Sunday, June 24, 2012
*&%#ing quakes and muntage
You know things have changed in a place when the local newspaper carries a front-page story that twice uses the term futterly ucked and nobody blinks.
The Christchurch Press listed the new words or expressions that have been recorded by the New Zealand Dictionary after the earthquakes there changed everything. Munted was the first to gain traction. Used to describe someone that was wrecked, in a drunken sort of way, the term was adopted and gained currency for the broken city of Christchurch.
That word was used as the root, with various degrees of modification attached, such as mega-muntage. It is is now a mainstream word in Canterbury.
The new words - including dungery, grand mal - refer to emotional and psychological damage. People just know what the meaning is, by feeling it, by having been there. These are just earthquake sort of words.
Being "recorded" by the dictionary means they've sort of made an appearance in the minor leagues. Whether they go to the bigs - and are printed in the new dictionaries - depends on their staying power after this year.
I think it would be futterly ucked if they didn't make it - especially the new definitions of munted
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