al-in-chgo's definitions

GMS

Abbreviation for "Guilty Mom Syndrome," a wonderfully flexible term which refers to the syndrome of mothers of young children feeling guilty about their inadequacies and trying to blame the world, but also to onlookers who wonder if that guilt would not be better addressed if the mothers would take responsibility for their own unhappiness.

~ "Doreen just bought Honey Bee another boatload of toys. Now she complains she can't pay the phone bill."
~ "Chalk it up to a very bad case of GMS."

by al-in-chgo August 30, 2018

logrolling

When a reviewer or critic who gets into a tradeoff of critical praise or "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" situation. Implicitly or by agreement, one reviewer exchanges praise (often fatuous) with another in the hopes his inflated regard will find its way into publicity, advertising copy, book-jacket blurbs and the like and increase the other's visibility (and sell more books). The favor is expected to be returned, and at some point is. Probably descended from the literal use of logrolling as a pioneer sport, in which neither participant can stay on the round, floating timber unless one is pedaling frantically one way, one the other, although the symbolism invoking a mutual-gratification pact analogous to masturbation cannot be denied.

In the 1980s, SPY magazine ran a regular column called "Logrolling In Our Time" giving exact instances of such tit for tat.

-- "Oh, God. This is logrolling at its worst. A___ says on the dust jacket of B____'s new novel that 'a new American voice is born.' Three months later B____, now bestselling author, says that A____'s latest textbook is 'unchallengeable in its supremacy in this field.'"

-- "They belong to a mutual admiration society, intellectually speaking."

-- "I'm sorry; did you say "intellectual mastur---"

-- "Shhh!"

by al-in-chgo June 13, 2013

priapic

Of or pertaining to the penis, penile.

The beauty of "priapic" is its semi-coded function: it can mean penile in a flaccid or an erect way.

"Priapic" is an adjective from name Priapus, but that word and the medical condition called priapism usually connote erection (i.e. "erection lasting four or more hours").

Todd: "Well, Robb, now that Men magazine and Playgirl have stopped publishing, what are you doing to encourage your little priapic enthusiasms?"

Robb: "Fuck you, gay boy, you've never heard of Internet porn? And it ain't little."

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by al-in-chgo May 10, 2010

centsation

Narcissistic self-reference that an online contributor can use to signify that he or she has reached the hundredth-post marker of Urban Dictionary submissions.

(A compound of CENTenary (or CENTennial number) + senSATION. ;)

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-- "That's it! U.D. published submission Number One Hundred of mine!" -- "You've reached your centenary on that count. Now you've become a centsation in your own mind, haven't you?"

by al-in-chgo June 26, 2010

junk armor

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An athletic supporter, such as a jockstrap or a plastic cup, that protects the male genitals ("junk") against impact or injury.

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"That football hit me right in the crotch! If not for my junk armor I'd be singing soprano now."

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by al-in-chgo March 8, 2010

a/k/a

Abbreviation for "also known as," useful when defining terms that are known under two or more names:

Shortwave radio, a/k/a World Band radio; or

Taiwan a/k/a Formosa.

Also pseudonyms vis-a-vis given names:

Victoria Beckham a/k/a Victoria Adams and Posh Spice.

A simplified use has more recently emerged: simply to type the letters. omitting the slashes (a/k/a "virgules") in between -- it is rare that anyone would confuse "aka" with a word called something like "akk-uh" and "aka" is easier to type:

David Johansen aka Buster Poindexter.

Reginald Dwight aka Elton John.

But both spellings are currently in use:

Do you have any biographical information about writer George Orwell, a/k/a (or aka) Eric Blair?

Although an abbreviation, note that no period is required.

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from a Wanted poster: Wanted: Johnny Breeze, a/k/a John Brahms, a/k/a John Briscoe, a/k/a John Buchanan . . .

(contributor's note: not a real person).

by al-in-chgo March 5, 2010

Having an Average Weekend

Name of the rock-based instrumental tune that opened and closed the syndicated Canadian TV show, THE KIDS IN THE HALL (1990s).

The song was performed by a rock trio called "Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet," which name is, unfortunately, one character too long to fit the 30-character limit for tags. The band (1984-1991) was based in Toronto and one of its members was/is friends with one of the Kids in the Hall. Shadowy Men had a successful career in its relatively brief life and has a reputation as both innovative and influential, in that it fused Punk with Surf styles. The group's bassist, Reid Diamond, died of cancer in 1991.

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See also UrbanDictionary listing: Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.

"Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet" is an unusual name, even for an indie band."

"A lot of their tunes have quirky names, too: consider "Having an Average Weekend," which The Kids In The Hall used as the intro / outro music for their show."

"TMI! Unless I can win a bar bet with it."

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by al-in-chgo March 1, 2010