This phrase began during the Great Smoky Mountain wildfires of November, 2016. The Ripley’s Aquarium in Galtlinburg, TN was in danger of catching on fire and the community was concerned about the welfare of the animals inside the establishment. During the fire, a small group of online-self-proclaimed-animal-experts strongly suggested that the penguins be released out into the wild for safety. Seriously, think about that for a minute – the penguins should be released into a forest fire to take care of themselves – can you picture how that would really work? How long would a penguin last in a forest fire?
"Wow, I can’t believe that I stabbed myself in the eye with a fork, I really released the penguins on that one. "
"Look, this is important – so, don’t release the penguins."
British slang for a scientist or technical expert, esp . when the speaker is not certain of the expert’s specific field of study. Not necessarily derogatory, but typically used by persons without a technical background. In the US, the equivalent would be “egghead”, “squint”, or “geek.”
Origin of the word is unknown. Started sometime in World War 2. Given the typical evolution of British slang, could easily have started because what these experts did was confusing or “baffling” to the common person.
According to the boffins downstairs, the murdererused a serrated blade.
When you have to pee in a movie but don’t want to miss anything, and must do the following mental equation: will the amount I have to pee cause enough discomfort to diminish my attention capacity for the remainder of the movie to an extent which is greater than the amount of the movie I would miss by making a mad dash to the restroom.
I saw Satantango last night, wonderful film but by the 5th hour I had to start doing pee calculus.
Short-hand for the word floccinaucinihilipilification, meaning the estimation of something as valueless (encountered mainly as an example of one of the longest words in the English language).