Words fail me.

May 1, 2003 8:44 PM

"Bling Bling" has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary. To be classified as a noun, pronounced "B to the Izz-L...."
posted by XQUZYPHYR (27 comments total)

so has "shut up!" :D
posted by kliuless at 9:22 PM on May 1, 2003

Prescriptive dictionaries generate no press releases, so no one buys them. Except for haters, of course.
Bling-bling!
posted by eddydamascene at 10:11 PM on May 1, 2003

Out of curiosity, anyone know where this originates? Is this something you need a Tele-Vision to know about?
posted by kaibutsu at 10:34 PM on May 1, 2003

RTFL does not walways mean 'rolling on the floor laughing.' Please forgive my idiocy.
posted by kaibutsu at 10:36 PM on May 1, 2003

hiphopmusic.com has an alternative etymology for 'bling bling'.
posted by sillygwailo at 10:49 PM on May 1, 2003

I wondered where that phrase originated.
posted by mischief at 10:58 PM on May 1, 2003

I still have that BG "Bling Bling" MP3 I downloaded when it first came out.

I think the Boondocks comic strip was the first mainstream use of it, however.
posted by Down10 at 11:33 PM on May 1, 2003

It isn't listed in the online OED yet. Of course, they still list "def" as an obsolete form of "deaf". ;)
posted by RavinDave at 12:59 AM on May 2, 2003

So does that mean "crunk" will be added in a couple of years.
posted by yerfatma at 4:52 AM on May 2, 2003

oh god, i hate that phrase. can i say black trash here?
posted by shoos at 4:57 AM on May 2, 2003

Have they added "fo shizzle mah nizzle" yet?
posted by MrBaliHai at 4:59 AM on May 2, 2003

MrBaliHai - I don't know, but it's been added to this dictionary.
posted by vito90 at 6:14 AM on May 2, 2003

Word.
posted by reidfleming at 6:49 AM on May 2, 2003

Bling bling HAS NOT BEEN INCLUDED IN THE OED. I repeat, it has *NOT* been added.

An article in the Arizona Republic: "We're going to draft an entry, which we'll probably publish soon," says Jesse Sheidlower, principal editor of the OED's North American Editorial Unit, who says it will be added online (as all new entries are) and will probably include several senses of bling-bling as a verb, noun, and adjective. "We decide based on currency. In a case like bling-bling, it's very widespread."

The problem is, the story is wrong. In private correspondance, a high-ranking editor for the OED told me that they haven't drafted an entry for "bling-bling." They haven't posted it online. They entry, he says, "isn't there." In other words, the story is completely and utterly wrong. Note the future tense in Sheidlower's words quoted above, and words like "decide" and "probably."
posted by Mo Nickels at 7:02 AM on May 2, 2003

Fo' shizzle my nizzle!
posted by Samsonov14 at 7:56 AM on May 2, 2003

I've been wondering what the heck "bling bling" meant. I thought it was just slang for money.

I love the explaination of how to make "Shut up!" sound like "No way! Tell me more!" from kliuless's link:

"The trick is to hit the 'sh' very hard." The most effective enunciation also places a full stop between "shut" and "up." Excitable types pitch their voices higher on the word "up."
posted by straight at 8:07 AM on May 2, 2003

This post should stand as an example of the failure (or sabotage) of the blog-journalism-fact checking stuff.

1. we have xqualifer say "Bling-Bling" is added to OED. then his link (his supporting evidence)

2. we have links and comments which refute said posters post.

3. we have comments that add to the discussion anyway(discussing the word)

It is called fact checking. But having this ad hoc post with an MTV link is exactly...well, you should know

THE REST OF THE STORY...

incidentally, "bling-bling" in this part of the woods refers to a threat or robbery with a gun.
(bling-bling sounds like a ricochet)
posted by clavdivs at 8:12 AM on May 2, 2003

The linked story is wrong in other respects, too. Neither "breakbeat" nor "jiggy" is in the OED, even online, even in the New Edition—which does, however, have "dope" (adj.) and "phat." Who'da thunk the latter was attested as far back as 1963?

1963 Time 2 Aug. 14 Negro argot... Mellow, phat, stone, boss. General adjectives of approval.

posted by languagehat at 8:33 AM on May 2, 2003

To add to the confusion, it looks like that Arizona Republic story is really a story from the Bergen County (NJ) Record.

The Record story looks like it's a late pick-up of a September '02 press release from Oxford University Press. And furthermore, the press release concerns new additions to the swinging Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. The Shorter is in it's 5th edition, so I suspect it's somewhat less strict when adding slang words than the big one (in its 2nd ed., with some updates). 13 March 2003 saw the publication of the range of entries Motswana-mussy in the New Edition of the OED. Discussed here previously.

Why do we never see news stories about words stricken from dictionaries?
posted by eatitlive at 8:47 AM on May 2, 2003

"Negro argot" Heh.

When are they gonna add "cromulent"?
posted by Vidiot at 9:08 AM on May 2, 2003

eatitlive, we could see discussions about words stricken dictionaries, however hard to them, since we longer the to say. You, don't? .
posted by dhartung at 10:10 AM on May 2, 2003

Er.... dhartung... what?
posted by linux at 10:56 AM on May 2, 2003

...a man after my own syntax.

C|:)I
(me in a bowler hat and bowtie)
posted by clavdivs at 10:57 AM on May 2, 2003

dhartung, correct. Indeed, however, the point being this: When words no longer are used, stricken it must be...longer or no.

Of course, it would be true. But, how could I?

*THWACK*

Alright, I'm better now, and I apologize for any incoherence in this and all previous posts. English is not my first language, at least not until I've had my first cup of coffee.
posted by eatitlive at 12:15 PM on May 2, 2003

Bling bling
Everytime I come around yo city
Bling bling
Pinky ring worth about fifty
Bling bling
Everytime I buy a new ride
Bling bling
Lorinsers on Yokahama tires
Bling bling

I think it's the sound diamonds make when they sparkle. (A very theoretical sound)
posted by jcruelty at 1:28 PM on May 2, 2003

When I heard some little twit in a ad targeted at the kiddies say "bling bling" to his brother than I knew that, as the Jesus freaks say, we're in the End Times.

Vidiot:

When are they gonna add "cromulent"?

Not to mention "embiggens", a usage example being "A war with Iraq embiggens the smallest Bush."
posted by mark13 at 3:30 PM on May 2, 2003

I think it's the sound diamonds make when they sparkle.

...and if there is no one around to see it, does it still bling?

The bling bling theory panel discussion is from 8:30-10pm.
posted by eddydamascene at 3:58 PM on May 2, 2003