A factoid that is false or unsupported by evidence, but gets into public circulation anyway. Once it is repeated and quoted enough times, it gains a life of its own, and people assume it is true because they get it from multiple sources, even though the original source is flawed or unverified, or the information turns out to be false.
One common fictoid is the idea that people need to drink 8 glasses of water a day to be healthy. There's no sound basis for this recommendation, but it is quoted and given as advice frequently.
Recently (as of new years 2009), one of the big news stories has been the collapse of a fraudulent investment fund run by Bernard Madoff, which turned out to be a ponzi scheme. Although it takes months to go through the records to figure out how much money was involved, an initial estimate was that "up to $50 billion dollars may have been lost". Despite the fact that this was an initial best guess rather than the result of actual auditing, and despite the fact that even a clear definition of "money lost" in this case is vague, this $50 billion estimate has become a fictoid, and is being repeated in the press. Plenty of people believe that it is well accepted that $50 billion is the amount of money that was lost in this fraudulent scheme.
Recently (as of new years 2009), one of the big news stories has been the collapse of a fraudulent investment fund run by Bernard Madoff, which turned out to be a ponzi scheme. Although it takes months to go through the records to figure out how much money was involved, an initial estimate was that "up to $50 billion dollars may have been lost". Despite the fact that this was an initial best guess rather than the result of actual auditing, and despite the fact that even a clear definition of "money lost" in this case is vague, this $50 billion estimate has become a fictoid, and is being repeated in the press. Plenty of people believe that it is well accepted that $50 billion is the amount of money that was lost in this fraudulent scheme.
by my name is Cos January 12, 2009
by asianbelafarr April 4, 2017
Fiz-Fucked is similar to fuck, but used to put emphasis on that particular saying. For example, if you were to say someone is fucked, and his friend is fiz-fucked, it is implied that the fiz-fucked one is more fucked than the person that is simply fucked.
Jonah: 'Hey, what time is it?' Jean-Luc: "Nearly 11:30." Jonah: "Dude, I'm fiz-fucked!"
Jean-Luc: "Yeah, so that guy runs in with the noob cannon, and I just knew I was totally fiz-fucked!"
Jean-Luc: "Yeah, so that guy runs in with the noob cannon, and I just knew I was totally fiz-fucked!"
by Jean-Luc B January 24, 2006
by japanesesoup2 November 4, 2009
A world wide car club, Started in 1946 and re-established in 1998 They are know as the anti-heroes of hotrodding, going against most of the ideals modern main stream hotrodding.
by roaddevil November 9, 2006
a way to say youre throwing up a tiny bit either from medication, eating too much, or rotten food. this typically starts from burping
by lilsamsixty9 May 31, 2021
Uninformed. Ignorant of the situation. Not receiving appropriate information. Think of "the loop" as being a communications channel, and therefore being out of the loop means no one is communicating with you to get you the information you need.
Manager: Why did you miss today's staff meeting?
Employee: I didn't know there was one scheduled. I was completely out of the loop.
Employee: I didn't know there was one scheduled. I was completely out of the loop.
by Evac156 February 25, 2005