Bill M.'s definitions

fretboard

The long area of the guitar under the strings where the player applies pressure with his or her non-strumming in order to produce different notes; the long, flat area on the front of a guitar neck

Wow, that guitar player is fast! His fingers were really flying up and down the fretboard.

by Bill M. July 27, 2004

upright bass

Another term for a double bass, acoustic bass, or bass fiddle. It's the largest of the string instruments (resembling a giant violin) and lowest-sounding instrument found in an orchestra. Can be played with a bow or plucked with the fingers. The word "upright" means that it is to be played while standing up while holding the instrument upright, as opposed to how a bass guitar is held (on the lap or at a 45 degree angle). Also not to be confused with the cello, which is smaller and played while sitting down.

Paul Chambers and Ron Carter each played the upright bass at one time or another for Miles Davis.

by Bill M. August 27, 2004

Liberal media

A term that implies that news reporting has a bias towards "left" or politically liberal ideas, but in reality is an illusion created when highly opinionated people inevitably use selective hearing to filter out and pick up on topics they don't like, forgetting the rest.

You can find some on-line conservative newspapers that claim to be "the real news, not the liberal media kind!" as well as some on-line liberal papers that claim to be "the real news, not the conservative-bias kind!"

by Bill M. August 27, 2004

tuner

1. A electric device used for tuning a musical instrument to its proper pitch
2. One who professionally tunes a musical instrument

1. My tuner indicates that this guitar string is too sharp (high)
2. The piano sounds really bad. We should call in a piano tuner some day.

by Bill M. July 27, 2004

madonna-whore complex

The seemingly conflicting desires that some (but certainly not all) men have for a woman who is experienced in the bedroom and unashamed of showing sexual prowess ("whore"), but at the same time a woman who is wholesome, clean and nuturing ("madonna"), particularly enough to not be branded a "slut".

This concept is due to having a large population of sexually frustrated people (both men AND women) who were raised to believe that sexual activity or just being sexy is a dirty and shameful act, and a society where both men and women have been led to believe that women have to either be complete prudes or totally promiscuous.

"Dick is an ex-quarterback with a madonna-whore complex. Jane is an equally confused prude who needs to drink a quart of whisky to release her sexual inhibitions guiltlessly. They were made for each other."

by Bill M. September 21, 2004

Catholic school girl

In slang terms, this is the stereotype describing the woman who gives the appearance of being very conformist, wholesome, and pure of "sin" (sex, drugs, and other indulgences), but in reality has a deep compulsion to be the contrasting opposite: very promiscuous and all-around unwholesome.

At the S&M club, Harry saw several women dressed in Catholic school girl uniforms.

by Bill M. September 20, 2004

rtfm

Literally "Read The F**king Manual"; a term showing the frustration of being bothered with questions so trivial that the asker could have quickly figured out the answer on their own with minimal effort, usually by reading readily-available documents. People who say "RTFM!" might be considered rude, but the true rude ones are the annoying people who take absolutely no self-responibility and expect to have all the answers handed to them personally.

"Damn, that's the twelveth time that somebody posted this question to the messageboard today! RTFM, already!"

by Bill M. July 27, 2004