Grunge speak was a hoax created by Megan Jasper, a sales representative for Sub Pop Records. Under pressure from a reporter for The New York Times who wanted to know if grunge fans had their own slang, Jasper, 25 at the time, told the reporter a set of made-up on-the-spot slang terms that she claimed were associated with the Seattle grunge scene in the early and mid 1990s. The information given by Jasper would appear in the sidebar of a November 15, 1992 feature article of the Times. The sidebar, titled "Lexicon of Grunge: Breaking the Code", had also mistakenly claimed that Jasper was working for Caroline Records.^[1] A hoax is an attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. ... Sub Pop logo Sub Pop is a record label in Seattle, Washington famous for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, and many other bands from the local scene. ... The New York Times is a newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... Grunge music (sometimes also referred to as the Seattle Sound) is an independent-rooted music genre that became a commercially successful offshoot of hardcore punk, thrash metal, and alternative rock in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... City nickname Emerald City City bird Great Blue Heron City flower Dahlia City mottos The City of Flowers The City of Goodwill City song Seattle, the Peerless City Mayor Greg Nickels County King County Area   - Total   - Land   - Water   - % water 369. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Caroline Records is the New York-based independent music releasing division of EMI. Notable releases Hole - Pretty on the Inside Smashing Pumpkins - Gish Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds Five Monster Magnet - 25. ...

In truth, there was no particular slang language used in the Seattle grunge scene, or in any other grunge scene at the time. While some members of the grunge scene may have used other forms of slang (such as those that have become commonly used in the English language), many felt no need to create their own to go along with grunge. Many had in fact resented the assumption by the Times that they even had a slang language, as well as the claim that it was "coming soon to a high school or mall near you".

The article was proven to be a hoax by Thomas Frank of The Baffler, a journal of cultural criticism. In it, he revealed that Jasper had purposely misled the Times as well as the British magazine Sky as a prank.^[2] Jasper, known to be sarcastic, had been sick of the excessive attention that reporters were paying to people involved in the Seattle grunge scene, and thus pulled the prank to get back at them for their superfluous questioning. Thomas Frank (born 1965) is an American author who writes about what he calls cultural politics. He is the founder and editor of The Baffler and the author of several books, most recently Whats the Matter with Kansas?. Other writings include essays for Harpers Magazine, Le Monde diplomatique... The Baffler, founded in 1988 by editor Thomas Frank, is a cultural criticism journal headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ...

The Times demanded that Frank fax over an apology for claiming it had printed false information, believing that it was Frank who was the hoaxer. Frank instead sent a letter standing by the story and explaining that "when The Newspaper of Record goes searching for the Next Big Thing and the Next Big Thing piddles on its leg, we think that's funny." Frank (as well as many grunge fans) had considered the article to be part of an attempt by mainstream culture to co-opt the grunge scene and felt that the Times had gotten what it deserved.

Shortly after the release of The Baffler's story, some people in Seattle began selling and wearing t-shirts with the words "lamestain" and "harsh realm" printed in the same font as the title of the Times. The words never did catch on as actual slang, but served the purpose of lampooning the Times for a short while. One of the terms, "harsh realm", was used as the title of a science-fiction comic book and a short-lived 1999 television series based on it. The events of Jasper's prank would also be documented in the 1996 film Hype!, a documentary about the grunge scene of the early 1990s.^[3] Harsh Realm is a science fiction television series about humans trapped inside a virtual reality simulation. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Hype! soundtrack album cover Hype! is a documentary directed by Doug Pray about the popularity of grunge music in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. ...

Grunge speak words

During the interview, Jasper made up the following terms and their definitions:

• bloated, big bag of blotation - drunk
• bound-and-hagged - staying home on Friday or Saturday night
• cob nobbler - loser
• dish - desirable guy
• fuzz - heavy wool sweaters
• harsh realm - bummer
• kickers - heavy boots
• lamestain - uncool person
• plats - platform shoes
• rock on - a happy goodbye
• score - great
• swingin' on the flippety-flop - hanging out
• tom-tom club^[4] - uncool outsiders
• wack slacks - old ripped jeans

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Notes

1. ↑ This may have been inspired by the new wave band Tom Tom Club.

Tom Tom Club was a New Wave band, a side project set up by Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz who were also members of the Talking Heads. ...

References

• ↑ Frank, Thomas. "Harsh Realm, Mr. Sulzberger!" (Winter/Spring 1993). The Baffler.
• Marin, Rick. "Grunge: A Success Story" (November 15, 1992). New York Times. Section 9, Page 1.
  • ↑  featuring "Lexicon of Grunge: Breaking the Code"
• ↑ Pray, D., Helvey-Pray Productions. Hype!. 1996. Republic Pictures.
• "Those Cob Nobblers at the N.Y. Times" (March 5, 1993). Globe and Mail. Section C1.
• Windolf, Jim. "Off the Record" (March 1, 1993). New York Observer.