap of either Kirk or Spock is promptly pair them off together.

2001 June 20, Alara Rogers, “Re: TOS Challenge "Female Trek"”, in alt.startrek.creative (Usenet):

More sober challenges to the representation of gender in mainstream media (and of course, Supernatural specifically) occur in genderswap stories where the sudden change of anatomy is one that throws the character's world into chaos.

2009, Emily Turner, "Scary Just Got Sexy: Transgression in Supernatural and Its Fanfiction", in In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural (ed. Supernatural.tv), BenBella Books (2009), page 162

(fandom slang) An instance of changing a fictional character's biological sex or gender identity from the canonical norm.


science-fictiony

en-adj

science-fictiony (comparative more science-fictiony, superlative most science-fictiony)

more science-fictiony (comparative)
most science-fictiony (superlative)

She wishes science-fictiony things like videophones existed so Jaypee could see her smile when she says that Actually, she's moving into another area of creative work entirely. Publishing.

1991, Ian McDonald, King of Morning, Queen of Day, Open Road Integrated Media, published 2013, →ISBN:

There was no other indication that the attack was under way—no cool science-fictiony laser sounds, no beam of light slicing through the sky, just a small blinking “L” indicator on their supercockpit displays.

2007, Dale Brown, Strike Force, Harper, →ISBN, page 504:

There were kids playing weird, science-fictiony music on synthesizers, and all the teachers who were telling everyone where to go were wearing outfits made out of aluminum foil, like robot aliens.

2012, James Patterson, Chris Tebbetts, Middle School: Get Me Out of Here!, Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN:

(informal) Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of science fiction.


Shahryar

Borrowed from Classical Persian شَهْرْیَار (šahryār).

bor+

Name of the fictional Persian Sassanid King of kings who is told stories by his wife, Scheherazade.

شَهْرَيَار

name of the fictional Persian Sassanid king


bat'leth

From Klingon betleH, short for batlh'etlh (“sword of honor”).

It is a bat'leth. It belonged to my father... It has been in our family for ten generations.

1990 November 5, “Reunion”, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 4, episode 7, spoken by Worf (Michael Dorn):

The U.K. is looking to clean up its streets with a knife amnesty program, so you can imagine their surprise when a Klingon, er, excuse me, a Klingon fan, turned in a replica Bat’leth over the weekend.

2008 August 25, Jack Loftus, “U.K. Knife Amnesty Program Turns Up Klingon Bat’leth, No Sign of Worf”, in Gizmodo Australia, archived from the original on 2016-03-04:

Officers searched the area but didn't find the robber or the weapon, which was described as a "bat'leth."

2009 February 4, Kieran Nicholson, “Klingon sword used in two Colorado Springs heists”, in Denver Post:

Howard: Why did you bring that?
Sheldon: No weapon strikes more fear into a man's heart than a Klingon bat'leth.
Leonard: OK, let's get clear on something. We just gonna tell this guy to transfer all your stuff back into your account and then be on our way. No one's bat'lething anybody.

2011 March 31, “The Zarnecki Incursion” (15:59), in The Big Bang Theory, season 4, episode 19, spoken by Howard Wolowitz, Sheldon Cooper, and Leonard Hofstadter (Simon Helberg, Jim Parsons, and Johnny Galecki):

(science fiction) A double-ended curved blade weapon with spiked protrusions, controlled by grips along its back, used by Klingons in Star Trek.


selfcest

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And this is where selfcest comes in. For those unfamiliar with Adventure Time, it has two series: the main, phallogocentric one, Adventure Time, and another spin-off version, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, in which gender-flipped versions of the original characters are presented. Marceline spawns Marshall Lee, Jake turns into Cake, Finn becomes Fionna, Princess Bubblegum is chewed up and spat out as Prince Gumball… you get the picture. Enter Fanfiction, which causes them to hook up. Creepy, yes.

2013, Boo Patrick, "Selfcest", Manifesto (University of New South Wales College of Fine Arts), April 2013, page 8

Several Loki fans shared their horror over the idea of Loki and Sylvie getting together, as it would be an example of selfcest.

2021 July 2, Sabrina Barr, “Loki fans defend Marvel series over ‘queerbaiting’ claims as director says God of Mischief’s bisexuality won’t be explored further”, in Metro, UK:

'"The Time Traveler's Wife” having selfcest was not on my 2022 bingo card,' another [Twitter] user commented.

2022 May 25, Erica Tempesta, “'Selfcest was not on my 2022 bingo card': The Time Traveler's Wife baffles viewers with 'wild' and 'disturbing' oral sex scene between the HBO show's protagonist and HIMSELF”, in The Daily Mail:

(fandom slang, fiction) Sexual activity with an alternate version of oneself, such as a clone, duplicate, alter ego, or a version of oneself from a different time or alternate universe.


spacedock

(science fiction) A place where spacecraft can dock.


Conehead

(fiction) One of a fictional race of humanoid aliens with conical skulls.


Delena

And vice versa, when we want Stefan and Elena to have a moment together, how can we do that and not have our Delena fans outraged?

2012, Julie Plec, quoted in Nuzhat Naoreen, "This Week's Cover: 'The Vampire Diaries' stars talk about the red-hot Damon-Elena-Stefan triangle", Entertainment Weekly, 8 February 2012

And while you may deny having ever watched the "Vampire Diaries" in pubic, you have a strong opinion regarding team Stelena vs. team Delena.

2014, Danielle Wolk, "Netflix or Nut-flix?: A guide to Understanding Your Netflix Obsession", The Lion's Roar (Solomon Schechter School of Westchester, Hartsdale, New York), January 2014, page 6

There will never be enough swoon-worthy Delena moments to fill shippers’ hearts, […]

2014 May 4, Lanford Beard, “TV Jukebox: 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'The Following,' 'Supernatural,' and more of the week's best music-on-TV moments”, in Entertainment Weekly:

(fandom slang) The romantic pairing of the characters Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert from the American television series The Vampire Diaries.


beta-read

en-verb

beta-read (third-person singular simple present beta-reads, present participle beta-reading, simple past and past participle beta-read)

beta-reads (present singular third-person)
beta-reading (participle present)
beta-read (participle past)
beta-read (past)

Compare earlier beta-test (“to test software before its public release”).

This sounds like an AP English class, but in fact, the online community of fan fiction writers are willing to beta-read and be mentors, giving constructive feedback.

2010, Erin A. Pyne, The Ultimate Guide to the Harry Potter Fandom, page 128:

(chiefly fandom slang) To proofread a text, especially fan fiction.


shipfic

en-noun

shipfic (countable and uncountable, plural shipfics)

Just make sure you don't let me know where your shipfic is available, won't you? <g>

2001 December 6, Eva, “Re: 48 Hours: Please God, tell me that's not Daniel's replacement! ***Spoiler***”, in alt.tv.stargate-sg1 (Usenet):

HP slashfic gives me the creeps, not because of homophobia, but more because I get this imperceptible vibe that it's written by people who are obsessed with the movie stars, and in some peculiar way want to debase them because they can't have them. Actually, I shouldn't single out the slashfic. There's plenty of shipfic that gives me this same impression, too.

2003 August 20, Chistaya, “Re: and either must die at the hand of the other...”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

I've just started looking for DW fanfic to see if there's any Rose-meets-altuniverse-Doctor, and have been drowned in shipfic on places like ff.net (or whatever its^([sic]) called now.

2006 September 2, JACUK, “Re: What has happened to DW fanfic...?”, in alt.drwho.creative (Usenet):

(fandom slang) Fan fiction revolving around or dedicated to shipping.


fujoshi

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Borrowed from Japanese 腐(ふ)女(じょ)子(し) (fujoshi, literally “rotten girl/woman”).

ja-r

(fandom slang) A female fan of yaoi. A female shipper.


imzadi

From the American science-fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, in which it is a term of endearment used by the Betazoid race, said to mean "beloved."

I have a 2 year old son, and my major interests include science fiction TV (Star Trek, X-Files), music, books and movies. […] I am looking for my imzadi, and hope to meet her someday.

1994 August 30, djsst22 [username], “GWF ISO SF”, in pgh.singles (Usenet):

So I'll probably run about the neighborhood with my imzadi (what I've decided to call my 'best-friend-person' now. It's a Star Trek term, Betazoid stuff.) […]

1999 October 28, Lisa: DreaManiChicKuriousStarfire [username], “Re: Halloween: What are your plans?”, in alt.drugs.psychedelics (Usenet):

I push beyond my body
I push beyond this world of mine
Drunk without wine
myself my imzadi

2001, Cari Lynn, “To Touch The Face of God”, in Journey Without a Map, Writers Club Press, →ISBN, page 20:

(fandom slang) A person with whom one shares a profound spiritual bond; a soulmate.


planeswalker

From planes + walker. Originated in the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering.

Like Rosalie, he acted as though he had no power. He believed the same was true for D'Las as it was for the planeswalker—he simply couldn't access the power on his own.

2011 April 26, Amber Wokaty, chapter 39, in Galaxy Killers (Living Planets; 1), Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 187:

(fantasy) A wizard who can travel across planes of existence.


Bechdel test

After cartoonist Alison Bechdel, author of a 1985 Dykes to Watch Out For comic strip that popularized the test. Reportedly first used in 2007.

It also will enable users to determine if a project passes the Bechdel Test, measuring whether two female characters speak to each other about anything other than a man.

2019 April 26, Melena Ryzik, “Screenplay Software Adds Tool to Assess a Script’s Inclusiveness”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Finally, the percentage of musicals that pass the Bechdel test but not the jobs test has also remained consistent―at under 10% for the entire 75 years studied. These results imply that it is far more likely for a musical to pass the Bechdel test if a female character is employed in it; perhaps having a focus other than men for a character aids in more progressive portrayals.

2019 September 5, Jessica Sternfeld, Elizabeth L. Wollman, The Routledge Companion to the Contemporary Musical, Routledge, →ISBN:

A feminist test for evaluating a work of fiction by whether it contains (i) at least two women (especially, named female characters) (ii) who talk to each other (iii) about something other than a man.

Alison Bechdel
Bechdel test
Dykes to Watch Out For


Amalthean

/æməlˈθiːən/

(Greek mythology) Of or relating to Amalthea or Amaltheia, foster-mother of Zeus, in Greek mythology.

(astronomy) Of or relating to the Jovian moon named for Amalthea.


Amalthean

/æməlˈθiːən/

(science fiction) A native or inhabitant of Amalthea.


somewhere over the rainbow

en-adv

somewhere over the rainbow (not comparable)

Popularized from the song Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland, written by Harold Arlen (music) and E. Y. Harburg (lyrics) for the film The Wizard of Oz

Perhaps somewhere over the rainbow there is a land where equality and justice are colorblind, where no one is the other, where no one by virtue of race, gender, or sexual orientation is an outcast or an anomaly.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby

(idiomatic) In an unknown, hypothetical, or very distant place.

Harold Arlen
Judy Garland
Over the Rainbow
Yip Harburg


cybersurgeon

A telesurgeon; one who remotely controls a telerobotic system to perform surgery.

(science fiction) A robot that performs the duties of a surgeon.


robodoc

Other than the most exceptional transplants, all operations were performed by cybersurgeons. These were robodocs, ArtAn nets hooked up to precision machines. They were exact and fast and dexterous.

2005, Alan Robbins, A Small Box of Chaos, page 64:

Sheppard observed several crew begin installing some of the robodocs in the medbay who would act as triage and initial aid to any wounded crew members or space marines.

(science fiction) A robot that performs the duties of a doctor or surgeon.


Jabba the Hutt

After the character Jabba the Hutt, a large, sluglike alien crime lord in the Star Wars film saga.

It may be painful to remember that the latter day Elvis, he of the Las Vegas leer, became a besequined Jabba the Hutt, a virtual caricature of himself.

1992 February 26, “Which Elvis goes on stamp”, in The Milwaukee Sentinel:

He nods in the direction of our client, Vince Russo, an oily-looking man about Joel's age who has jammed his Jabba the Hutt torso into the chair at the table next to Holmes.

2000, Sheldon Siegel, Special Circumstances, Bantam, published 2001, →ISBN, page 11:

In small towns that merely want a fire station out of this Jabba the Hutt of a stimulus package, that's about as much as they can ever hope for insofar as a return on the dollars their local taxpayers send to Washington, D.C.

2009 February 9, “The downside of a federal stimulus package gone local”, in Peoria Journal Star:

(informal, sometimes attributive) Something very large or bloated; a fat person.


electrovore

/ɪˈlɛktɹəvɔː(ɹ)/

In Cosmos, Carl Sagan speculates on the existence of extraterrestrial civilisations, which he characterises pretentiously by means of hypothetical summaries such as: "cryogen supercooled electrovores with neutron crystal dense packing and modular starminers ..."

1984 November 8, Peter Forbes, “The silicon solution”, in New Scientist:

! WE DO NOT CONSUME EARTH FOOD. WE ARE ELECTROVORES. IF YOU
! HAVE A SURGE PROTECTOR WE WOULD BE MOST OBLIGED.

1998 October 30, Rollin Thomas, “New Borg Graduate Student.”, in talk.bizarre (Usenet):

There were, Gregory knew, AIs residing within implants in dolphin brains now designed to bridge the linguistic barriers between the species, but those translations had only proven that dolphin brains were as alien to humans as the group minds of the abyssal electrovores inhabiting the under-ice ocean of Enceladus.

2013, Ian Douglas, Deep Space: Star Carrier, HarperCollins, →ISBN:

(science fiction) An organism or entity which feeds on electricity.


Wincest

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From Win(chester) + -cest. Possibly influenced by wincest.

Wincest stories often take their transgressive cues from the text itself; often when Sam and Dean are seducing each other in Wincest stories, the more reluctant of the two is convinced to engage in the relationship when the other reiterates that they are already outsiders in society, already isolated from the “normality” of their world—why should the prohibition of incest stand in their way when they have already broken so many other laws?

2009, Emily Turner, "Scary Just Got Sexy: Transgression in Supernatural and Its Fanfiction", in In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural (ed. Supernatural.tv), BenBella Books (2009), page 159

Instead, she suggests, the romanticized, paratextual Wincest slash fiction offers Sam and Dean a redemptive happiness that they are perpetually denied by the show's writers both in a diegetic sense (via Chuck Shurley, the show's writer/prophet who publishes novels based on the boys' adventures) and in a non-diegetic sense (via Eric Kripke, Sera Gamble, and the show's returning writers).

2011, Darren Elliott-Smith, “'Go Be Gay for That Poor, Dead Intern:' Conversion Fantasies and Gay Anxieties in Supernatural”, in Stacey Abbott, David Lavery, editors, TV Goes to Hell: An Unofficial Road Map of, Supernatural , ECW Press, →ISBN, page 106:

Supernatural fandom features some of the more controversial iterations of slash, predominantly Wincest (the incestuous coupling of the show's protagonists, the Winchester brothers), […]

2013, Henry Jenkins & Suzanne Scott, "Textual Poachers, Twenty Years Later", in Henry Jenkins, Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture, Routledge (2013), page xxxiii

(fandom slang) The incestuous slash ship of the fictional brothers Dean and Sam Winchester from the television series Supernatural.


Waycest

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(fandom slang) The incestuous real-person pairing of the brothers Gerard Way and Mikey Way, of American rock band My Chemical Romance, in slash fan fiction.


Snarry

Best Excuse for a Wandering Mind: SNARRY!, Jason Isaacs, Alan Rickman

2004 December 31, barbarella [username], “Re: That Was The Year That Was 2004”, in aus.culture.gothic (Usenet):

"Snarry is part of a subgenre of fan fiction called Slash," she says. "Snarry depicts romantic relationships between Harry Potter and Severus Snape, together - Snarry. […]

2009 July 17, David Templeton, “One geek over the line”, in Pacific Sun:

Snarry slash people (ie people who write fan fiction about Snape and Harry getting it on till the break o’dawn) are super-intense. Seriously that is one rich, rich subculture.

2009 July 22, Lev Grossman, “Notes from Azkatraz, a Harry Potter Convention”, in Time:

(fandom slang) The ship of characters Harry Potter and Severus Snape of the Harry Potter series.


Destiel

His overt revulsion is caused by the Wincest fan fiction — the Sam-slash-Dean pairing that also alarms Dean in the epigraph of this paper — and to a Dean-slash-Castiel (or Destiel) kink meme in which Castiel has a crab claw for a hand.

2011, Brigid Cherry, “Becky Rosen, Fan Identity, and Interactivity in Supernatural”, in Stacey Abbott, David Lavery, editors, TV Goes to Hell: An Unofficial Road Map of, Supernatural , ECW Press, →ISBN, page 204:

All of our "feels" are on the line again as they continue to be with anything that involves Johnlock (thanks a lot, Moffat), Merthur and Destiel.

2013, Keren Lopez, "Yahoo buys Tumblr, leaves fandoms in despair", La Voz Weekly (De Anza College), Volume 46, Number 27, 3 June 2013, page 8

I'm always happy to write some sappy Destiel one shot (a one chapter story, often focused solely on fluff, or pure cuddles) when writer's block is making work on Phoenix difficult.

2013, Evangeline Warren, "Confessions of a Teenage Fangirl", INKredible!, Issue 4, Summer 2013, page 21

(fandom slang) The ship of characters Castiel and Dean Winchester from the television series Supernatural.


H/Hr

This news group certainly seemed to filled with a lot of R/Hr people. As I am a H/Hr person and I believe that Hermione and Harry have this subtle thing that's being^([sic]) built up since the very beginning, I will elaborate on my personal beliefs.

2002 May 4, Imran [username], “Re: Ron and hermoine”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

I can't help but suspect it's either some sort of passive-aggressive moralistic reaction or thinly disguised sour grapes on the part of die-hard H/Hr shippers.

2007 September 7, Bill Blakely, “Re: What happens next?”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

For instance, those who write about or are interested in a relationship between Harry and Hermione are considered “H/Hr” shippers.

2007 Katie Greenway, "Dumbledore heats up overwhelming fanfic", The Badger Herald (University of Wisconsin-Madison), 25 October 2007

(fandom slang) The ship of characters Harry Potter and Hermione Granger of the Harry Potter series.


ship war

Oh, no, not another ship war between members of Team Edward and Team Jacob.

They seemed fascinated by my and Meg's absorption in the Harry Potter culture, so we told them stories of the ship wars […]

2008, Melissa Anelli, Harry, A History, Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 236:

'Ship wars' are discussions, usually between female fans, about who the best partner would be for their favourite character or artist, a classic example being the debates over whether Yoko Ono was good for John Lennon.

2013, Mark Duffet, Understanding Fandom: An Introduction to the Study of Media Fan Culture, Bloomsbury Academic, →ISBN, page 248:

Habermas may not have imagined ship wars as a context for practical discourse, but fandom is in fact an excellent space in which to engage in the forms of contestation he describes.

2013, Emily Regan Wills, “Fannish discourse communities and the construction of gender in The X-Files”, in Transformative Works and Cultures, volume 14:

(fandom slang) An intense and sometimes hostile disagreement between shippers of rival ships in a fandom.


Team Jacob

Of course, there are those two camps I mentioned earlier in this chapter: Team Edward and Team Jacob. Over time, Team Jacob has grown to the point where a lot of fans prefer Jacob to Edward.

2009, Lois H. Gresh, The Twilight Companion: The Unauthorized Guide to the Series, St Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 89:

However, Team Jacob members on the Anglophone boards were even more emphatic in their dismissal of Edward, and several posters argued that his behavior was abusive.

2010, Inger-Lise Kalviknes Bore, Rebecca Williams, “Transnational Twilighters: A Twilight Fan Community in Norway”, in Melissa A. Click, Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, editors, Bitten by Twilight: Youth Culture, Media, & the Vampire Franchise, Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., →ISBN, page 200:

Team Jacob argues that Jacob's warmth, support, and wolfy exuberance should have won Bella away from her vampire swain.

2010, Liv Spencer, Love Bites: The Unofficial Saga of Twilight, ECW Press, →ISBN, page 192:

(fandom slang) The faction of Twilight fandom which prefers Bella Swan in a romantic relationship with Jacob Black.


Team Edward

However, the continued conflict between Team Jacob and Team Edward shows that the series is sufficiently open to allow for the shipping of both Bella/Edward and Bella/Jacob.

2010, Inger-Lise Kalviknes Bore, Rebecca Williams, “Transnational Twilighters: A Twilight Fan Community in Norway”, in Melissa A. Click, Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, editors, Bitten by Twilight: Youth Culture, Media, & the Vampire Franchise, Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., →ISBN, page 202:

To Team Edward, the canon pairing with the stoic, troubled, immortal 17-year-old is unquestionable.

Although the tension between Team Edward and Team Jacob fans is usually expressed in playful banter, there is the possibility that this group conflict will erupt into hostility.

2011, Melissa Burkley, “Prejudice in Twilight”, in E. David Klonsky, Alexis Black, editors, The Psychology of Twilight, BenBella Books, →ISBN, page 72:

(fandom slang) The faction of Twilight fandom which prefers Bella Swan in a romantic relationship with Edward Cullen.


kink meme

Kink memes are generally hosted on the blogging platforms Dreamwidth or LiveJournal, which have comment structures that allow for specific requests to be put up and responded to in a linked manner.

2018, Rukmini Pande, Squee from the Margins: Fandom and Race, page 166:

Noticeably, most of these kinkmeme prompts revolve around Sherlock and John's sexual/romantic relationship in one form or another.

2019, Christiana Gregoriou, "The Fandom Is Afoot: BBC Sherlock and Its Fanfiction at Play", in Retold Resold Transformed: Crime Fiction in the Global Era (Christiana Gregoriou, David Platten, & Gigliola Sulis), unnumbered page

It was originally published in late 2010 in response to a request on the Supernatural kinkmeme.

2021, Milena Popova, Dubcon: Fanfiction, Power, and Sexual Consent, page 45:

(fandom slang) An online space in which requests for fan fiction (generally involving a specific kink) are posted and fulfilled anonymously.


chanslash

From Japanese ちゃん (chan), a familiar suffix commonly affixed to the names of children, and slash.

Are you going to leave chanslash and shotakon for another discussion?

2002 December 23, Stacey, “Re: The little things (CoS movie--spoilers!)”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

Hm, from where I originally heard, it struck a Harry Potter list-owner first. Her entire account was deleted. Some say it's because one of the groups she owned was an HP chanslash one.

2003 August 23, Dina Lerret, “Re: Yahoo TOSing slash lists -- Cause for concern”, in alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated (Usenet):

Slash is subdivided into subcategories, a partial list of which might include yaoi (slash involving manga and anime characters), chanslash (explicit slash involving minor characters, such as Harry/Draco or Snape/Harry (also known as Drarry and Snarry, respectively) from the Harry Potter universe), […]

2011, Aaron Schwabach, Fan Fiction and Copyright: Outsider Works and Intellectual Property Protection, Ashgate, →ISBN, pages 10–11:

(fandom slang) Slash fan fiction involving minor characters.


darkfic

en-noun

darkfic (countable and uncountable, plural darkfics)

If you are that sensitive and can't seperate^([sic]) things, don't read darkfic - or fanfic in general.

1998 January 27, MegaZone [username], “Re: Creating a Fanfic”, in rec.arts.anime.fandom (Usenet):

Fluffy romance differs dramatically from angst romance; the latter, however, usually conforms to the rule against sad endings (Radway 1984, 73), or becomes darkfic rather than romance.

2006, Catherine Driscoll, “One True Pairing: The Romance of Pornography and the Pornography of Romance”, in Karen Hellekson, Kristina Busse, editors, Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet: New Essays, McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 85:

Darkfic creates a sense of realism stretching beyond the canons, lingering on the physical effects of traumatic events, and reading characters' reactions from the perspective of human psychology.

2013, Maria Lindgren Leavenworth, Malin Isaksson, Fanged Fan Fiction: Variations on Twilight, True Blood and the Vampire Diaries, McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 116:

(uncountable, fandom slang) Such fan fiction collectively.

shockfic

fan fiction dealing with disturbing situations and themes


orcish

en-adj

orcish (comparative more orcish, superlative most orcish)

more orcish (comparative)
most orcish (superlative)

an orcish blade

(fantasy) Of or relating to orcs (monstrous humanoid creatures).


Fiver

From five + -er (“supporter”) or + -er (occupational suffix).

The three major branches or sects are the Twelvers, Seveners, and Fivers.

1998, Emory C. Bogle, Islam: Origin and Belief, University of Texas Press, page 145:

Whereas the largest Shi’a branch, the ‘Twelvers’, strictly believe that there were only 12 visible imams, the ’Fivers’ have recognised many more imams throughout their history.

2007, Daniel McLaughlin, Yemen: The Bradt Travel Guide, Bradt, page 23:

(the Zaydis, or Fivers, were the first subset to break away from larger Shi’ism, and traditionally elected an imam from among the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad as their leader).

J. E. Peterson, Yemen on the precipice: Governing the ungovernable in 2013, Abbas Kadhim, Governance in the Middle East and North Africa: A Handbook, Routledge International Handbooks, page 306


warp drive

(physics, science fiction) A technological device that warps spacetime to enable movement through space in a non-Newtonian manner.

(science fiction) An engine that allows a vessel to travel faster-than-light by manipulating spacetime to bypass Einstein's restrictive light barrier.


Sherlocky

Sherlocky (comparative more Sherlocky, superlative most Sherlocky)

more Sherlocky (comparative)
most Sherlocky (superlative)

"Yes, now what was all that about? You were so damn Sherlocky yesterday all of a sudden. We'd been doing the thing together all the time, and you'd been telling me everything, and then suddenly you become very mysterious and private and talk enigmatically--is that the word?--about dentists and swimming and the 'Plough and Horses,' and--well, what was it all about? You simply vanished out of sight; I didn't know what on earth we were talking about."

1922, A. A. Milne, chapter XXII, in The Red House Mystery:

My nephew was reading a story, a tale of the Sherlocky sort; its pages were startling and gory, and blood was dispensed by the quart.

1925 June 18, Walt Mason, “Rippling Rhymes”, in The Calgary Daily Herald:

[…] We would have, if you weren't such a Sherlocky snoop. I suppose you'll tell me next you found our private clubroom."

1967, Louisa R. Shotwell, Adam Bookout, The Viking Press, published 1967, page 236:

Resembling or characteristic of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.


Sherlockish

Sherlockish (comparative more Sherlockish, superlative most Sherlockish)

more Sherlockish (comparative)
most Sherlockish (superlative)

Curt chuckled. "You sound so important and Sherlockish! […]

1938 March 11, Sophie Kerr, “There's Only One”, in The Massena Observer, page 4:

It's starting to come together nicely, and Meyer's character is starting to ring truer, although perhaps a bit to^([sic]) Sherlockish.

2001 June 12, thurmans, “Re: Bye Bye Black Sheep - Chapter 9”, in alt.fan.travis-mcgee (Usenet):

Or another attempt on Berezovsky's life stopped by sherlockish Scotland Yard.

2007 July 20, Vladimir Makarenko, “Re: Kreml Sends 80 Year-old Bombers To Scare UK”, in soc.culture.baltics (Usenet):


Holmesish

Holmesish (comparative more Holmesish, superlative most Holmesish)

more Holmesish (comparative)
most Holmesish (superlative)

But can they have accepted Edmund Wilson's verdict that all detective fiction is only Holmesish imitation, and elected to go back to Square One?

1964, Books and Bookmen, volume 10, page 71:

The environmental dimensions of energy production and consumption are, in fact, rarely out of the news — although one sometimes needs a Holmesish dedication to ferret out the evidence.

1978 June 1, John Elkington, “Fuelling the EIA flame”, in New Scientist:

One reply to this is to say that we should count "Holmes might not have been a detective" as true just in case each Holmesish individual has a counterpart that is not a detective.

1990, Gregory Currie, The Nature of Fiction, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 140:


Sherlock Holmesy

Sherlock Holmesy (comparative more Sherlock Holmesy, superlative most Sherlock Holmesy)

more Sherlock Holmesy (comparative)
most Sherlock Holmesy (superlative)

And he wore a Sherlock Holmesy kind of cap with a swarm of salmon flies upon it, that to my boyish fancy was more splendid than a crown.

1951, Roland Pertwee, The River God, page 7:

"Don't try to get all Sherlock Holmesy on me, Hicks. Sherlock Holmes wasn't always right. […]

2004, Graham Masterton, The Devil in Gray, Leisure Books, →ISBN, page 225:

I dont^([sic]) know, he says, all Sherlock Holmesy in a cloud of smoke.

2006, T. Lipshitz, Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes, Dutton, →ISBN:


Sherlock Holmesish

Sherlock Holmesish (comparative more Sherlock Holmesish, superlative most Sherlock Holmesish)

more Sherlock Holmesish (comparative)
most Sherlock Holmesish (superlative)

"When I found the letters with a name which matched the initials I felt very Sherlock Holmesish. […]

1959, Emilie Loring, With This Ring, Bantam, page 41:

Sir Berkeley stroked his beard and looked Sherlock Holmesish.

1976, Betty Beaty, Love and the Kentish Maid, Harlequin, published 1976, →ISBN, page 131:

[…] the mystery bash's hostess sported a pearl necklace with an appropriately Sherlock Holmesish magnifying glass pendant, […]

2011, Delia Rosen, One Foot in the Gravy, Kensington Books, published 2011, →ISBN, page 16:


Watsonish

Watsonish (comparative more Watsonish, superlative most Watsonish)

more Watsonish (comparative)
most Watsonish (superlative)

"You don't really want it explained," he said, smacking him on the knee; "you're just being Watsonish. It's very nice of you, of course, and I appreciate it."

1922, A. A. Milne, chapter XI, in The Red House Mystery:

I would have settled for a Watsonish role. I don't have to be the main character.

1991, Kathryn Lasky, Double Trouble Squared, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, →ISBN, page 159:

This element is also picked up by Thomas Aquinas (whose philosophy sometimes has a Watsonish quality in relation to Aristotle, whom he calls simply “The Philosopher”).

2012, Philip Tallon, “Watsons, Adlers, Lestrades, and Moriaties: On the Nature of Friends and Enemies”, in Philip Tallon, David Baggett, editors, The Philosophy of Sherlock Holmes, University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN, page 66:

Resembling or characteristic of the character Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes stories.


dragonking

(fantasy, mythology) A king with the ability to control dragons.


high fantasy

en-noun

high fantasy (countable and uncountable, plural high fantasies)

Fantasy fiction has been categorized and described in different ways. One classification divides fantasy into two major types:¶ low fantasy, which takes place in the primary world (our world);¶ high fantasy, which takes place in alternative worlds.

2008, Nikki Gamble, Sally Yates, “Fantasy and Realism”, in Exploring Children's Literature, →ISBN, page 120:

A term used by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay on “High Fantasy and Heroic Romance" and subsequently developed by Kenneth J. Zahorski and Robert H. Boyer in an attempt to develop a terminology with which to deal with genre materials. In Zahorski and Boyer's taxonomy, high fantasy consists entirely of fiction set in second worlds, while the low fantasy with which it is immediately contrasted consists of fiction set in the primary world, into which magical objects and entities are introduced piecemeal (ie. intrusive fantasy).

2009, Brian Stableford, “HIGH FANTASY”, in The A to Z of Fantasy Literature, →ISBN, page 198:

High fantasy of the George RR Martin kind hinges on world-building. When there really is a whole world to build, and not just a historical period or a particular country, world-building does not take a few paragraphs in a short story; it takes chapters.

2015 May 20, Natasha Pulley, “Fantasy cannot build its imaginary worlds in short fiction”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(uncountable) A subgenre of fantasy fiction set in a secondary world or fantasy world as opposed to the primary world or real world.


hard science fiction

Coined by American critic P. Schuyler Miller in 1957.

coin

(science fiction) A subgenre of science fiction that focuses on technical detail and scientific accuracy.


soft science fiction

After hard science fiction, attributed to Peter Nicholls.

(science fiction) A subgenre of science fiction that focuses on the nature of its speculative societies or that employs pseudoscience.


Watsonian

en-adj

Watsonian (comparative more Watsonian, superlative most Watsonian)

more Watsonian (comparative)
most Watsonian (superlative)

From Watson + -ian. "In-universe" sense formed in reference to Dr. John Watson, the fictional author within the text of the Sherlock Holmes stories, in contrast to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as the real author of the stories. Started in Sherlock Holmes fandom before spreading to other fandoms. Possibly originating in the "Baker Street Irregulars" fan club and entering the science fiction fandom usage (fanspeak) via the Lois McMaster Bujold mailing list.


workscreen

(rare, sometimes science fiction) A computer display that one can work at.


babygirl

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-babygirl.wav

Draco in Leather Pants

any morally-ambiguous character romanticised by fans

poor little meow meow

endearingly pathetic villain or morally-ambiguous character

woobie

morally-ambiguous character subjected to pain for pathos

Alternative form of baby girl (“a friendly or intimate term of address for a woman”)


science fact

en-noun

science fact (countable and uncountable, plural science facts)

From science + fact, by analogy with science fiction.

Is it that science fact has gone beyond science fiction?

2004, Ray Bradbury, Steven L. Aggelis, Conversations with Ray Bradbury, page 108:

It is based on science fact.

2005, Rosemary Feasey, Creative Science: Achieving the WOW Factor with 5-11 Year Olds:

Is it real or fictional? Does it represent science fiction, or does it represent science fact?

2013, Nick Hubble, Aris Mousoutzanis, The Science Fiction Handbook:

(fiction) Reality, especially scientific and technological reality, as contrasted with what is depicted in science fiction.


black witch

There were supposed to be three kinds of witches, the black variety that always worked evil, the white, always good and rendered human beings great services and the gray ones, good or bad as they saw fit. The black witches are the most interesting since they are figuratively more colorful, with a definite personality, ill disposed as they are.

1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 261:

Prosecutions of black witches suspected of doing harm to other people were numerous enough.

1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 238:


white witch

it was unclear whether the client of the white witch was committing an offence or not, and he very seldom made an appearance in the law courts.

1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 239:


Stymphalian bird

Stymphalian bird (plural Stymphalian birds)

(Greek mythology) A man-eating bird with a bronze beak and sharp metallic feathers it could launch at its victims, which infested Stymphalus. They were slain by Herakles as part of his sixth Labour, who took advantage of their sensitive sense of hearing.


Mickeymania

There are, of course, perfectly reasonable explanations for Mickeymania.

Similar to California's Disneyland, it's the wellspring of Mickeymania, a paradise for the young at heart, and the most popular individual theme park in the United States, welcoming more than 11 million visitors every year.

1997, Alison Stern, Fodor's Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Orlando, page 2:

Over the next few years, Mickeymania swept the country. Fans across the globe from Franklin Roosevelt to Mussolini applauded his antics in the films that followed.

2007, Todd G. Buchholz, New ideas from dead CEOs:

(informal) Enthusiasm for the cartoon character Mickey Mouse.


Erymanthian Boar

(Greek mythology) a giant boar that ravaged the area round Mount Erymanthos; captured by Heracles


dragon lady

First used in "Terry and the Pirates" in December 1934, for a female pirate based on the historical woman pirate Lai Choi San. The "dragon" part refers to her Chinese background (as dragons are symbols in Chinese culture) and her fierce attitude.

An East Asian woman who is stereotypically strong, deceitful, domineering, or mysterious.


ice queen

This time, she was beaten by 16-year-old Tanja Szewczenko, who is threatening to usurp the two-time Olympic champion, Katarina Witt, as Germany's ice queen.

1993 November 24, Jere Longman, “Olympics: 80 Days to Lillehammer”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-01-02:

Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yuna will make her return to competition at the Golden Spin event in Zagreb next month.

2013 November 4, Narae Kim, “Ice Queen Yuna returns with a Golden Spin”, in Reuters Canada, retrieved 2014-01-02:

(informal, sports) A female ice-skating champion.


saas-bahu

(India, fiction) A genre of drama fiction concerning the relationship between the controlling evil mother of a husband (mother-in-law) and her dominated, downtrodden, meek daughter-in-law.


Selenite

From Selene (“the Moon”) + -ite. From Ancient Greek Σελήνη (Selḗnē, “goddess of the Moon”).

uder

My first impression was of some clumsy quadruped with lowered head. Then I perceived it was the slender pinched body and short and extremely attenuated bandy legs of a Selenite, with his head depressed between his shoulders.

1900 December – 1901 August, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Selenite’s Face”, in The First Men in the Moon, London: George Newnes, […], published 1901, →OCLC, page 136:

(science fiction) Synonym of Lunarian (“inhabitant of the Moon”).


Selenite

a Selenite colony

"Come, Diana [a dog]," said he; "come, my girl! thou whose destiny will be marked in the cynegetic annals; […] thou who art rushing into interplanetary space, and wilt perhaps be the Eve of all Selenite dogs! come, Diana, come here."

1873, Jules Verne, “Round the Moon: A Sequel to From the Earth to the Moon. Chapter III. Their Place of Shelter.”, in Louis Mercier [i.e., Lewis Page Mercier], Eleanor E[lizabeth] King, transl., From the Earth to the Moon, Direct in Ninety-seven Hours and Twenty Minutes: And a Trip Round It. […], New York, N.Y.: Scribner, Armstrong & Company, published 1874, →OCLC, page 170:

(science fiction) Pertaining to the inhabitants of Luna (Lunarians/Selenites).


Johnlock

All of our "feels" are on the line again as they continue to be with anything that involves Johnlock (thanks a lot, Moffat), Merthur and Destiel.

2013, Keren Lopez, "Yahoo buys Tumblr, leaves fandoms in despair", La Voz Weekly (De Anza College), Volume 46, Number 27, 3 June 2013, page 8

For Karen the most exciting thing about the comeback is the reunion between Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman: “I ship Johnlock!” Karen enthused.

2013, Gerrit van de Riet, "November for Fandoms: Sneak Peek", The Window (New College, Toronto), November 2013, page 20

Across the pond, writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss often place characters Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in situations that suggest a relationship between them, even though the series establishes Watson as heterosexual, to placate the fans that “ship Johnlock” in the BBC series “Sherlock.”

2013, Pragya Parmita, "Fandoms: Too Powerful?", The Bottom Line (Associated Students, UC Santa Barbara), Volume 8, Issue 5, 6 November - 12 November 2013, page 8

(fandom slang) The ship of characters John Watson and Sherlock Holmes from the television series Sherlock.


Red Queen hypothesis

An allusion to a remark by the Red Queen in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass: "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place." The hypothesis was advanced in 1973 by American biologist Leigh Van Valen, who called it the Red Queen's hypothesis.

Stenseth and Maynard Smith (1984) reformulated this hypothesis by including the idea of evolutionary lag and dismissing Van Valen's zero-sum assumption. They contrast the Red-Queen hypothesis with the stationary hypothesis, q.v. Hoffman and Kitchell (1984 in Lewin 1985a, 400) offer some support for the Red-Queen hypothesis.

2000, Edward M. Barrows, Animal Behavior Desk Reference, 2nd edition, CRC Press, page 358:

We extend the Red Queen hypothesis, a mechanism proposed to maintain genetic diversity at the population level, to explain diversity at the community level.

2008, Keith Clay et al., “Chapter 7: Red Queen Communities”, in Richard S. Ostfeld, Felicia Keesing, Valerie T. Eviner, editors, Infectious Disease Ecology, Princeton University Press, page 145:

The Red Queen hypothesis defines evolution as a kind of arms race, in which species must constantly evolve and adapt merely to survive.

2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 219:

(evolutionary theory) An evolutionary hypothesis which proposes that organisms must constantly adapt, evolve, and proliferate not merely to gain reproductive advantage, but also simply to survive while pitted against other evolving organisms in an ever-changing environment.

Leigh Van Valen
Lewis Carroll
Red Queen (Through the Looking-Glass)
Through the Looking-Glass


Middle-Earth

(fiction) Alternative letter-case form of Middle-earth


Earthship

Compound of Earth + ship. In the architectural sense, coined by American architect Michael E. Reynolds.

coinage

(science fiction) A spaceship originating from or belonging to Earth.


leshy

(Slavic mythology) A male woodland spirit in Slavic mythology who protects wild animals and forests.


Sterek

Some shows have released official promos that play up the fans' favorite slash couples to court fans, most recently Hawaii Five-O and Teen Wolf, whose showrunner began to write the show itself in a slashy direction when he became aware of the popularity of “Sterek,” the slash pairing of sidekick Stiles and alpha wolf Derek.

2013, Katherine Larsen, Lynn S. Zubernis, Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls, University of Iowa Press, →ISBN, page 101:

"Teen Wolf 'Sterek' fans, we've read your (hundreds and hundreds of) comments and admire your passion," EW.com responded. "The reason Sterek didn't make the category is because it's not an acknowledged will-they-or-won't-they storyline."
This controversy led the gay entertainment news site AfterElton.com to start an annual "slash madness" tournament. Sterek won the first.

2013 October 31, Zachary Pincus-Roth, “Slash Fiction: A Fantasy World in Which Male TV Characters Find Romance — With Each Other”, in LA Weekly:

Even a nascent fandom will begin to develop its own tropes. You could see it, for instance, in the popular Sterek pairing in the Teen Wolf fandom as it took off.

2013, Anne Jamison, Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World, BenBella Books, →ISBN:

(fandom slang) The ship of characters Stiles Stilinski and Derek Hale from the television series Teen Wolf.


Drarry

It occurs because in canon Harry and Draco feel no emotion for each other warmer than intense dislike. […] Harry is willing to save Draco's life out of recognition of their shared humanity, but with apologies to all the Drarry shippers out there, that's as far as it goes.

2011, Aaron Schwabach, Fan Fiction and Copyright: Outsider Works and Intellectual Property Protection, Ashgate, →ISBN, pages 69–79:

2013, Anne Jamison, Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World, BenBella Books (2013), →ISBN, unnumbered page:draco malfoy is a beautiful creation and he should be protected by harry potter who is his second cousin and who cares if you think its gross they are adorable together let the gayness happen
Dramione shippers apparently feel the same way when too much attention is paid to Drarry.

Fanfics that depict relationships between Draco and Harry have been particularly popular, spawning a cult of ‘Drarry’ shippers – with Facebook pages, fan art and many stories all dedicated to the pairing.

2013, Sarah Dear, "Fanfiction - A Hobby for Generations of Teenagers", Impact (University of Nottingham), 26 April 2013

(fandom slang) The ship of characters Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter of the Harry Potter series.


Dramione

"I secretly ship Dramione!" one boldly asserts, while more serious blogs boast confessions along the lines of, "I moved away to college this year and haven't made any new friends."

2011, Brittany Dalton, "Away with the Niceties", The Vista (University of Central Oklahoma), 1 September 2011, page 3

This is a haven for writers and readers to converge and show their interest in a variety of genres with any characters, from the typical Dramione (Draco and Hermione) action-adventure to the absurd Filch-Peeves BDSM.

2011 September 15, Sayantan Deb, Angela Song, “Potter Legacy”, in The Harvard Independent, volume 42, number 25, page 10:

Dramione shippers apparently feel the same way when too much attention is paid to Drarry.

(fandom slang) The ship of characters Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger of the Harry Potter series.


Sculder

Alas, Jess Mabe's "Bittersweet" has a similar nickname for the Sculder baby, and Jean Robinson's "When Old Friends Meet" is likewise obsessed with dolls.

2000 October 1, story_posting [username], “Dream Life 1/1”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

Do come visit to read about Mulder, Scully, Frohike, CJ, Josh, Angel, deadly spellcasting books, Cordy, Buffy, Jack the gypsy computer repairman and the Sculder sproglet in all its many gestational forms

2001 May 3, ymmv2001 [username], “New update at YMMV”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

But Thackeray, like his Kirk/Spock, Johnlock, and (in the early years) “Sculder” descendants, must confront the sticky problem of canon: […]

(fandom slang) The ship of characters Dana Scully and Fox Mulder from the television series The X-Files.


rothe

Unfortunately, he turned the corner in a rather inefficient manner, cutting off his retreat and bumped into a rothe. Gadzooks, he thought, one hit from this boy and I'll likely go to my ill named great reward. The only recourse was to quaff his one as of yet unidentified potion and hope it was extra healing.

1993, Robert Leduc, “Nethack Imitates Life”, in rec.games.hack (Usenet):

(fantasy) A kind of fictional cattle in various role-playing games and roguelike video games.


ecothriller

A thriller (suspenseful dramatic work) with an ecological theme.


Mills-and-Boonish

en-adj

Mills-and-Boonish (comparative more Mills-and-Boonish, superlative most Mills-and-Boonish)

more Mills-and-Boonish (comparative)
most Mills-and-Boonish (superlative)

After the romance publisher Mills & Boon, + -ish.


melonhead

(US) One of a group of legendary beings, known in parts of Michigan, Ohio, and Connecticut, and generally described as small humanoids with bulbous heads who occasionally emerge from hiding-places to attack people.


jump scare

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-jump scare.wav

They'd do something horrible, maybe kill off a few protagonists, and then make people sit around waiting for the next terrible thing to come along. They called it “setting up a jump scare.”

2011, Mira Grant, Deadline, Orbit, published 2011, →ISBN:

Drag Me to Hell capitalizes on the jump scare, scattering it liberally throughout the film to the point where it becomes almost numbing.

2011, John Rosenberg, The Healthy Edit: Creative Techniques for Perfecting Your Movie, Focal Press, →ISBN, pages 80–81:

This quiet is broken suddenly with an initial jump scare of the puppet's iconic laughter.

2013, Jeffrey Bullins, “Hearing the Game: Sound Design”, in James Aston, editor, To See the Saw Movies: Essays on Torture Porn and Post-9/11 Horror, McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 188:

(narratology) The technique, typically used in horror films and video games, of having something occur suddenly and without warning to frighten the audience.

säikäytys

a technique to suddenly scare the audience


jump scare

en-verb

jump scare (third-person singular simple present jump scares, present participle jump scaring, simple past and past participle jump scared)

jump scares (present singular third-person)
jump scaring (participle present)
jump scared (participle past)
jump scared (past)

(transitive) To frighten (a film audience or video game player, etc.) by means of something that happens suddenly without warning.


debigulate

debigulate (third-person singular simple present debigulates, present participle debigulating, simple past and past participle debigulated)

debigulates (present singular third-person)
debigulating (participle present)
debigulated (participle past)
debigulated (past)

Back-formation from Debigulator, itself from de- + big + -ule + -ate + -or, a fictional shrink ray featured in the 1996 episode "Treehouse of Horror VII" of the American animated television series The Simpsons.

> think moe will get his ears enlarged 2.27.00?
No, he'll get them debigulated.

2000 February 27, Ben Mann, “Re: X'tapolapocetl (Quetzelsacatanango?)”, in alt.tv.simpsons (Usenet):

2002 October 22, Ed, “Button to enlarge or debigulate size of text?”, in netscape.public.mozilla.wishlist (Usenet):

Does debigulating a table first delete blank rows? (I don't know if blank rows are always at the end or not.)

2008 May 13, Ron Newcomb, “I7: Dynamic Tables extension for Glulx”, in rec.arts.int-fiction (Usenet):

(rare, humorous) To reduce or shrink; to make or become smaller.


adultivity

Kearney: Good evening, young man. My name is Charles Norwood. Furthermore to this beer, I would also like three of your finest, cheapest cigars. Here's my ID which confirms my adultivity.

1996 5 May, David X. Cohen, "Much Apu About Nothing", episode 7-23 of The Simpsons, 00:11:46-00:11:59

Also, just so we can verify your adultivity, please give us your credit card number and expiration date...

1999 May 16, Eric NRTJ Roberts, “Re: EASY MONEY”, in alt.tv.x-files (Usenet):

All the 'performers' were of legal consenting adultivity, and I could easily track them down if I needed to get any sort of signed statement to verify their age.

2000 December 9, Green Hell, “I need a lab in the US that will develop erotic subject matter”, in alt.movies.cinematography.super8 (Usenet):

(humorous, uncommon) The state or quality of being an adult; majority.


Sir Humphrey

From the fictional character Sir Humphrey Appleby, a self-important, Oxford-educated civil servant first depicted in the 1980 premiere of the BBC television series Yes Minister.

Wanted: a Sir Humphrey for funds to hide behind
[...]
Key skills required:
— Ability to move head vertically rather than horizontally when asked to promote anything desired by the fund management companies who pay your salary
— Ability to confuse fact with fiction via misleading random statistics (a mathematics skill would be helpful here)
— Ability to pull wool over the regulators’ eyes while maintaining a straight, poker-like face
— Ability to come up with new reasons à la Humphrey from Yes Minister, as to why any progressive change that might help the consumer is currently unworkable.

2012 May 22, Simon English, “Wanted: a Sir Humphrey for funds to hide behind”, in The London Evening Standard:

Among the most senior honours, the dominance of Sir Humphreys and courtiers is striking. There are gongs galore for the deputy director of this Whitehall department and the head of strategy group at that one, to say nothing of the pile of baubles handed to those who serve the Windsors.

2013 December 31, Jonathan Freedland, “New Year honours should reward achievement, not cronyism”, in The Guardian:

Obsessed only with cost, 'Sir Humphrey' saw that Transport for London 'got away' with ticket office closures on the Tube with only minor public pushback and miscalculated that it could do the same on the national network. This assumption backfired spectacularly.

2023 August 9, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Disinterested and dishonest”, in RAIL, number 989, page 3:

(UK) A high-ranking bureaucrat, particularly one who is elitist and deliberately obscure.


malparkage

From mal- + park + -age. Perhaps introduced in the animated TV series The Simpsons; see Citations:malparkage.

Lisa Simpson (reading letter): Dear motorist. Your vehicle is illegally parked in the borough of Manhattan. If you do not remedy this malparkage within 72 hours, your car will be thrown into the East River at your expense.

1997 21 September, Ian Maxtone-Graham, "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson", episode 9-1 of The Simpsons, 00:11:46-00:11:59

Coupled with said customer's malparkage in the handicapped zone right in front of the door, this will usually create an atmosphere of tense, suspect aversion.

2000 August 20, «tµßeguÿ», “Re: automobile tool definitions”, in 3do.bad-attitude (Usenet):

Supposedly, regular mortals have to shell out $50 for presumptuous malparkage among the elite.

2010 February 8, Sean Michael Ragan, “UC Berkeley has 'Nobel Laureate Only' parking spaces”, in Make:

(rare, humorous) An act of parking a vehicle illegally.


plasteel

Grunting, he heaved to his feet and looked out the lucilite port at the surface of Saturn. Cold and rugged it was, lashed by furious gales that tore with futile fury at the plasteel dome which Elmer Dunk called home.

1942 March, Gord Peck, “He Was Poor...But He Was Honest”, in Censored, volume 1, number 3, St. Andrew's College, Aurora, page 7:

The passage, two paces deep, opened through a heavy door into a square office lighted by golden glowglobes. Jessica passed her hand across the door as she entered, was startled to identify plasteel.

(science fiction) A fictional durable substance.


battlesuit

(science fiction) A technologically enhanced suit worn in battle for protection, camouflage, etc.


poor little rich girl

en-noun

poor little rich girl (plural poor little rich girls)

One is a cheerful and spunky orphan, another is a poor little rich girl. (The poor little rich girl speaks with a British accent. The spunky orphan wears her baseball cap backwards, so you don't have a problem figuring out who's who.)

2003, Svetlana Boym, Ninochka, page 172:

Not all of the girls in my Guide Company were poor little rich girls. Mandy was a poor little poor girl, a mousy waif who lived out Thika Road, far from Muthaiga.

2006, Dorothy Stephens, Kwa Heri Means Goodbye: Memories of Kenya 1957-1959, page 96:

So, are you a poor little rich girl, slumming it and hiding from boyfriends who only want your trust fund instead of you?

2010, Michelle L. Levigne, Have Yourself a Faerie Little Christmas:

(idiomatic) An unhappy young woman from a wealthy background.


sickfic

sickfic (countable and uncountable, plural sickfics)

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I wrote a sickfic.

1999 October 26, Nicola Simpson, “Re: What About A 'Sick Fic Archive'????”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

Summary: A cliché little sickfic

2001 March 23, Bracha Shahar, “Fic: Urgggg”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

This was written as a sickfic for the List Mom of ShoDDs. Glad you're feeling better DB!

2001 July 20, Medie, “FIC: Safety And Security (DSR) 1/1”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

(fandom slang, countable) A fanfic which focuses on a character dealing with illness.


Henny Penny

The Henny Pennies who forecast doom and disaster thus have been proved hysterics who could use some est or encounter sessions to calm their anxieties.

1984, Carol Chambers Collins, Our Food, Air and Water: How Safe Are They?, Facts on File, published 1984, →ISBN, page 27:

I know that in some quarters I am regarded as a kind of wet blanket, a Henny Penny predicting doom and gloom.

2001, Seymour B. Sarason, American Psychology & Schools: A Critique, Teachers College Press, published 2001, →ISBN, page 130:

On April 11, in a tense news conference during a period when the looting dominated the news, Rumsfeld dismissed the media by calling them “Henny Pennies,” a reference to a children's tale in which the main character runs around, declaring that the sky is falling.

2006, Rebecca Knuth, Burning Books and Leveling Libraries: Extremist Violence and Cultural Destruction, Praegar Publishers, published 2006, →ISBN, page 209:

One who panics at the slightest provocation.


bibbidi-bobbidi-boo

Originated in the 1948 novelty song “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”, used in the 1950 film Cinderella.

(informal) A light-hearted magical incantation.

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo
Cinderella (1950 film)


hordesman

Ganelon had given himself up to the Ximchak hordesmen in order to protect Ishgadara and Grrff from being killed. Part of the deal was that the Flying Castle was to remain where it was now situated, with Palensus Choy promising not to enter Gompland with aerial Zaradon: in return for this, Turgo had sworn that the Barbarian hordesmen would not again enter Gray Dynast territory, or lay siege to Isle Trancore, and would respect the territorial integrity of the Mad Empire.

2001, Lin Carter, The Barbarian of World's End, Wildside Press, →ISBN, page 20:

Noman's men were doing a fair job at holding back the hordes but Noman could see that there were many more hordesmen in the distance moving slowly towards them.

2008, R. A. Knowlton, Knorrasky: The Deception, Outskirts Press, →ISBN, page 46:

The air was still and silent. It felt as if at any moment a Hordesman would jump out and attack them.

2017, Z. Belobrajdic, The Legend of Arthax, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 307:

(chiefly fantasy) A man who belongs to a barbarian horde.


Titanean

(science fiction) An inhabitant of Titan (the Saturnian moon)


Islamerica

2003, Eprem, Re: Islam: The Next American Religion? Group: alt.religion.islam
Americans are not very inclined to believe your propaganda of a utopia islamerica

2006, Wild Monkshood, Re: Only in America--soon to be Islamerica. Give an inch, they'll take . . . your country. Group: alt.true-crime
Only in America--soon to be Islamerica

2002, TR, Re: Women Slaves of Islam Group: alt.religion.islam
What is the most Islamic country in the world? Islamerica. If you eliminated from the list of Muslims, all those Muslims that other Muslims called "they are not Muslims", there would be no Muslims left on the list

He had already formed a very preliminary first hypothesis, based on that vector running through Angela's statement about Islamerica's objective; Braddock's multiple personas as a shuttle pilot […]

2002, Arthur Becker, Destiny Restored - Page 103

(derogatory) A supposed future United States which is predominantly inhabited by Muslims.


outworlder

It is a thing no outworlder may know except those very few who have been involved.

1967, “Amok Time”, in Star Trek: The Original Series, season 2, spoken by Spock (Leonard Nimoy):

He speaks with the outworlder tongue!
What else were you expecting from a male, sister Dykstra?

1995, Among Friends And Enemies, Part 3: The Magical Mystery Tour (Gen13), volume 2, number 3 (comic), page 19:

Let each government make sure that rich and poor alike, dirtborn and outworlder, Terran and Variant, all have equal access to the outernet and its resources.

1998, Celia S. Friedman, This Alien Shore:

(science fiction, fantasy) One who comes from another planet, or from a society so culturally foreign as to be a different world.


dakka

Onomatopoeic for a firing machine gun. From the invented Ork lexicon in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop war game.

(slang, especially board games) Firepower.


cheese-eating surrender monkey

cheese-eating surrender monkey (plural cheese-eating surrender monkeys)

cheese-eating surrender monkeys (plural)

Coined by American television writer and producer Ken Keeler in 1995, for the television series The Simpsons.

coin

Bonjour, you cheese-eating surrender monkeys!

1995 April 30, “'Round Springfield”, in The Simpsons, season 6, episode 22, spoken by Groundskeeper Willie (Dan Castellaneta):

In turn, we British may feel disillusioned with what's left of the special relationship, increasingly out of sympathy with American attitudes, and rather more in sympathy with the cheese-eating surrender monkeys and their friends across the Channel.

2003 April 12, Alexander Chancellor, “Europe still matters”, in The Guardian:

IN PRAISE OF CHEESE-EATING SURRENDER MONKEYS OR WASHINGTON FUNDAMENTALISTS VS PARISIAN MONKEYS

2005, Stephen Chan, Out of Evil: New International Politics and Old Doctrines of War, →ISBN, page 134:

It's all about the “French Paradox,” that much-publicized puzzle of how French people eat all that fatty food and drink tons of wine, yet still manage to be svelte and sophisticated, not to mention cheese-eating surrender monkeys.

2005, Julie Powell, Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, →ISBN, page 178:

Maybe it's their French blood. If it is, we sure don't need cheese-eating surrender monkeys in the Kaw River Valley!

2008, Sara Paretsky, Bleeding Kansas, →ISBN, page 170:

We've lived with terrorism for years, and we know you can lick it, especially if we don't overreact and make unnecessary sacrifices of liberty in the name of security - for freedom is its own best defence. Between cheese-eating surrender monkeys and fire-eating war junkies, we look for a middle way.

2006 July 5, Timothy Garton Ash, “Between cheese-eating surrender monkeys and fire-eating war junkies”, in The Guardian, retrieved 2021-05-31:

But despite their seemingly rampant Anglophilia, there are still some things the French miss—a good steak tartare, for instance, or the chance to cheer on their rugby team without being shouted down as ‘cheese-eating surrender monkeys’.

2008 March 23, Elizabeth Day, “The great French love affair with la vie anglaise”, in The Observer, →ISSN:

Groundskeeper Willie called us cheese-eating surrender monkeys: he almost had it right. But it isn't just the French—as a species we are all cheese-eating surrender monkeys.

[2009, Douglas Coupland, Generation A, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 16:

(slang, derogatory, humorous) A French person.

The Simpsons
cheese-eating surrender monkeys


Mordor

Chinese: 魔多

Polish: Mordor

Russian: Мо́рдор (Mórdor)

Ukrainian: Мо́рдор (Mórdor)

/ˈmɔːdɔː(ɹ)/

J. R. R. Tolkien
Middle-earth
Mordor
Sauron

From Mordor, a bleak realm ruled by the dark lord Sauron, in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth. Tolkien created the name in his constructed language Sindarin, from morn (“dark, black”) and dôr (“land”). Compare with Old English morþor (“murder”), murder, Greek μαυρός (mavrós, “dim”) and Latin mors (“death”). Sense 2 is a semantic loan from Ukrainian Мо́рдор (Mórdor) or Russian Мо́рдор (Mórdor), both of those from the English word, alluding to it being the land of orcs.

semantic loan

It is a “Mordor” sort of anthropology, dark rather than light, swampland rather than solid ground.

2007, Paul F. M. Zahl, Grace in Practice: A Theology of Everyday Life, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., published 2007, →ISBN, page 94:

Nevertheless, this book is about the truth, the good and the bad, so I will tread into the forbidden territory, the Mordor of motherhood.

2007, B. Erin Wylde, Where Did I Go?, →ISBN, page 100:

“OK, can we go back now?” asked their guide and expert on the underground, whose restless eyes implied that he was on the edge of panic. “I for one am not venturing a step further into this Mordor.”

2012, Zygmunt Miłoszewski, A Grain of Truth: A Second Case for State Prosecutor Teodor Szacki, Bitter Lemon Press (2012; original Polish book published 2011), page 290

It’s impossible to find harmony in an outfit when you have to schlep five kilos of kit with you in order to manage the post-workout transformation. Of course, I could change at work. But this would entail using the office showers. And I would sooner venture into Mordor.

2017 November 16, Jo Ellison, “Help: the gym has turned us into slobs”, in Financial Times:

“I fled from Moscow, which has turned into Mordor.[…]”

2022 April 17, Pjotr Sauer, Andrew Roth, quoting Antonina Baever, “Empty galleries and fleeing artists: Russia’s cultural uncoupling from the west”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

They are out in nature for hours a day – despite the fact that the weather’s terrible (we’re talking Mordor from October to March).

2024 February 25, Helen Russell, “Play outside and sing together: what living in Denmark taught me about raising ‘Viking’ children”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

An area of peril, darkness, or evil, which people fear to visit or explore.


Nazgul

From nazgûl (“ringwraith”) in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional language Black Speech, a compound of nazg (“ring”) and gûl (“wraith; spirit”).

The West Hampstead studio flat looks like the Nazgul have just thundered through it […]

The last thing she wanted was for Zach to come storming out of the house like a Nazgul, telling her to get the hell away from his daughter.

2011, Kristin Hannah, Night Road, page 282:

There's three blokes who look like the Nazgul in pinstripes, and a skinny hatchetfaced bird who keeps saying “Well?” at me every time she asks me a question and I don't answer her inside half a second.

2012, Tom Holt, You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But it Helps, page 133:

(fantasy) An evil force which heedlessly destroys everything in its path, and appears like a horseman dressed all in black.


Nazgul

(On Lost Souls there is a Ringwraith guild; Nazguls are members at levels 26-29.)

1994, Chiaroscuro, “Re: ColdMUD, interesting career(class,guild)-systems, and thoughts about mudding”, in rec.games.mud.misc (Usenet):

In the Touist^([sic]) quest, there was a polymorph trap on the first level, and one of the non-peaceful buggers polyed into a Nazgul (ugh!).

1994, The Nowhere Man, “Re: Only 9 Nazguls? (was: Ascension (long))”, in rec.games.roguelike.nethack (Usenet):

AFAIK Moria itself has never had uniques, though some variants do (Morgul has the nine Nazguls, for instance) or artifacts.

1999, Jonathan Ellis, “Re: unique version of moria”, in rec.games.roguelike.moria (Usenet):

Scrolls of mass genocide, scrolls of teleport, and a kick-ass bow generally are prerequisites for killing Nazguls in Pernband.

2001, Pat Gunn, “Re: [Pern] YASD (#$# Nazguls)”, in rec.games.roguelike.angband (Usenet):

Soulcrusher established his power in Valhalla itself where he trained the Nazguls and built a guardian to protect his privacy.

2000, Fuzzy, “AD: [rom] Dawn of Empires - mud.dawnofempires.com”, in rec.games.mud.misc (Usenet):

While poking around on level 20, I came across an object I've never seen before, a Short Bow of the Nazgul (x2) (-7,-7) {cursed}.

2002, Matthew Murray, “Short Bow of the Nazgul”, in rec.games.roguelike.angband (Usenet):

(fantasy, roleplaying games) A type of demonic or undead creature.


Gandalfesque

en-adj

Gandalfesque (comparative more Gandalfesque, superlative most Gandalfesque)

more Gandalfesque (comparative)
most Gandalfesque (superlative)

Gandalf + -esque, with the name having been taken by J. R. R. Tolkien from the Old Norse Gandálfr, from gandr (“magic staff”) + alfr (“elf”).

[…] there is radical Evil here (distilled in its purest form in Lord Voldemort), as much as there is Good (figured in the Gandalfesque Dumbledore).

2007, William MacNeil, Lex Populi: The Jurisprudence of Popular Culture, page 25:

With qualities resembling those of Gandalf, a wise old wizard in The Lord of the Rings with a long white beard.


Bilboesque

Bilboesque (comparative more Bilboesque, superlative most Bilboesque)

more Bilboesque (comparative)
most Bilboesque (superlative)

At the same time, Bilboesque proverbs like "Every worm has his weak spot" and "Never laugh at live dragons" use the familiar proverb form to make the unfamiliar inhabitants of the secondary world seem more matter-of-fact.

1981, Katharyn W. Crabbe, J. R. R. Tolkien, Frederick Ungar Publishers, →ISBN, page 60:

So here goes: much as Alex Ferguson and Manchester United could not afford to let their Bilboesque, talismanic striker leave the football club, Key and New Zealand could not afford to let this production take flight.

2010 October 29, Toby Manhire, “The Hobbit hullabaloo”, in The Guardian:

“He’s Bilbo-esque,” the filmmaker said. “You might not always want to say that about you, right? But seriously he has the essential features of this little English gent, this country gent who is slightly old-fashioned and has to go around in the world and try to cope with it. That’s not exactly who Martin [Freeman] is as a person, but as an actor he does that so well. […]

2011 August 23, Geoff Boucher, “‘The Hobbit’: Peter Jackson and the one true Bilbo Baggins”, in Los Angeles Times:

Of, relating to, or reminiscent of the character Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.


Tolkienologist

One who studies Tolkien and his creations.


Sauron

From the Quenya name of the dark lord Sauron in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, whose name Tolkien created in his constructed language Quenya, from saura (“foul, putrid”).


Sauronesque

Sauronesque (comparative more Sauronesque, superlative most Sauronesque)

more Sauronesque (comparative)
most Sauronesque (superlative)

This crew faces the Sauronesque embodiment of evil, the Shadow, its minions, the savage Reavers, and treachery in the usurper of Arlen's throne.

1984, Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, volume 104, numbers 10-14, page 146:

And it's not the only Sauronesque Bush program

2003 January 2, Noah Shachtman, “Bush's Year of U.S. Surveillance”, in Wired:

Their Sauronesque motto—Join us, and we can rule the Middle East together—doesn't have quite the catchy ring it once did.

Having similar traits to the fictional character Sauron from the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, including evilness, tyrannicalness, or all-seeingness.


Frodoesque

Frodoesque (comparative more Frodoesque, superlative most Frodoesque)

more Frodoesque (comparative)
most Frodoesque (superlative)

The young Bates embarks on a Frodoesque mission to reclaim the kingdom of Middlefinger, of which he is the rightful heir.

2003 December 1, “Names & Faces”, in The Washington Post:

It doesn't have a schoolboy wizard, hobbits or a talking lion but ticks most of the genre's boxes with its tale of friendship between the Frodoesque Eragon (Edward Speleers) and his dragon (voiced by Rachel Weisz).

2006 December 22, “FILM ; ARTS & BOOKS REVIEW”, in The Independent:

One Web site, www.ourhobbithole.com, charts the progress of a Frodoesque fantasy.

2009, Ethan Gilsdorf, Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms, The Lyons Press, →ISBN, page 131:

Having similar traits to the fictional character Frodo Baggins from the Lord of the Rings, such as unexpectedly being sent on a quest.


Gandalfian

Gandalfian (comparative more Gandalfian, superlative most Gandalfian)

more Gandalfian (comparative)
most Gandalfian (superlative)

Weary Betsy blew a Gandalfian smoke-ring.

2002, Glen Duncan, I, Lucifer, Scribner, →ISBN, page 123:

Above the beard his face was unmasked and very thin, concave cheeks falling away from jutting bones, his eyes sunken deep in their sockets under tufted Gandalfian brows.

2007, Amanda Hemingway, The Poisoned Crown, Del Rey, →ISBN, page 291:

A giraffe-like man, Gandalfian, nearly ninety, Uncle Leo wore his summer uniform, madras shorts and a polo shirt.

2011, Patricia Henley, Other Heartbreaks: Stories, Engine Books, →ISBN:

Of, related to, or characteristic of the fictional wizard Gandalf from the works of J. R. R. Tolkien.


Dumbledorian

Dumbledorian (comparative more Dumbledorian, superlative most Dumbledorian)

more Dumbledorian (comparative)
most Dumbledorian (superlative)

From Dumbledore (itself from the noun dumbledore) + -ian.

suffix

itself from the noun <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">dumbledore</i>

“Now I believe it’s someone’s birthday today,” Michael [Gambon] said in his finest Dumbledorian tones.

2010, Warwick Davis, Size Matters Not: The Extraordinary Life and Career of Warwick Davis, John Wiley & Sons, published 2011, →ISBN, page 374:

The all-important Guildmaster, a Dumbledorian, Gandalfian character of infinite wisdom, martial experience, untainted moral integrity and a white Western phenotype, speaks with a standard RP stage accent featuring the characteristic alveolar trill – or ‘rolled [r]’.

2011, Astrid Ensslin, edited by Garry Crawford, Victoria K. Gosling, and Ben Light, Gamers: The Social and Cultural Significance of Online Games, Routledge, →ISBN, Recallin’ Fagin: linguistic accents, intertextuality and othering in narrative offline and online video games, page 229:

I found my way to it by following a gentleman with a Rip Van Winkle beard and a Pedersen bicycle, which is a bike of Swedish design that looks like the illegitimate offspring of a penny farthing and a hammock, and between his vaguely Dumbledorian appearance […].

2013, Eben Weiss, Bike Snob Abroad: Strange Customs, Incredible Fiets, and the Quest for Cycling Paradise, Chronicle Book, →ISBN, page 82:

Of, related to, or characteristic of the fictional wizard Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series


Slytherin

Coined by British author J. K. Rowling, presumably from slither.

“You know, there are colors beyond black and green. You're not a Slytherin.”

2012, Molly Harper, My Bluegrass Baby, Pocket Star Books, published 2012, →ISBN, page 57:

I'll admit, this place creeps me out, but Slytherins out there will enjoy viewing (and holding) over 50 types of snakes and reptiles, including bearded dragons, horned frogs, and tarantulas.

2013, Michele Bigley, Explorer's Guide Northern California, The Countryman Press, published 2013, →ISBN, page 409:

“It's too bad your Slytherin brother can't be persuaded to tell the truth to Will,” Annabeth mused.
“Not unless there's something in it for him.”

2013, Tracey Solheim, Foolish Games, Berkley, published 2013, →ISBN:

A person having traits associated with Slytherin house from the Harry Potter series, including ambition, cunning, or an affinity for snakes or the colours green and silver.

слизеринец

person having traits associated with the house


Gryffindor

/ˈɡɹɪfɪnˌdɔɹ/

Coined by British author J. K. Rowling, presumably from griffin and a compound of the French d'or.

Barack Obama, on the other hand, is a consummate Gryffindor. He comes across in interviews and speeches as someone who's truly kind and angry about the country's woes, though it's clear he doesn't recklessly allow this anger to cloud his decisions.

2011 August 24, Cyrus Duff, “Which House? Harry Potter Helps Sort Presidential Field”, in Hartford Courant:

I pulled out a Gryffindor key chain I had been saving for just such an emergency, and she cheered up while telling me why she was definitely a Gryffindor and not a Slytherin.

2012, Eloisa James, Paris in Love, Random House, published 2013, →ISBN, page 167:

I had just freed a man wearing a dark blue suit and a Gryffindor tie when Asil's shout made me turn to see Frost right on top of me.

2013, Patricia Briggs, Frost Burned, Berkley, published 2013, →ISBN:

(sometimes used attributively) A person having traits associated with Gryffindor house from the Harry Potter series, including bravery, boldness, or an affinity for lions or the colours red and gold.

Gryfon

a person having traits associated with Gryffindor House Harry Potter


Ravenclaw

/ˈɹeɪvənˌklɔː/

Coined by British author J. K. Rowling, from raven + claw.

“Let's go, Ravenclaws!” Kristen cheered loudly. Lizbeth laughed and nudged her in the arm.
“You're such a dork,” she told her. “They're just warming up.”

2011, Taylor Morris, Hello, Gorgeous!: Blowout, Grosset & Dunlap, published 2011, →ISBN:

“I've always thought of myself as more of a Ravenclaw.”

2012, Kristi Cook, Eternal, Simon and Schuster, published 2013, →ISBN, page 232:

“I know we've met, but I'm Tom. Law.”
“And I'm Will,” I said. “English.”
She rolled her eyes. “I'm Ella. Ravenclaw.”

2014, Charles Finch, The Last Enchantments, St. Martins Press, →ISBN, page 80:

A person having traits associated with Ravenclaw house from the Harry Potter series, including intelligence, creativity, and love of learning or an affinity for eagles or the colours blue and bronze.


Gryffindorish

en-adj

Gryffindorish (comparative more Gryffindorish, superlative most Gryffindorish)

more Gryffindorish (comparative)
most Gryffindorish (superlative)

The most Gryffindorish character Tolkien wrote about.

2004 September 2, Rick R., “Re: Sorting LOTR characters (was: just for the heck of it(”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

Peter/Wormtail has not shown any Gryffindorish trait so far.

2007 May 2, Bonehammer, “Re: (Ex) Students behaving out of character with their house”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

Being arrogantly pretentious is a very Gryffindorish trait ;)

2007 May 4, drusilla, “Re: (Ex) Students behaving out of character with their house”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

Of, related to, or exhibiting traits associated with Gryffindor house from the Harry Potter series such as bravery, boldness, and being extroverted.


Hufflepuffish

Hufflepuffish (comparative more Hufflepuffish, superlative most Hufflepuffish)

more Hufflepuffish (comparative)
most Hufflepuffish (superlative)

Poor Neville. He really is a Gryffindor, not a Hufflepuff, although he seems Hufflepuffish at times.

2003 May 27, Miranda, “Re: Out of the Sorting Hat”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

But I wouldn't say he was very Hufflepuffish or Gryffindorish either.

2004 September 2, Rick R., “Re: Just for the heck of it…”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

I see Hufflepuffish spirit in the unwillingness of Cornelius Fudge and the Ministry of Magic to accept that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned and that traditions et al need to be altered to deal with the threat. Heck, the whole society seems stifled by Hufflepuffish values.

2005 July 8, Beowulf Bolt, “Re: Raising god-level children”, in rec.arts.sf.written (Usenet):

Of, related to, or exhibiting traits associated with Hufflepuff house from the Harry Potter series.


Slytherinish

Slytherinish (comparative more Slytherinish, superlative most Slytherinish)

more Slytherinish (comparative)
most Slytherinish (superlative)

What it probably means is that Dumbledore et al must constantly contend without the authority to take action, especially in light of Fudge, who is probably Slytherinish enough to fire any MoM officials who contend that Volemort^([sic]) has returned.

2003 April 11, John VanSickle, “Re: What BUGS you most about the OP Hints?”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

He was Slytherinish in his early life (which he sort of returns to in Mort, but look at his dedication to Death in Hogfather. People do change (a weakness in the whole sorting system).

2004 September 1, Daniel Speyer, “Re: Sorta [R] Sorting other Fictional Characters:”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

He would not have changed; the Slytherinish traits are already there.

2005 August 25, T. M. Summers, “Re: Snape's situation”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

Of, related to, or exhibiting traits associated with Slytherin house from the Harry Potter series.


ten points to Gryffindor

From the Harry Potter series, in which students of the magical school Hogwarts belong to four houses (Harry Potter belongs to Gryffindor), and earn or lose points for them based on their actions.

'Well, I'm assuming two things will happen. One, she'll try and kill me, two, you'll come down on her like a ton of bricks.'
'Ten points to Gryffindor,' said Gwen.

2008, James Goss, Torchwood: Almost Perfect, BBC Books, →ISBN, page 90:

“Yeah, sure. You know I can't stand the sight of blood, right?”
“Said no one ever while dating a vampire,” he quipped.
“Very clever. Ten points to Gryffindor.”

2013, Kristi Cook, Eternal, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 232:

Yeah, well he has a backpfeifengesicht (ten points to Gryffindor if you can pronounce this word), AKA: a face that deserves to be punched.

2013, Lara Hovsepian-Ruby, "Words That Should Be Part of the English Language", Caliber Magazine (University of California, Berkeley), Summer 2013, page 12

(humorous) Used to praise someone for a statement or action viewed as commendable.

Gryffindor
Harry Potter
Hogwarts
House system


10 points to Gryffindor

Ow! A touch, I do confess. 10 points to Gryffindor.

2001 December 4, Berry Kercheval, “Re: grepping grappa”, in ba.food (Usenet):

If you gathered that from the visual aids above, 10 points to Gryffindor! You are outstanding.

2013, Kathryn Cua, "Questions, Comments, Concerns", Devils' Advocate (Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale, Illinois), Issue 6, 20 December 2013, page 8

(NYC cuisiniers were on this a year ago, so 10 points to Gryffindor.)

2014 February 17, Molly Mulshine, “French Chefs Really Wish You’d Stop Instagramming Their Meals Read”, in The New York Observer:

ten points to Gryffindor
ten points to Gryffindor#English

Alternative form of ten points to Gryffindor


Potterholic

My eight-year-old, as die-hard a Potterholic as they come, a kid who can probably remember Hogwarts minutiae that even JK has forgotten, walked out of the multiplex and gave it a five out of 10.

2001 November 25, Charlie Fletcher, “Has Potter movie magic lost its spell?”, in Scotland on Sunday:

By the time the doors were ready to open, the Potterholics had managed to transform the bland room, with its gray-knotted carpet and vaulted ceiling, into a dark and chapelesque space, hung with streamers and Hogwarts house banners, and a looped clip of floating candles from the Harry Potter movies playing on the wall.

2008, Melissa Anelli, Harry, A History, Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 103:

As a 'Potterholic' myself, clad in a Gryffindor scarf, wand tucked into my front pocket, armed with the first and best tickets for the first showing, I waited impatiently for the movie to begin.

2010, Sangeetha Alagappan, “Casting a spell over Bahrain”, in Gulf Weekly, Volume 9, Issue 47, 24 November - 30 November 2010:

(informal) One who loves the Harry Potter series of books and films.


Potterite

Fungi in the forest and the surrounding area include names that would delight any Potterite: dead man's fingers, yellow brain fungus, dung roundhead, scarlet elfcup […]

2003, Connie Ann Kirk, J. K. Rowling: A Biography, Greenwood Press, →ISBN, page 24:

Though it seemed that every Potterite in line had their own theories about the future of Harry Potter, some weren't so certain about their own futures after finishing the book.

2007 July 21, Caroline E. Richardson, “Fans line up for farewell to Harry”, in The Commercial Appeal:

It took more than three years of research, but we managed to find sixty-eight (68) Potter Places in the UK—specifically on the island of Great Britain. However, not all of these sites are places every Potterite will enjoy.

2012, C. D. Miller, Harry Potter Places Book Four — NEWTs: Northeastern England Wizarding Treks, First Edition Design Publishing, →ISBN:


Pottermaniac

J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Bloomsbury; 636 pages) would have sold millions of copies had its publishers simply dumped them in bookstores, unannounced, and then got out of the way as word of mouth spread among stampeding Pottermaniacs.

2000 July 24, Paul Grey, “Harry's Magic is Back Again”, in Time:

The launch of the fifth book, for instance, involved only one personal appearance, when JKR read extracts to 4,000 carefully selected Pottermaniacs in the Albert Hall.

2007, Bernard Cova, Robert Kozinets, & Avi Shankar, Consumer Tribes, Butterworth-Heinemann, →ISBN:

If you are a Pottermaniac, this is the month for you. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" opens today, and on July 21 the seventh and final Potter tome lands with a thud at your local bookstore.

2007 July 12, Peter Rainer, “'Phoenix' rising: Harry Potter and the abridged tome”, in The Christian Science Monitor:


retrocausally

By means of, or in terms of, retrocausality.


magical Negro

(film, literature) A black supporting stock character in media, especially American cinema, who is portrayed as coming to the aid of a white protagonist.


Gandalfish

Gandalfish (comparative more Gandalfish, superlative most Gandalfish)

more Gandalfish (comparative)
most Gandalfish (superlative)

It has an Aragorn figure called Gwydion, a Gandalfish wizard called Dallben, a dwarf named Doli, […]

1980, Brian Attebery, The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin, Indiana University Press, →ISBN, page 156:

The archetypical instance is Ralph Bakshi's film Wizards, in which, at the final duel between the Disneylike good wizard and the Gandalfish evil wizard, […]

1986, Jan Hokenson, Howard Pearce, editors, Forms of the Fantastic: Selected Essays from the Third International Conference on the Fantastic in Literature and Film, Greenwood Press, →ISBN, page 36:

IMHO it would be a disaster to make a sort of Gandalfish wizard out of Sauron, with black robes and all the other Evil Accessories (tm).

1999 September 16, Ola Lundgren, “Re: The Character of Sauron?”, in alt.fan.tolkien (Usenet):


pantropy

From Ancient Greek παν- (pan-, “all”) + τροπή (tropḗ, “transformation”, literally “turning”), coined by American science-fiction writer James Blish and first attested in 1952.

coinage

(science fiction) The process of adapting humans through genetic and/or cybernetic means to thrive in environments otherwise inhospitable to them, such as outer space, the deep sea or other planets.


hengeyokai

1985, David Cook, Oriental Adventures, TSR Inc., →ISBN
Hengeyokai are intelligent, shape-changing animals. Several subraces exist, each a different type of animal. They are found throughout the Oriental world, usually on the fringes of human-settled lands.

1998-01-28, Lee Gold, Re: B5 Filk: You Picked A Fine Time To Leave Us Sinclair, rec.music.filk
If a hengeyokai fails to concentrate (or perhaps gets distracted -- due to being beaten, seeing a mouse, fatigue), the human form's ears may get pointed or a tail may appear.

Hengeyokai transfer between forms almost instantly, though when in human form, they often retain some mark of characteristic of their true animal nature.

2001, Laurence C. Bush, Asian Horror Encyclopedia: Asian Horror Culture in Literature, Manga and Folklore, Writers Club Press, page 69:

2013-10-12, Jasin Zujovic, Hengeyokai level adjustment, rec.games.frp.dnd
I've been watching Inuyasha yesterday (too bad that's a German dub and I can understand almost nothing) and that got me wanting to make myself a hengeyokai character... and then I remembered the level adjustment.

(folklore) A legendary Japanese animal with the ability to shapeshift into human form.


spellcasting

Lewis unwittingly brings Izard back from the dead trying to impress a schoolmate with his spellcasting abilities, and all magical Hell breaks loose.

2018 September 19, Katie Rife, “Eli Roth, of all directors, brings Amblin magic to the kid-lit horror of The House With A Clock In Its Walls”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 2018-09-20:


defictionalize

en-verb

defictionalize (third-person singular simple present defictionalizes, present participle defictionalizing, simple past and past participle defictionalized)

defictionalizes (present singular third-person)
defictionalizing (participle present)
defictionalized (participle past)
defictionalized (past)

(transitive) To bring out of the realm of fiction; to associate with the real world.


nightwalker

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-nightwalker.wav

* night + walker
* (vampire): since they are traditionally said to avoid sunlight and go out at night.

(archaic, euphemistic) A prostitute who looks for clients on the streets.


shapechanger

A creature that can supernaturally change its physical form.


scoutship

(science fiction) A spaceship that carries out reconnaissance.