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Monday, November 16, 2009

NITK Lingo - Part 2 (I think)

As the title may have suggested, I am a) Highly jobless b) Extremely bored and c) Without a source of inspiration. As a result, I have fallen back upon my tried-and-tested method of recycling old topics. I'm not too sure how many of you actually read the previous post on this topic, (I'm guessing not too many - people grow smart with experience :D) but here's a quick recap on the need for this post.
If you've ever been in a college/institution or even a particular group of friends, you would have probably come across a lot of phrases/words that mean nothing to you at first. Things like "GG", "Imba" sound like moronic babbling rather than meaningful expressions. (In case you were wondering what those two words mean, please read this - it should help) After a while, you finally begin to understand that people around you are not cretins, but are rather doing what humans do best - evolve a social custom. (What's that? Am I going to get to the point or not? Alright, alright, someone's grumpy!) Well, the point is this: NITK is (almost - don't get me started on what this place lacks with respect to human-resource) no different from any other organised society. We have a set of expressions and idioms that would make absolutely no sense whatsoever to someone on the outside. Here are my favourites:
  1. "Well Played": Contrary to popular interpretations, we are not applauding sportsmanship of any kind here. We simply mean that you have successfully done something that you didn't want to other person to know you were doing, without him/her understanding what you intended on doing all along. Confused? The following conversation should make things a bit clear. Person 1 (dying to tell someone about his new shirt): "Hey, is that a new shirt?" Person 2(a little taken aback, because the shirt he is wearing is at least two years old): "No man, it's not. Hey aren't you wearing a new shirt?" Person 1: "Why yes, I am. I didn't even realise" In such a scenario, we say "well-played" (repeatedly) to Person 1.
  2. "Awb" or "Ob": This one is quite straightforward. The word is simply a short-form for "obvious". Unfortunately, some people here use it to a level that would make purists of the language bay for their infidel blood. "How's the mess food?" "Awb, man" "How was class?" "Awb" "How was the exam?" "Awb" (though "GG" is an extremely popular substitute here) "How are you feeling?" "Awb" "Are you going out somewhere?" "Awb". Get the picture? It isn't exactly the Queens' English, I'm afraid.
  3. "Whursht": This is a derivation from the word "worst", but it is pronounced the way I have spelt it. Basically, it means that something is really, really bad. Not just bad, (we call it "bad" then - we can still talk in usual English, you know) but really horrible. For example: "How was dinner?" "Whursht" - this means that the food was quite simply, hopeless, and you would be wise to avoid it, wallet permitting, of course.
  4. "Pawned": This word has originated from the gaming world. (DOTA, I think) It essentially means that you've been thoroughly and positively beaten. Apart from "GG" this is another popular word to describe what happens in an examination. An example - "How was the paper?" "Got nicely pawned"
Well, there you have it. A sample of the expressions that we use, and what they actually mean. I'm sure I've missed many, so feel free to add to the list.

11 comments:

Ridhima said...

haha... Good read.. Maybe you should a Jane Goodall anthropologists type piece on NITK as well. I mean, you have already covered linguistics quite well.. :)

Anonymous said...

Well, in IIT we use pain, peace, pack and givaap (in addition to ob/awb). And, of course, the ever present suffix -max. Or, maxxxxx, if you are the sort who says hiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!! while talking online. I'm currently trying to introduce imba to the vocab. But, as I don't move in DOTA circles I'm having a hard time.

A: Did you do the assignment?
B: No dude! Its pain (or painmax, in case its hopeless). I'm not getting anything.

A: Did you do the assignment?
B: Pack, yaar. Who cares? Final year.

A: How did you do the assignment?
B: Givaap (or givaapmax, if you are totally and irrevocable bored out of your mind). Put peace.

Vikram said...

@Ridh: Thanks! Now that you mention it, an anthropologist-type piece should be good fun to write, considering our society here...

@The Lord: Lol! "maxxxx" and "peace" are also used here, but not much among my group of friends.

Half-Light said...

You forgot scam! That's the in word this sem.

chicken biryani 100 bucks ah? what a big scam!

dude, don't scam my pen drive!

Vikram said...

Oh, yeah! Can't believe I forgot that. Thanks!

Unknown said...

1) I don't give two hoots to the queen's English as would anyone else here.

2) Its pwned. Well, it evolved something like this. It was originally owned, and became pwned because people tended to mix up these closely spaced letters.

3) Total damage, putting and more lately, Kya-

Vikram said...

Well, duh! The way we speak should serve as sufficient evidence.
My apologies for the error in "pwned" - Your explanation sounds a lot more plausible.
Ah, yes! How can I forget "Total Damage" - It used to be quite popular around here sometime back... (It probably still is - I'm just not paying attention)

Vikram said...

And relax, nobody really cares if we speak good English or not. We either do or do not. It doesn't matter either way.

Unknown said...

-> Take it (up) too

Puneet said...

Hmm the lingo keeps building up... Some of these weren't two yrs bk...

BTW, in case of extreme "pawned", we used the term GGaaaxed...

w said...

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