# Avatars/User Names Explained **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2019, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829 "2019-11-22T18:30:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/1 "2019-11-22T18:30:40Z")
One avatar I’ve seen here appears to be a man (face obscured), molesting a marionette. Someone else has a user name that must be something to do with video games, or anime, but when I looked it up, this is all I got…“Yet another French tosser. Thinks he’s funny. Isn’t.” Gimme a glimmer.😃 ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/2 "2019-11-22T19:00:59Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > One avatar I’ve seen here appears to be a man (face obscured), molesting a marionette. > Someone else has a user name that must be something to do with video games, or anime, but when I looked it up, this is all I got…“Yet another French tosser. Thinks he’s funny. Isn’t.” > Gimme a glimmer.😃 Your user name backwards is “ **hcnewycuas** ” my user name backwards is: “ **I Love Me, Vol. I** ”. It’s a palindrome. That’s the entire explanation for the name I chose. I do not actually love myself. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/3 "2019-11-22T19:46:37Z")
Yours I got. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/4 "2019-11-22T19:47:24Z")
What Exit? is a fairly old New Jersey joke that all directions in New Jersey are tied to a highway exit. My avatar is based on the Garden State Parkway signs but quickly reworked to replace the normal verbiage of “PARKWAY” with my “What Exit?” ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/5 "2019-11-22T21:03:28Z")
Treppenwitz is one of those German words (like schadenfreude or zeitgeist) which should have an English equivalent but doesn’t. Literally “staircase joke”, it means the smart reply that you thought of too late (eg, when you were already leaving someone’s apartment). Perfect for me posting on this board. j ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/6 "2019-11-22T21:11:26Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Treppenwitz is one of those German words (like schadenfreude or zeitgeist) which should have an English equivalent but doesn’t. Literally “staircase joke”, it means the smart reply that you thought of too late (eg, when you were already leaving someone’s apartment). Perfect for me posting on this board. > > j Though there is a French equivalent (as you likely know) “esprit escalier” ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/7 "2019-11-22T21:13:35Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > Yours I got. I didn’t, I thought he loved himself – well, really, I just wondered what it meant. I like the palindrome! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/8 "2019-11-22T21:16:32Z")
My name comes from a website that allowed you to choose your name for each post you made. I was debunking a silly post and wanted to call myself “Reality Check,” and automatically typed my name. I liked it and used it for my login across the web. My avatar is a caricature someone made of me when I was at a business conference. I also use it everywhere I have one. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/9 "2019-11-22T21:23:35Z")
My user name is book in Turkish. I took 4 semesters in college, it’s short and I love reading. I used it on snopes, I use it here. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/10 "2019-11-22T21:26:24Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Though there is a French equivalent (as you likely know) “esprit escalier” Wictionary says\* l’esprit de l’escalier\* is the original (the same literal meaning) of which the German is a calque (a word-for-word) - but it’s a bit unwieldy for a user name. j ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/11 "2019-11-22T21:32:52Z")
Why Bullitt? A few reasons… [ul] [li]I wanted something short, and also masculine since I’m a guy.[/li] [li]I enjoy target shooting so it plays a little on ‘bullet’.[/li] [li]Steve McQueen, who starred in _Bullitt_ (1968 movie), was a US Marine. McQueen served 1947-1950 and said he enjoyed his time in the Marines. I served 1980-1993 and it was a good service. ([List of United States Marines - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Marines#M) lists him as “Actor, Bullitt”)[/li] [li]Steve McQueen was a car guy and I am too.[/li] [li]Steve McQueen owned a Porsche Speedster and I own a similar car but not as fancy (Steve McQueen and His Speedster, [Steve McQueen and his Speedster - Speedsters - a site dedicated to all aspects of Porsche Speedsters from the 1950s to the present day](http://www.speedsters.com/sm-speedster.htm)).[/li] [li]_Bullitt_ (1968) was set in San Francisco and when I moved there from the northeast USA I searched for and found the streets of the famous movie chase seen, especially where it ends on Guadalupe Canyon Parkway’s east end near Lat-Long 37.692538, -122.405926 (gMap here, [Google Maps](https://goo.gl/maps/s8sjzVydZ9mQX6vW7)). I still live nearby.[/li][/ul] So in the end it’s pretty complex, all the reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/12 "2019-11-22T21:34:52Z")
[This previous thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=861960) should be incredibly helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/13 "2019-11-22T21:39:09Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Why Bullitt? A few reasons… > > [ul] > [li]I wanted something short, and also masculine since I’m a guy.[/li] > [li]I enjoy target shooting so it plays a little on ‘bullet’.[/li] > [li]Steve McQueen, who starred in _Bullitt_ (1968 movie), was a US Marine. McQueen served 1947-1950 and said he enjoyed his time in the Marines. I served 1980-1993 and it was a good service. ([List of United States Marines - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Marines#M) lists him as “Actor, Bullitt”)[/li] > [li]Steve McQueen was a car guy and I am too.[/li] > [li]Steve McQueen owned a Porsche Speedster and I own a similar car but not as fancy (Steve McQueen and His Speedster, [Steve McQueen and his Speedster - Speedsters - a site dedicated to all aspects of Porsche Speedsters from the 1950s to the present day](http://www.speedsters.com/sm-speedster.htm)).[/li] > [li]_Bullitt_ (1968) was set in San Francisco and when I moved there from the northeast USA I searched for and found the streets of the famous movie chase seen, especially where it ends on Guadalupe Canyon Parkway’s east end near Lat-Long 37.692538, -122.405926 (gMap here, [Google Maps](https://goo.gl/maps/s8sjzVydZ9mQX6vW7)). I still live nearby.[/li][/ul] > So in the end it’s pretty complex, all the reasons. My avatar is my car, a 1963 Porsche 356. Missed the edit window. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/14 "2019-11-22T21:53:35Z")
I wanted to show everyone that I am a man, and also a son. I also wanted to recognize the start of the 2nd Cod War between the United Kingdom and Iceland. My avatar is a random photo I found on the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/15 "2019-11-22T22:29:33Z")
I lurked here for a while before I joined and one day someone posed a question in CS that I thought I had a good reply for. At the time I was really into whitewater kayaking and had just read an article in a paddling magazine in which the sheriff of a small Appalachian town was asked what he thought of the paddlers that descended on his town during spring high water. “Aw…they’s jus’ river hippies.” That was still in my mind and was the first thing I thought of when I was opening an account so I could answer the question. I’m not particularly hippie like but definitely not anti hippie. I just added my first avatar a few days ago and used a creepy looking guy I had saved in my spooky-creepy-monsters slideshow folder that was playing for Halloween. No idea what it’s from. I hope it’s not some character known as a child molester or something. ---
**Author:** ![icantdraw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3ec8ea/32.png) [@icantdraw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icantdraw)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/16 "2019-11-22T22:33:17Z")
I’m a golfer, and guess what. I have a terrible high fade, some would even call it a slice. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/17 "2019-11-22T22:42:06Z")
I only see avatars if I’m not logged in, which is rarely. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/18 "2019-11-22T22:45:29Z")
_Colibri_ is Spanish for hummingbird. I did my doctoral thesis on hummingbirds in Panama. My avatar is the Green Violet-ear, [_Colibri thalassinus_.](https://www.hbw.com/species/green-violet-ear-colibri-thalassinus) My profile picture is my alter-ego, [Huitzilopochtli](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Huitzilopochtli_telleriano.jpg/220px-Huitzilopochtli_telleriano.jpg), the Southern Hummingbird, the Aztec god of war, blood, and human sacrifice. It symbolizes my attitude toward trolls and spammers.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/19 "2019-11-22T22:46:25Z")
My avatar is [an obsolete badge of the US Army,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Reactor_Operator_Badge) for which the US Navy ought to have an equivalent, but doesn’t. Since the Navy still has its nuclear reactors and the Army doesn’t anymore, I… appropriated it. It’s not _stolen_, mind you, only appropriated. My name is an acronym within an acronym and isn’t super important. It dates to my days of playing _Diablo_ (the original game), with the A standing in place of a guild name (the acronym within the acronym) and the SL being a rough abbreviation of my first _Diablo_ character’s name. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829/20 "2019-11-22T22:50:18Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > My avatar is [an obsolete badge of the US Army,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Reactor_Operator_Badge) for which the US Navy ought to have an equivalent, but doesn’t. Since the Navy still has its nuclear reactors and the Army doesn’t anymore, I… appropriated it. It’s not _stolen_, mind you, only appropriated. > > My name is an acronym within an acronym and isn’t super important. It dates to my days of playing _Diablo_ (the original game), with the A standing in place of a guild name (the acronym within the acronym) and the SL being a rough abbreviation of my first _Diablo_ character’s name. Thanks for the explanation. I thought it had something to do with American Sign Language. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-user-names-explained/843829.md?page=2)