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Purity Spiral

A social ratchet effect within a community. A process of moral outbidding, unchecked, which corrodes the group from within, rewarding those who put themselves at the extremes, and punishing nuance relentlessly.

Not to be confused with 'virtue signalling', 'woke culture', or 'online mobs'.

A purity spiral can contain all of these things, but it is defined by the fact that it takes place in a defined community or society, where being purer-than-thou is always being rewarded, and holding a divergent, 'less pure' opinion is normally punished, a dynamic which leads to an inevitable escalation as only the most extreme can 'win'.

Could be anything, from Mao's Red Guard, to Neo-Nazis, to The Crucible, to Instagram knitting.
After Louise denounced Nike as bourgeois, the village fell into a purity spiral where first Nikes, then all sneakers, then all shoes, and later, socks, were burnt on a pyre by the villagers.

Foot amputations followed in the Spring.
Purity Spiral by pizzleswizzle January 30, 2020
Related Words
Coined by RTGame. In reference to the Spire of Dublin.

An insulting term for a person who is a leech that drains all your money/energy.
Jessica is really getting on my nerves. She's such a spire.
Spire by mercurytheperson January 22, 2023

myspace spiral

A situation in which one
intends on viewing a single profile
on myspace but views that individuals
intriguing friends,
which forces one to investigate said profiles
until one forgets where they
started in the first place.
~O-O~
Damn that myspace spiral kicked my ass for hours~
myspace spiral by the marquis February 4, 2007

swing on the spiral 

Phrase used in the Tool song Lateralus.

Contrary to the common interpretation that it is meant in the general context for people to "keep going" in and through their life, it is really meant to mean seeking and experiencing the infinite depths of divinity within our own mind and consciousness without the fear of losing ones humanity. Spiral out and experience divinity while we are still human and alive.
"swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human... spiral out. Keep going." Tool
swing on the spiral by jay227 February 22, 2012
A simplified way to describe a fast-declining mental/emotional state, often leading to short-term bouts of depression or anxiety.
"Hey, how's your day going?"
"Terrible. I've got three exams, two papers, and I can't find my keys. I'm spiraling, man."

"Hey, are you coming to the meeting tonight?"
"Spiraling."
"Oh, ok, feel better."
Spiraling by EmbryH October 19, 2012

internet spiral 

Getting caught up in a seemingly endless loop of internet content, typically started by a youtube video or wikipedia entry. The user continues to look up even slightly related content, spiraling from related topic to related topic, typically losing hours out of the day.

Can also be used as a verb "to internet spiral."
Justine ended up in a deep internet spiral after Jess sent her a link to an old Bruce Springsteen video on youtube.

Jess internet spiraled her entire Sunday away looking at pictures of lolcats and other hilarious content.
internet spiral by justine-n-jess November 6, 2012
More from Urban Dictionary
The striver is an interesting phenomenon that is seen across college campuses. In essence, the striver is an over-achiever who comes from a working or middle class family. He may be an immigrant. He may have been a slacker in HS who was "born again" into an academic wunderkind. Or he may just be an over-achiever who is keeping at it.

The striver is willing to sacrifice his social life at the expense of Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude. The striver is the guy who stays at the library long after you are gone. The striver is the guy who takes 30 credits/semester and considers anything below an A/4.0 failure. The striver doesn't work on campus, he is too busy finding ways to pad his resume instead of working retail or workstudy. The striver lets his grades pay his education by applying to ten scholarships a year.

The striver is a future Soros/Fullbright/Rhodes/Gates/Marshall/etc. fellow. The striver lives to study. For the striver, their fun comes from the rewards they expect to receive in return for their diligence. Be it Law School, B-School, academia, or politics. The striver seeks to find the American Dream through academic success.
Anthony was a striver. He transfered from a TTT to an IVY and graduated in 2 years. He studied his ass off and went to Penn Law. He got a Biglaw offer. But lost it all because of an unmoderated mesasgeboard.

Successful strivers:
- Barack Obama
- Harold Koh
Striver by URM Striver January 3, 2009
Word of the Day on August 15, 2026

SkyPesos 

Delta SkyMiles, also known as SkyPesos, is the frequent flyer program of Delta Airlines. It has a very poor value and hard to use.
- I'm trying to book an award flight to Paris, but I only have 70,000 SkyPesos
- Just forget about it, you don't have enough SkyPesos to fly anywhere.
SkyPesos by 404_name_not_found December 6, 2018
Word of the Day on August 14, 2026

Quiche Peanemis

Quirky niche peak cinema analysis
It describes the analysis of a media piece which is quirky and niche, yet peak.
Give me the quiche peanemis on the movie I missed.
Quiche Peanemis by Mushroom2241 June 17, 2026
Word of the Day on August 13, 2026

Hate Draft

1. Select a player (real or fantasy) during a sports draft to spite or anger one or more of your opponents because they had intended to select him/her.

2. Select a player (real or fantasy) during a sport draft to put one or more of your opponents at a strategic disadvantage.
1. Billy hate drafted Chad OchoCinco because he knew Sam had wanted him since he is from Cincinnati. Billy already had plenty of players to fill that position but wanted to make sure Sam didn't get him.

2. Billy hate drafted Peyton Manning because he was the only good quarterback left and he knew Sam had been planning on drafting him.
Hate Draft by pffler September 1, 2009
Word of the Day on August 12, 2026
"I can pull James Bond stunts in a jalopy."
jalopy by watson November 20, 2002
Word of the Day on August 11, 2026

Utility beer 

Utility beer is the beer you keep around for the day-to-day moments when beer is a necessity to assist in pedestrian activities (golf, plumbing, yardwork, babysitting, staff meetings, Zoom calls). For the beer snob it is the beer you save for neighbors when they drop in at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday. It is differentiated from the actual high-end beer you save for special events, holidays, and special tastings.
Person 1: Dave, did you bring along those hazy craft IPA's so we could drink while cleaning Lyle's pool?
Person 2: Nope. I just have a bunch of utility beer that Steve dumped on me. Good enough for this. It is only 10:30 a.m.
Utility beer by lakeshore February 1, 2022
Word of the Day on August 10, 2026
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