David Blaine tw*tdangles into Urban Dictionary
David Blaine has secured his place in lexicographical history by twatdangling his way into the Urban Dictionary. As regular readers will recall, we previously believed the term was coined by a Reg commenter outraged by the gitwizard's's NYC Benito Mussolini impression. However, the word's full etymology has now been revealed: …
"Twattendang", from the Viking "Twtdnglersk"
Interesting a neither word is found via google.
Wonder what references he used to get these words. Or could it be a bit of twatshite © ?
Much old English is actually only found in one dictionary, Gurendell's Booke of the Wuyrde, which is kept in the British Library. You need to apply for permission to view it, and while Lester managed to spend a few minutes browsing it when he came to the top of the waiting list, no one has yet been cleared to add any of its content - nor indeed any reference to it - to the internet. Thus it is unGoogleable. It's an amazing case, which I'd write about myself were I allowed to.
(I know I just referred to it myself but I'll be deleting this comment after you've seen it.)
how long before this ends up on the wikipedophile?
Actually, it's surprisingly close to accurate, "dangle" appears to be Danish, and "twat" seems to be connected to old english "thwaite", a common word in the viking ravaged areas of NE England.
However I also suspect it may have something to do with Englethwaite in Cumbria. The hills of the area being renowned for the plethora of danglers from the various rocky outcrops.
It's clearly a fake etymology.
The true etymology is:
David Blaine is a twat.
David Blaine was dangling.
The event, therefore, was called Twatdangling. I have no information on the etymology of the word "twat" or "dangle".
"Twatdangle" fades into mere greyness in the face of the simple beauty that is "gitwizard".
with a reference to here.
Then you can reference wikipedia.
And so on
how can any story about blaine, especially referring to him as a gitwizard, not give kudos to marcus brigstocke whose scathing rants about the egocentric pseudo-magic nutbag repeatedly brought me to the verge of wetting myself.
i'd even go so far as to put a quid or two on marcus having calling the fool-in-a-box stunt a twatdangle in the first place....
"Interesting a [sic] neither word is found via google."
Not true - I found this entry:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/06/blaine_dictionary/
Is this a googlewhack?
I second the Brigstocke kudos. Surely he came up with gitwizard and twatdangle first?
It appears in Beowulf
"WENT he forth to find at fall of night
that haughty house, and heed wherever
the Ring-Danes, twattendang, to rest had gone."
Having got as far as checking the OED only to find
Twat (n) - a risible person, a humourless cretin (c.f. pedant)
I stopped.
(But not before noting the North Frisian connection of dangeln...)
And then there's Blain(e)
"1. An inflammatory swelling or sore on the surface of the body, often accompanied by ulceration; a blister, botch, pustule; applied also to the eruptions in some pestilential diseases"
I don't need a coat - I don't get out much.
Quite incorrect, this appears to be multiplying, up to 228 a minute ago...
'Twatdangle' requires no deep etymology. It just came into being when it was so desperately required.
I agree that 'GitWizard' was similarly essential, and admire Mr Bruggstoke for his part in it, but surely we can just rejoice that there are two words for Blaine which are so perfect as to be nearly onomatopoeic.
I bet you could try either of them out on an impartial observer and he would guess the subject and the context without error.
paris, 'cos even she would understand.
You're not still refering to that Booke of the Wuyrde crap are you? Even contemporary scholars knew that it was a flawed source, given that it consisted of random words made up by the then well-known cult of the Pubic Education, στωικός παιδεία, or ibikos paideia, though they were also sometimes known as Βικιπαίδεια or Bikipaideia, the Biscuit Education.
Whatever their actual name, I think Chaucer makes a reference to their leader, Iannes of Whaeles, calling him a "totalle queynte".
Ahhh great... I'm going to be out and about minding my own business, that post is going to pop into my head, and I'm going to be subject of many odd looks as I'll probably start laughing out loud all over again. Too funny!
I just like saying, or typing, "Twatdangle" when it's appropriate. Great word, thank you Reg.
I'm off to spend a weekend looking for a good time to use "Twatshite" <reaches for railway timetable and a copy of windows 7>
Twatdangling Gitwizard.
Love it.
Are delightful testimony to the English language's continuing facility in the invention of new words. Their key merits are that they are indubitably English-sounding, unlike many other invented words.
Has anyone sent notice of these to the OED for inclusion in their files? As nonce words, they won't be entered in the main corpus, but they will be kept on file.
Twatshite I'm not so sure about.
One interesting fact about Gurendell's famed book is that it omitted the word "GOELLIB", which is the Old English root of the word "gullible".
Shouldn't that be Grendel's Booke of Wyrdes?
Insert "yo modor" joke here ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/twat_dangle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_Wizard
although some dangletard removed Marcus' quote which you can see here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Blaine&oldid=271339617
"στωικός παιδεία, or ibikos paideia"
I think that's the first time I've seen "στω" transliterated "ib".
I prefer the term "gitwizard", which I think rolls off the tongue easier.
In Australia, a twat, is a vagina.
Thus twatdangle refers to the length of the labia minora.
Dickdent
Definition
Publicity seeking dickhead hanging upside down suspended from apparatus in a public place.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Blaine&oldid=240506266
Shame it was deleted
You're quite right to pick up on that - should have been ηβικός παιδεία.
ODFO, shurely a Terry Prachet creation....
Paris, another well know tw.. Oh figure it out for yourselves
"I don't need a coat - I don't get out much."
Brilliant! I'll use that as often as I can get away with.
As to the story itself, see what trouble that bloody Blaine's causing? Shoot the bastard, I say.
