| cannylinguist ( @ 2003-12-16 11:55:00 |
Eurotrash
As of December 2003, Eurotrash graces the list of terms officially recognized by the Oxford English Dictionary:
To the OED definiens I would like to add, if I may be so bold, that the term Eurotrash, though it may owe its origin to our old world neighbors, is not just limited to describing those that hail from there. At least in the enlightened People's Republik of Cambridge, where our unparalleled humanist sensibilities have taught us that trash knows no borders, nor gender, age political or religious affiliation, we use the term synecdochically for all of mankind. As long as it's the trashy kind. And so we have Eurotrash from Latin America and Eurotrash from Australia. I have never met African Eurotrash, but I don't doubt its existence. Asian Eurotrash? Just swing by Pravda 116 sometime this weekend.
And because the OED is committed to documenting usage, I bring it up. So, let's not be so mindful of the OED's definition, folks, and not deprive our non-European brethrentrash of a deserved title. It's a disfavor after you've invested in the designer wardrobe and the muscle car.
That's all I'm sayin'.
As of December 2003, Eurotrash graces the list of terms officially recognized by the Oxford English Dictionary:
Eurotrash orig. and chiefly U.S. (depreciative), rich, European socialites collectively, esp. those living or working in the U.S.; cf. TRASH n.1 4.
1983 People (Nexis) 31 Jan. 72 ‘We are *Eurotrash,’ he [sc. Couturier] says of some of his acquaintances. ‘We are obnoxious. We are spoiled. We are brats... But... we can also work a lot.’
1990 Los Angeles May 8/1 A haven of jet-setting privilege, beloved of American industrialists and Eurotrash alike, Santa Barbara has become the most chic, most sophisticated small city in the United States.
2003 Spectator 18 Jan. 34/3 Gilver Memmer is now a middle-aged wreck, his sparkling youth as a precocious painter and sartorial icon obliterated by drink, women and general Eurotrash excess.
To the OED definiens I would like to add, if I may be so bold, that the term Eurotrash, though it may owe its origin to our old world neighbors, is not just limited to describing those that hail from there. At least in the enlightened People's Republik of Cambridge, where our unparalleled humanist sensibilities have taught us that trash knows no borders, nor gender, age political or religious affiliation, we use the term synecdochically for all of mankind. As long as it's the trashy kind. And so we have Eurotrash from Latin America and Eurotrash from Australia. I have never met African Eurotrash, but I don't doubt its existence. Asian Eurotrash? Just swing by Pravda 116 sometime this weekend.
And because the OED is committed to documenting usage, I bring it up. So, let's not be so mindful of the OED's definition, folks, and not deprive our non-European brethrentrash of a deserved title. It's a disfavor after you've invested in the designer wardrobe and the muscle car.
That's all I'm sayin'.