# Cow-orker? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 8, 2006, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877 "2006-06-08T12:40:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/1 "2006-06-08T12:40:15Z")
The first time I saw the term **cow-orker** , I thought it was a funny way of insulting someone you work with. That’s cute, thought I, and moved on. Then I saw it again. And again. “Oh, it’s been picked up…people like the jibe. It’ll bounce around for a while and go away eventually.” Well, it’s still here. Only now I think it’s being used to mean co-worker. I’ve come across it several times in the past few days, and it doesn’t seem like the poster is making a dig at their co-worker. Am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/2 "2006-06-08T12:54:15Z")
Are you saying you have never seen anyone ork a cow before? ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/3 "2006-06-08T12:57:07Z")
I use it as an insult, usually when I’m relating something here that Roundboy or Mandy The Martian are doing at work. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/4 "2006-06-08T13:04:20Z")
“ **Item** ” – you know, that Latin word that means “also”. You use it in making lists and inventories – “Also, a chair. Also, a bed” – you know, like that. Well, the other day, I heard some kid use it as a noun. “Check out these _items_”, he said, as if he didn’t realize that it _wasn’t_ a noun, and that he was _really_ saying “check out these _alsos_!” Funny stuff. It’s a catchy bit of slang, but it’ll run its course and be gone in a few years. Can you imagine someone saying “12 alsos or less?” ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/5 "2006-06-08T13:06:27Z")
> [@LunaV](#): > > The first time I saw the term **cow-orker** , I thought it was a funny way of insulting someone you work with. That’s cute, thought I, and moved on. > Then I saw it again. And again. “Oh, it’s been picked up…people like the jibe. It’ll bounce around for a while and go away eventually.” > > Well, it’s still here. Only now I think it’s being used to mean co-worker. I’ve come across it several times in the past few days, and it doesn’t seem like the poster is making a dig at their co-worker. > > Am I missing something? Scott Adams (Dilbert) coined the term first, though probably just as an accidental misspelling. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/6 "2006-06-08T13:12:40Z")
I’ve seen cow-orker around these parts since I started coming here (which, admittedly, wasn’t that long ago). I’ve also seen “co-irker” uses specifically, and unsurprisingly, in the context of other staff members one works with, though I mostly see that on the Customers Suck! forums. Me, I like the best of both worlds: cow-irker. One who annoys bovines. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/7 "2006-06-08T13:22:05Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > Scott Adams (Dilbert) coined the term first, though probably just as an accidental misspelling. Nah, he _followed_ the trend, he didn’t start it. I saw it in use on Usenet around 1993. [This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=302568) indicates it was in use as early as 1989. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/8 "2006-06-08T14:26:01Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > “ **Item** ” – you know, that Latin word that means “also”. You use it in making lists and inventories – “Also, a chair. Also, a bed” – you know, like that. Well, the other day, I heard some kid use it as a noun. “Check out these _items_”, he said, as if he didn’t realize that it _wasn’t_ a noun, and that he was _really_ saying “check out these _alsos_!” Funny stuff. It’s a catchy bit of slang, but it’ll run its course and be gone in a few years. > > Can you imagine someone saying “12 alsos or less?” [Princess Bride ON] I do not think that word means what you think it means! [Princess Bride OFF] Item noun [C] 1 something which is part of a list or group of things: the last item on the list The restaurant has a long menu of about 50 items. Several items of clothing (= clothes) lay on the floor. 2 one of several subjects to be considered: There are three items on the agenda. [http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=42255&dict=CALD](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=42255&dict=CALD) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/9 "2006-06-08T14:30:09Z")
> [@](#): > > [Princess Bride ON] I do not think that word means what you think it means! [Princess Bride OFF] And your definition #1 is different from my use HOW? ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/10 "2006-06-08T14:33:00Z")
> [@glee](#): > > [Princess Bride ON] I do not think that word means what you think it means! [Princess Bride OFF] > > Item > > noun [C] > 1 something which is part of a list or group of things: > the last item on the list > The restaurant has a long menu of about 50 items. > Several items of clothing (= clothes) lay on the floor. > > 2 one of several subjects to be considered: > There are three items on the agenda. > > [http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=42255&dict=CALD](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=42255&dict=CALD) Whoa! Did anyone get the license plate on that whoosh? ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/11 "2006-06-08T14:47:20Z")
I do wish this one would die. It seems to me like a cry of “Look at me, I’m clever too!” Unfortunately, I think it’s here to stay. Gotta say, though, **Cal** , I think you’re dignifying it a bit much by comparing it to loan words from other languages. Yeah, I see the analogy, but it’s a bit of a stretch, seems to me. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/12 "2006-06-08T15:04:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Gotta say, though, Cal, I think you’re dignifying it a bit much by comparing it to loan words from other languages. Yeah, I see the analogy, but it’s a bit of a stretch, seems to me. My point was that just because something looks like a fad to you, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to go away soon. Vaudeville performers said the same thing about television. And I don’t think “item” is really a “loan word”. Loan Words are words that we take intact from elsewher and use the same way, like the recently0-discussed _schandefreude_. But _Item_ is a word used as a completely different part of speech than the original latin word. “Cow-orker” is neither like that, nor like a loan word. It’s like the word “filk”, which also started life as a typo, and which has now been around for a few decades. I like it, and I’ll continue tou use it where appropriate. And there _are_ places where it’s appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/13 "2006-06-08T15:42:04Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > My point was that just because something looks like a fad to you, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to go away soon. Vaudeville performers said the same thing about television. > And I don’t think “item” is really a “loan word”. Loan Words are words that we take intact from elsewher and use the same way, like the recently0-discussed _schandefreude_. But _Item_ is a word used as a completely different part of speech than the original latin word. > > “Cow-orker” is neither like that, nor like a loan word. It’s like the word “filk”, which also started life as a typo, and which has now been around for a few decades. I like it, and I’ll continue tou use it where appropriate. And there _are_ places where it’s appropriate. Filk? I have never heard that word in my life. What is it? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/14 "2006-06-08T15:45:33Z")
You people need to get out more. Or to use your Search engines: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filk\_music](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filk_music) ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/15 "2006-06-08T15:50:10Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And your definition #1 is different from my use HOW? I just wanted to mention the Princess Bride. 🙂 However, seriously ‘item’ is a prefectly good noun. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/16 "2006-06-08T15:51:43Z")
> [@Spatial Rift 47](#): > > Whoa! Did anyone get the license plate on that whoosh? Given Cal Meachem’s followup, I don’t think he meant it as a whoosh. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/17 "2006-06-08T16:30:05Z")
> [@Max Torque](#): > > Nah, he _followed_ the trend, he didn’t start it. I saw it in use on Usenet around 1993. [This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=302568) indicates it was in use as early as 1989. I certainly remember as being popular on alt.folklore.urban and alt.fan.cecil-adams back in, dunno, '92 or 93. For that matter, I also remember seeing posts from **Flodnak** back then too, although she didn’t call herself that then. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/18 "2006-06-08T18:09:20Z")
Here is an [earlier thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=302568) I started on the same subject. The consensus is that while Scott Adams popularized the phrase, it’s been around longer than that. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-orker/359877/19 "2006-06-08T19:09:21Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > The consensus is that while Scott Adams popularized the phrase, it’s been around longer than that. It was popularized in the late 18th century after an unfortunate accident involving [Catherine the Great’s](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_109.html) younger sister.