Monday, June 20, 2011

A word, if you please . . .

THE REGISTER is a great geek site, with an irreverent attitude, as one can surmise from their slogan, "Biting the hand that feeds IT"— ya gotta love these guys. Anyway, Cade Metz has a fine article, "Wikipedia awash in 'frothy by-product' of US sexual politics".

The world's Wikifiddlers are obsessed with santorum. Though they can't agree on what that is.

For some, it's a word. For others, it's not: it's the result of a campaign to create a word. The distinction – however subtle – has sparked weeks of controversy among the core contributors to Wikipedia, the "free encyclopedia anyone can edit". If you find this hard to believe, you've never been to Wikiland – and you've never Googled "Rick Santorum".

Famously, Rick Santorum – the former Pennsylvania Senator and a Republican candidate for president of the United States – has a Google problem. But he also has a Wikipedia problem. And the two go hand-in-hand.

Ricky S.

santorum

1. That frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the by-product of anal sex.

2. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)

1 comment:

Niles said...

Seems to me, the creation of 'santorum' as a euphemism for something both sexual and execretory is just following in historical footsteps of making names/occupations/nationalities into derogatory definitions.

The assertion there is a 'natural' way for a word to come into being and deliberate redefining of a word somehow is 'un-natural' for new vocabulary; that strikes me as fatuous tut-tutting and pearl clutching that ever so conveniently forgets that 'left' and 'liberal' have been under a serious 'swiftboating' campaign of denigration. I hear green envy that santorum has rocketed into acceptance.

fellow traveller insult euphemisms(a mere few): benedict arnold (in the US), quisling, nancy, bugger, vandal, coward.