my name is Cos's definitions
A misplaced pop culture reference, usually caused by confusing similar names or words, and referring to someone/something irrelevant or ridiculous in context.
As with a malapropism, the confusion and result are similar; however, rather than confusing the meaning of standard English words, one is confusing similar-sounding names & pop culture references.
A malapopism can also occur when someone is unaware of the fact that the same name refers to a different person/thing/event, and makes an inappropriate reference based on that mistaken assumption.
As with a malapropism, the confusion and result are similar; however, rather than confusing the meaning of standard English words, one is confusing similar-sounding names & pop culture references.
A malapopism can also occur when someone is unaware of the fact that the same name refers to a different person/thing/event, and makes an inappropriate reference based on that mistaken assumption.
Both kinds of malapopisms (similar names; same name but different people) in conversation:
Jen: The Cottingley fairies were a hoax, and Arthur Conan Doyle was fooled. James Randi's book tells all about it.
Arshad: Damn fairies, always wanting to restrict the free market! :)
Everyone: *stares blankly*
Arshad: You know... all that Libertarian stuff Randi wrote?
Everyone: Oh, you mean Ayn Rand!
Arshad: ohhh.
Who were the Senators from Illinois before Obama and Durbin?
Well, before Durbin was Paul Simon...
Hah, did he sing "Sound of Silence" to the Senate?
Dude, that's not the same Paul Simon!
Jen: The Cottingley fairies were a hoax, and Arthur Conan Doyle was fooled. James Randi's book tells all about it.
Arshad: Damn fairies, always wanting to restrict the free market! :)
Everyone: *stares blankly*
Arshad: You know... all that Libertarian stuff Randi wrote?
Everyone: Oh, you mean Ayn Rand!
Arshad: ohhh.
Who were the Senators from Illinois before Obama and Durbin?
Well, before Durbin was Paul Simon...
Hah, did he sing "Sound of Silence" to the Senate?
Dude, that's not the same Paul Simon!
by my name is Cos March 4, 2009
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Get the treyferrific mug.More extreme version of meatatarian (alternate spelling: meagan).
A vegetarian doesn't eat meat; a vegan eats only fruits and vegetables.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, a meatarian wants meat in every meal; a meagan not only wants meat in every meal, but avoids the veggies altogether.
A vegetarian doesn't eat meat; a vegan eats only fruits and vegetables.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, a meatarian wants meat in every meal; a meagan not only wants meat in every meal, but avoids the veggies altogether.
We have a really hard time having dinner together, because I'm a vegetarian and she's megan, so she doesn't like anything I want to eat!
by my name is Cos June 3, 2008
Get the megan mug.When two people are cuddling in bed, three arms have somewhere to be but the fourth arm is in the way. It's the extra arm.
"I've always wondered exactly what to do with that extra arm. I've tried curling it up between us, putting it above my head under the pillow, straightening it between us and the only thing that seems to work is just putting it behind me."
-- metafilter posting
-- metafilter posting
by my name is Cos October 23, 2007
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Both of them were asshats! Well, that guy was a little less of an asshat than the other.
Yeah. Good thing Amir was there, or the whole night would've sucked. He's a real headpants.
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What do you do when you have to walk a mile and a half in a downpour, and by the time you arrive, your jeans are soaked from the pockets down? But your shirt is dry. And your flannel overshirt is dry.
Clearly, if you're as much of a headpants as she is, you turn it into a skirt, by wrapping it around your waist and attaching as many of the buttons as you can.
Both of them were asshats! Well, that guy was a little less of an asshat than the other.
Yeah. Good thing Amir was there, or the whole night would've sucked. He's a real headpants.
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What do you do when you have to walk a mile and a half in a downpour, and by the time you arrive, your jeans are soaked from the pockets down? But your shirt is dry. And your flannel overshirt is dry.
Clearly, if you're as much of a headpants as she is, you turn it into a skirt, by wrapping it around your waist and attaching as many of the buttons as you can.
by my name is Cos November 15, 2009
Get the headpants mug.You've been accumulating cruft year after year, a gnawing sense in the back of your mind that someday you'll have to do something with this stuff. Actually getting down to looking through it all, one by one, and throwing out everything you're never going to use: the decrapification of your apartment.
I know him, I took his Apple Unix when he was in New York.
Oh, yeah, that was when I moved out of the Brooklyn apartment. That was round one of the great decrapification.
Decrapification was the project for 2007, and oh my god the stuff we got rid of!
Oh, yeah, that was when I moved out of the Brooklyn apartment. That was round one of the great decrapification.
Decrapification was the project for 2007, and oh my god the stuff we got rid of!
by My name is Cos January 13, 2008
Get the decrapification mug."Somebody Else's Problem", an effectively-magical field that obscures things you think aren't relevant to you, such that even though you see them (or hear them or read them) you don't actually *notice*, and quickly forget.
More generally, the phenomenon that causes people to ignore issues that they know about but think of as either not something they can do anything about, or not personally relevant to them right now. This can result in something that's very important to a group of people being ignored by every individual member of that group.
Popularized by Douglas Adams in the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" series, in which Ford Prefect describes it as:
"An SEP is something we can't see, or don't see, or our brain doesn't let us see, because we think that it's somebody else's problem.... The brain just edits it out, it's like a blind spot. If you look at it directly you won't see it unless you know precisely what it is. Your only hope is to catch it by surprise out of the corner of your eye."
In that series, a strange object can be effectively hidden from view while out in plain sight, by an "SEP field", which "relies on people's natural predisposition not to see anything they don't want to, weren't expecting, or can't explain."
More generally, the phenomenon that causes people to ignore issues that they know about but think of as either not something they can do anything about, or not personally relevant to them right now. This can result in something that's very important to a group of people being ignored by every individual member of that group.
Popularized by Douglas Adams in the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" series, in which Ford Prefect describes it as:
"An SEP is something we can't see, or don't see, or our brain doesn't let us see, because we think that it's somebody else's problem.... The brain just edits it out, it's like a blind spot. If you look at it directly you won't see it unless you know precisely what it is. Your only hope is to catch it by surprise out of the corner of your eye."
In that series, a strange object can be effectively hidden from view while out in plain sight, by an "SEP field", which "relies on people's natural predisposition not to see anything they don't want to, weren't expecting, or can't explain."
It's just been sitting there all day, hundreds of people have walked by, and nobody said anything or even turned to look! It's like it's got an SEP field around it.
by my name is Cos August 1, 2008
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