Post by shmeep on Sept 4, 2005 8:51:52 GMT -5
I started to respond to this question over in the Top 5 TV Shows thread, but it occurred to me that a word like "Snark" can mean different things to different people so I moved it to its own thread in case anyone else disagrees with my definition or has something to add. Here goes:
snark
a fictional animal, the quarry for a hunting party comprising some highly unlikely characters in Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark
And when I do an image search on Google, one of the pictures that comes up is Paula Abdul!
Please clarify! Thanks
Actually it does mean Paula Abdul! (See? You never know what will turn up in a Google Image Search.)
I don't know any formal definition of the word "snark" as it is currently used, but I know what it means to me.
Snark v. -- to mock humorously and often affectionately. To point out the absurd.
It can be done in a very tongue-in-cheek manner, or it can be blatantly mean.
A perfect example of snarkiness can be found at televisionwithoutpity.com, one of my favorite websites. They have mocking recaps of various shows (they even mock the shows they like) and they have threads discussing nearly every show ever. The funniest one I've seen is the thread about Little House on the Prairie. I know I've mentioned it before, but it absolutely kills me, the humor these people find in that old show. The thread is called Little House on the Prairie: Pa, Ma and that mime that raped Sylvia (referring to one of the worst and most ridiculous episodes of the series). (This is the link to that thread: forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=1870765&st=2820) Anyway, these people are true fans of the show, but they have come up with their own Little House mocking subculture that makes watching the re-runs a sort of game. There are references to all the tertiary characters who are there for one episode but who are suddenly of immense importance to the Ingalls family(they usually die or get really sick), to the fact that anyone who gets a nosebleed is bound to die, to all the eating of popcorn in bed (which is now synonymous with sex), to Mary going mline ("Mline? I'm going to be...mline?" It really does sound like she's saying that), to all the turn and runs (typical emotional response to everything), and to how little Carrie obviously belonged in special ed. That's what I mean by snark value when it comes to that show.
The original Star Trek series has tons of snark value as well. Captain Kirk's mannerisms, the way his shirts always ripped right off him in fights, all the bad wigs and odd costumes.
Mystery Science Theatre 3000 was one big snarkfest from beginning to end.
Hope this helps.
kathy said:
Ok, Shmeep. I have to ask this. I guess I missed the definition of "snark". This is the definition I found on the web, but I'm confused. snark
a fictional animal, the quarry for a hunting party comprising some highly unlikely characters in Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark
And when I do an image search on Google, one of the pictures that comes up is Paula Abdul!
Please clarify! Thanks
Actually it does mean Paula Abdul! (See? You never know what will turn up in a Google Image Search.)
I don't know any formal definition of the word "snark" as it is currently used, but I know what it means to me.
Snark v. -- to mock humorously and often affectionately. To point out the absurd.
It can be done in a very tongue-in-cheek manner, or it can be blatantly mean.
A perfect example of snarkiness can be found at televisionwithoutpity.com, one of my favorite websites. They have mocking recaps of various shows (they even mock the shows they like) and they have threads discussing nearly every show ever. The funniest one I've seen is the thread about Little House on the Prairie. I know I've mentioned it before, but it absolutely kills me, the humor these people find in that old show. The thread is called Little House on the Prairie: Pa, Ma and that mime that raped Sylvia (referring to one of the worst and most ridiculous episodes of the series). (This is the link to that thread: forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=1870765&st=2820) Anyway, these people are true fans of the show, but they have come up with their own Little House mocking subculture that makes watching the re-runs a sort of game. There are references to all the tertiary characters who are there for one episode but who are suddenly of immense importance to the Ingalls family(they usually die or get really sick), to the fact that anyone who gets a nosebleed is bound to die, to all the eating of popcorn in bed (which is now synonymous with sex), to Mary going mline ("Mline? I'm going to be...mline?" It really does sound like she's saying that), to all the turn and runs (typical emotional response to everything), and to how little Carrie obviously belonged in special ed. That's what I mean by snark value when it comes to that show.
The original Star Trek series has tons of snark value as well. Captain Kirk's mannerisms, the way his shirts always ripped right off him in fights, all the bad wigs and odd costumes.
Mystery Science Theatre 3000 was one big snarkfest from beginning to end.
Hope this helps.
I first heard it from Carolyn Hax, who uses it all the time. 
