Sunday, September 14, 2008

SNL sends viewers to Google: (we might have an answer)

Flurge? Flurj? Flerge? Flirge? Flirj? Anyone? (I'm going with <FLIRJ> though <flirge> looks like the most common search term. And a crass answer will be found at the end of the post.)

On the season premier of Saturday Night Live Tina Fey played the role she was born to play. And it was very funny in that 'oooh did that go too far? No absolutely not,' way that she does so well. (video below)

So what did everyone come away with? A question: What the hell is a [flɹ̩ʤ]?

I have to spell it phonetically because I didn't have the captions on and I only know what it sounds like. Amy Poehler (playing Hillary Clinton opposite Fey's Sarah Palin) uttered it in the following exchange (lines labeled with the initials of the character rather than the player).


HC: One thing that we can agree on is that sexism can never be allowed to permeate an American election.

SP: So please stop photoshopping my head on sexy bikini pictures.

HC: And stop saying I have cankles.

SP: Don't refer to me as a MILF

HC: And don't refer to me as a [flɹ̩ʤ]. I Googled what it stands for and I do not like it.


So what is it? And what do we look up? The line "I Googled what it stands for" is a clue that it's an acronym. On analogy with MILF it makes sense that FLI___ would be First Lady I'd___. So extending the analogy I'll spell it either FLIRJ or FLIRGE. Maybe not FLIRG unless the initial <g> of the last word is the voiced affricate or 'soft' <g> and the pronunciation of the acronym reflects that.

Most of what comes up in a search for any of these is other people online asking the same question and guessing at the answer. One site (www.youbemom.com) suggests that FLIRG stands for first lady I'd rather get elected. (If so then maybe it's spelled <FLIRGE>).

But that wouldn't make much sense given that the Clinton character in the sketch says that she doesn't like it. And it should be sexist to fit with the joke.

Did SNL knowingly create a definition gap here? Put the acronym out there and see what rushes in to fill it? If so then this could be an organic competition. What's the best meaning and how do you promote it? If the word is too specific and only means something about Clinton then I don't see the word taking root.

Or is there already a meaning out there that I just couldn't find? A spelling I didn't think of?

[Update: For now I'm going to accept this as the answer because it works perfectly. FLIRJ: First Lady I'd Rim Job.

Thanks anonymous
]


10 comments:

  1. I googled it too, and ended up here. I DO NOT know what it means.... sigh

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  2. "First Lady I'd Rim Job"

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  3. I saw 'First Lady Is Really Gay'

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  4. First Lady is Really A Guy... It makes sense that this would be the meaning b/c the skit referred to Hilary as "having a pair" that the media could borrow if needed.

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  5. First Lady I'd...Rather Jackoff

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  6. Why not "phlurge" or "phlirge" or something like that? Maybe it has nothing to do with "First Lady?"

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  7. no casey. it's flirj. there's just something so right about it. you won't change my mind with your rhetorical grecomancy.

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  8. While guessing at an answer is fun, I doubt they had one in mind. IMO, the writers probably just thought the word "Flirj" was really funny. I bet you're right about 'First Lady I'd" part, but it seems likely to me that the rest of it was just created to make the word sound really funny - and it does. "Flirj" is a funny sounding word. People googling the word and talking about SNL is a nice little bonus.

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  9. Ed Plough in the mother heffen house! Miss you, bro.

    PHLIRGE

    Pale-Haired Lady Involved in Running Government Entities.

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  10. Frigid Little Rich Girl -- can you get much farther from MILF?

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