Origin of intentionally misspelled "moron"

[stoge18]

I'm rather new to DU and still catching on to lots of things. One of the things I'm still wondering about is why so many people misspell the word "moron" and opt for "moran". I suspect it has something to do with some dumbass at a Palin rally who tried to be clever with a sign (like the "mavrick" guy at the rnc).

So can somebody please tell me where this "moran" tradition comes from?

[Bicoastal]

1. ...

[stoge18]

3. Thank you! Even better than I'd hoped for. n/t

[FailureToCommunicate]

21. I always prefer the MUCH classier 'maroon' as in

"What a maroon!" from the great philosopher Daffy Duck

[jakem]

46. what a nin-com-poop!

:hi:

[TuxedoKat]

60. My dad used to use that word

alot -- nincompoop! I don't know it's origins but one day I was reading a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne and was greatly amused to see it in his story! Didn't realize it was such an old word.

[JuniperLea]

62. With emphasis on the POOP!

:rofl:

[demokatgurrl]

77. I like that too but somehow no one knows what the hell

I'm talking about.

[Willo]

79. Actually that was Bugs Bunny

"What a tra-la-la goon de ay, what a maroon"

[FailureToCommunicate]

102. Thank you Willo and Rock nation. I learn so much

here at DU and am heartened by how quickly falsehoods are flagged or corrected.
Of course it was Bugs. What was I thinking...

Bugs is Obama, the suave sophisticate and McCain is Elmer Fudd:
"Kill da rabbit, kill da RAbbit..."

[Matariki]

89. I'm personally fond of 'addlepated beetlebrain'

[rocktivity]

99. Actually, "what a maroon" was coined by Bugs Bunny

Daffy Duck's catchphrase was "You're despicable."

:headbang:
rocknation

[kwolf68]

5. Wonder if this guy knows he's a cult hero.

[Love Bug]

6. Some background...

I believe he was at a pro-war rally, which makes him the biggest moran of them all!

[Recursion]

17. I think it was immigration

At least, I associate it with the "No! Amnety!" sign.

[Arugula Latte]

22. I thought this was from the start of the Iraq War.

It has been around a long time. He was counterprotesting some anti-war demonstrators, as I recall.

[yardwork]

25. That is my understanding, too. He was protesting an anti-war rally.

Which makes it even funnier.

[JJ]

38. Nope, goes back further than that...

possibly to the Gore v Bush protests in Fla.

[Solon]

42. It was a counter-protest in front of the Boeing plant in St. Charles Missouri...

He was there to protest against anti-war protesters who were blocking the plant from shipping out bombs, they were blocking the gates.

The exact location of the protest was about half a mile north of highway 370, on 3rd street/Highway 94. Oh, and it occurred in 2003.

[IsItJustMe]

54. Bingo!!!!!!!

[Solon]

56. Yeah, when I first saw the picture on DU, in 2003, I thought, damn the background area looks...

familiar. Then I thought, "Oh fuck." Look at my profile. :(

[IsItJustMe]

65. I remember the photo coming out and I know that plant was somewhere near St. Lous.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

67. I thought he was there

to support the Cardinals.

What a moran.

[IsItJustMe]

53. If I remember correctly, it was a pro-war rally in St. Louis Mo, a month or two into the war.

[Terran]

76. And probably a Missourian, too

(based on the t-shirt)

*shakes head in disgust*

[jbonkowski]

That's not a mispelling, by the way

I believe he was protesting Rep. Moran (D-VA?).

jim

[RC]

12. No he wasn't

The photographer told him 'moran' was the correct spelling of moron. Nothing to do with Mr Moran.

[SKKY]

28. That's prolly correct.

[Overseas]

30. That's the famous photo. Do we have a photo of the "Muslin" one too? //nt

[KamaAina]

98. See #49 below

and while we're at it, here's the "offical" one:

[Hutzpa]

50. Looks like Joe the Plumber

except this guy has a bandana and a mustache.




:evilgrin:

[No Elephants]

74. I will not use moron or idiot bc those were terms once used to label challenged kids. I stole

from Bugs Bunny--maroon. Yeah, I know. I am hopelessly p.c. Sue me.

[YDogg]

2. Get a Brain! Morans

[Shakespeare]

Moran dude actually goes back a couple of years.

Just the first of many, but perhaps the most memorable.

[CPschem]

4. yeah, this goes back a few years

[Mira]

7. Now that you know, you'll feel better :) welcome !

Serisly, is another
Casting asparagus (aspersions) is another
And the most widely used "Hugh" for Huge.

[Supply Side Jesus]

11. I love hugh!

i took a little break after 2006, when I came back this Hugh character was all over.
i love DU

[stoge18]

31. HughMoran!

I thought he was just using his given name and family name. If you spell it like a normal person, that seems like perfectly sound reasoning. But, if you spell like a moran........

[Supply Side Jesus]

35. Hugh Moran!!

I love it...he will be the republican Dark Horse candidate in 2012!

[frickaline]

15. I always thought serisly was just another form of:

I didn't realize it was as actual misspelling.

[POAS]

19. Are you series?

[RC]

8. The original picture.

[leftist.]

49. I really wish "Muslin" had caught on.

I rather liked that one :P

[TheZug]

9. So how about "HUGH" and "SCREWN"?? Are these from Freeper posts?

[CPschem]

13. yes, and so is

using the number one along with exclamation points (i.e. Get a brain morans!!111!!!)

[Jackpine Radical]

14. Yes.

Screwn from the 2006 Congressional Election. Hugh was copied from a FReeper post somewhere. Probably "This is Hugh!"

There is a DUer who posts as Hugh Moran, BTW.

I think the Moran pic has been around since at least 2003.

[Dr. Death]

52. There's also Hugh Hewitt, who is coincidentally a Hugh Moran

[olkaz]

16. The screwn thing has always been retarded.

If you google it, the only place it has ever been used is here. Like ten people keep pushing it and it won't take.

It seems to me that after a meme is about three years old, it suddenly becomes the cat's meow on DU. It's really annoying.

[DefenseLawyer]

20. People that use the term "meme" are even more annoying.

For what it's worth.

[Berry Cool]

29. I disagree with your dislike of the "meme" meme.

It's a completely legitimate meme, as far as I'm concerned. :rofl:

[olkaz]

40. I'm sorry, is there another word for what it represents?

FWIW, 'meme' is a unique and useful word.

Unless you can find another word for how to categorize the dancing baby, peanut butter jelly time, etc.

And while I'm limiting myself to the usage as 'internet meme', you do realize that 'meme' was coined by Richard Dawkins, right?

[DefenseLawyer]

Dupe.

[DefenseLawyer]

41. I was just messing with you.

Feel free to insert "meme" into as many conversations as you like. It's really cool. I swear.

[olkaz]

64. Okay.

I really don't understand what you're getting at. Why would anybody use the word unless they wanted to specifically talk about that **specific** subject.

It's not like I could be talking about the Giants/Steelers game and toss the word in between talking about Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress.

[bluedawg12]

48. OK, what does "meme" mean? Been wanting to know. n/t

[budkin]

92. "Moran guy" is a meme for example... Wikipedia article here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme

[bluedawg12]

95. Thank you- that was fascinating about "memes"

one can learn alot by hanging on DU!

[Flying Dream Blues]

90. Team DefenseLawyer here! (another annoying "meme") nt

[Arugula Latte]

24. It's a DU-specific joke. At FreeRepublic, a sad Freep posted "We're Screwn" after the 2006 election.

It was posted on a thread here, and adopted quickly by DU.

[yardwork]

26. No, it was originally written by a freeper. I saw it myself.

It was on election night, 2006. A freeper watching the returns showing Democrats winning Congress posted "we're screwn."

[BleedingHeartRN]

100. I saw it too

And it's still hilarious! That's the only good thing that ever comes from freeperville, hysterical butchering of the english language that only reinforces their knuckle-dragging ways.

[renate]

45. I love it and I use it all the time, not just here (actually, hardly ever here)

It sounds to me like a less offensive/more acceptable version of "we're/they're f*'d," plus it's just a funny-sounding word.

[EFerrari]

63. Of course it's retarded and annoying, it's freeper.

That's why it's also hilarious.

[arcos]

69. There are 15 hits for "screwn" on FReeperland...

http://www.google.co.cr/search?num=20&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=8WF&q=screwn+site%3Afreerepublic.com&btnG=Search&meta=

[NYC Liberal]

80. Nope

First post about it on DU: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2639142
Original FR Post: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1734909/posts

[KamaAina]

97. We are so screwn!!

:P

[ddeclue]

10. Are you series? This is HUGH!!!

:rofl:

[msanthrope]

18. Call Congress Right Fucking Now!!!!11111!!!!--another freeper classic.

[Flash Bazbo]

73. The PUMA variation is "WE MUST GET THIS TO THE MEDIA" in a large font.

[Johnyawl]

23. and the freepers have recently added 'taters'...

as in "the economy is in taters!"

[Lautremont]

44. Are they talking about Idaho?

[No Elephants]

75. Well, somebody sure mashed it.

[yardwork]

27. There's a thread someplace in the DU archives on this when it was first posted here.

It's the funniest thread I've ever read.

[kath]

32. Check out the DU glossary, all you newbies and others not-so-new:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_oet&address=358x190

It's in the research forum, and includes such goodies as Freeper, moran, hugh, series, !!1!11, and many others, including lots of nicknames.

[stoge18]

39. Thank you.

The glossary helps a lot. In addition to the "moran" guy, I'm particularly fond of series and morels.

[uppityperson]

82. "stocking our president" isn't in there though.

[SharonAnn]

96. Oh good! It includes "pwn3d"

pnw3d- also "pwned" meaning to be humiliatingly beaten. from Gamer's sites, supposed to be from a misspelling of "owned"
.

[Curtland1015]

33. The cat version...

[renate]

43. that's awesome! thanks for the laugh! n/t

[Quantess]

58. That's adorable!

[HughMoran]

34. It's HUGH!!!111!!!

:D

[Smuckies]

36. I salute you, stoge18

I was wondering the EXACT same thing. I even googled Hugh Moran today. ha. THANK YOU.

:patriot:

[HughMoran]

47. Newbie!

:P

[stoge18]

86. Oh my lucky stars!!!

Smuckies gets a response for the one and only HughMoran!!! Lucky dog.

[BuyingThyme]

37. From are-country.

[Lucy Goosey]

51. My favorite newish freeperism was "preaching to the quier"

That's 4 spelling errors in a 5 letter word. Awesome.

[EFerrari]

61. My new favorite is trool. Very evocative!

:)

[Ian David]

71. See also: Get a Brain, Morans! A Pictorial Essay (Image-heavy)

Get a Brain, Morans! A Pictorial Essay (Image-heavy)
Topic started by IanDB1 on Sep-07-05 10:45 PM (78 replies)
Last modified by u4ic on Sep-12-05 05:10 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=3971375


Origins of The Moran:

6. This might be a REAL guy who was later imitated at a FAKE rally...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=3971375#3973033

[stoge18]

85. Holy crap. Please tell me this isn't real.

That is just too damn awesome. They sounded it out, like a 6 year old.

[MatthewStLouis]

55. Thanks for asking that. You are a real "Mavrick[sic]". n/t

[stoge18]

88. Thank you!

I'm feeling kinda mavricky, too! My wife and I are having so much fun with this shit. We must have called eachother morans 50 or 60 times last night.

[trudyco]

57. I thought it was from Bugs Bunny! You mean it's all Feeper?

Those Morans don't deserve the credit.

I think the first to coin it was Bugs and obviously he's a Democrat.

[dysfunctional press]

59. bugs bunny used "maroon".

nt

[trudyco]

72. Oops. My bad. Feeling kind of Maroon right now -nt

[GOTV]

66. While we're explaining, what's the origin of "pie" references ...

... such as "Have you tried the pie" which seem to be used as responses to people assumed to be trolls.

[HughMoran]

68. Pizza pie, as in "lemme get a slab" of that pizza. "Slab" being a tombstone

At least that's how I see it, there may be something I'm not aware of too.

[GOTV]

70. That's better than anything I could think of n/t

[uppityperson]

83. Awhile back a few of us seriously annoyed a troll by talking about pie in their thread.

It was something that was not worthy of discussion, and troll kept trying to get us to come back to the subject. We continued, late at night, to discuss various types of pie, very seriously. It was late at night, mmmmm pie.

So, for some of us it got to be a code for "troll!", but not related to pizza.

[HughMoran]

94. I was wondering about that. Me? I tied it all together with "Lemme get a SLAB of that PIZZA PIE"

I know, I'm fucking clever :rofl:

[DeepBlueDem]

78. Morans, Muslin, Terroist, Barak, are common mispellings by repukes

[Chiyo-chichi]

81. Morans in history...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x581352

[bushmeister0]

84. In 2004, some real clever person went around defacing

Congressman Jim Moran's campaign signs all over Falls Church, replacing the "a" with an "o."

Pretty funny. He won anyway.

[stoge18]

87. Same sort of thing happened in my locale.

In a mayoral campaign in a smallish Pennsylvania town, one of the candidates had signs that read: ": he listens, then acts". Some hooligan went around with a marker, paint or something and changed "acts" to "farts". How's that for funny (in a Beavis & Butthead kind of way)?

[rucky]

91. This needs to be pinned at the top of the forum, as part of orientation.

We're always happy to explain that one. Welcome to DU.

[JimGinPA]

93. LOL - With A Glossary, Explaining "Pizza" And Such... That Would Be Hugh! I'm Series!!111!!!

:rofl:

[kath]

101. I wish there was some way to pin the DU Glossary at the top - it's so useful, but kind of hidden

away, and so many don't even know it exists...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_oet&address=358x190