Grunge speak
Grunge speak was a hoax created by Megan Jasper, a sales representative for Sub Pop Records. Under pressure from a reporter for The New York Times who wanted to know if grunge fans had their own slang, Jasper, 25 at the time, told the reporter a set of made-up on-the-spot slang terms that she claimed were associated with the Seattle grunge scene in the early 1990s. The information given by Jasper appeared in the sidebar of a November 15, 1992 feature article of the Times. The sidebar, titled "Lexicon of Grunge: Breaking the Code", also mistakenly said that Jasper was working for Caroline Records.[1]
In truth, there was no particular slang language used in the Seattle grunge scene. Many had in fact resented the assumption by the Times that they even had a slang language, as well as the claim that it was "coming soon to a high school or mall near you".
The article was proven to be a hoax by Thomas Frank of The Baffler, a journal of cultural criticism. In it, he revealed that Jasper had purposely misled the Times as well as the British magazine Sky as a prank.[2] Jasper had been sick of the attention that reporters were paying to people involved in the Seattle grunge scene, and thus pulled the prank to get back at them for their superfluous questioning.
The Times demanded that Frank fax over an apology for claiming it had printed false information, believing that it was Frank who was the hoaxer. Frank instead sent a letter standing by the story and explaining that "when The Newspaper of Record goes searching for the Next Big Thing and the Next Big Thing piddles on its leg, we think that's funny." Frank considered the article to be part of an attempt by mainstream culture to co-opt the grunge scene and felt that the Times had gotten what it deserved.
Shortly after the release of The Baffler's story, some people in Seattle began selling and wearing t-shirts with the words "lamestain" and "harsh realm" printed in the same font as the famous banner of the Times. The words themselves never caught on as actual slang within the grunge scene (though "score" and "dish" are in use elsewhere). One of the terms, "harsh realm", was used as the title of a science-fiction comic book and a short-lived 1999 television series based on it. The events of Jasper's prank would also be documented in the 1996 film Hype!, a documentary about the grunge scene of the early 1990s.[3]
Grunge speak words
During the interview, Jasper made up the following terms and their definitions:
- bloated, big bag of blotation - drunk
- bound-and-hagged - staying home on Friday or Saturday night
- cob nobbler - loser
- dish - desirable guy
- fuzz - heavy wool sweaters
- harsh realm - bummer
- kickers - heavy boots
- lamestain - uncool person
- plats - platform shoes
- rock on - a happy goodbye
- score - great
- swingin' on the flippety-flop - hanging out
- tom-tom club - uncool outsiders
- wack slacks - old ripped jeans
References
- ^ Frank, Thomas. "Harsh Realm, Mr. Sulzberger!" (Winter/Spring 1993). The Baffler.
- Marin, Rick. "Grunge: A Success Story" (November 15, 1992). New York Times. Section 9, Page 1.
- ^ featuring "Lexicon of Grunge: Breaking the Code"
- ^ Pray, D., Helvey-Pray Productions. Hype!. 1996. Republic Pictures.
- "Those Cob Nobblers at the N.Y. Times" (March 5, 1993). Globe and Mail. Section C1.
- Windolf, Jim. "Off the Record" (March 1, 1993). New York Observer.