Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/06/blaine_dictionary/
David Blaine tw*tdangles into Urban Dictionary
Linguistic fame for US gitwizard
Posted in Bootnotes, 6th March 2009 14:31 GMT
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David Blaine has secured his place in lexicographical history by twatdangling [1] his way into the Urban Dictionary.
As regular readers will recall, we previously believed the term was coined by a Reg commenter outraged by the gitwizard's's NYC Benito Mussolini impression. However, the word's full etymology has now been revealed:
From Old English "Twattendang", from the Viking "Twtdnglersk", meaning to hang from the rigging of a longship in an attempt to impress your shipmates.
The linguistic historian who contributed of this insight notes that the term is now defined thus: "Absurd stunt involving David Blaine hanging upside-down above a NYC ice-rink for a couple of minutes, duly extended to mean any publicity-grabbing gig exposing the protagonist as a complete 'twatdangle'."
Enough said. ®