The linguistic war over 'derp' [View all]

[The Straight Story]

The meme-y word to describe a certain type of stupid is going mainstream, and the backlash is fierce

This week, the word "derp" went mainstream — and, according to some people with strong opinions, jumped the shark.

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and Josh Barro at Business Insider both used derp and several of its variations — derpy, derpitude — in reference to Red State's Erick Erickson. That establishment appropriation of derp prompted Stefan Becket to write up a primer on the word at New York. "Derp? Derpy? What are these guys talking about?" he says, teeing up his explainer:

Roughly defined, derp is an onomatopoeic exclamation uttered in response to a boneheaded action of some kind. Its adjective form, derpy, describes someone who is prone to acting like an idiot. Derpitude is the persistent state of being derpy. Over the past few years, the political class on Twitter has appropriated the term as a pejorative to point out an obtuse or stupid argument. [New York]
Becket continues with a lexical history of the word. The website Know Your Meme has a similarly helpful video on the word's origins, meanings, and popular growth:

This was too much for Max Read at Gawker. "Seeing journalists talk about 'derpy' things and 'derpitude,' is a little like hearing your mom adopting slightly outdated slang," he says. "It's almost sweet. At first. In small doses." But ultimately, it's a sign we should put the word to rest. Please, Read pleads, "stop using the word 'derp.'"

http://news.yahoo.com/linguistic-war-over-derp-120800073.html