Would it be disingenuous for a net-addicted *non-*gamer to use such expressions? Sort of like someone who can’t drive saying, “She looks like 7 miles of bad road”, or “You’re way out in left field” if you don’t give a shit about baseball?
I ask because I did a stint as a Kibologist for awhile, and l33t5p33k was more or less the lingua franca in that setting, peppering everyone’s expressions much as Yiddish does in New York.
I was playing Space Invaders on an Atari 800 in 1980, so I feel no real need to be l33t. Just asking.
Huh. Y’know, “pwned” always looks like “pawned”—or possibly “prawned,” when I’m drowsy and/or just watched a pirate movie—to me, for some reason.
It’ll be interesting if some blockbuster best-selling novel uses a lot of leet speak, and ends up being made into a book on tape read by some distinguished old hollywood actor. (How WOULD Donald Sutherland pronounce “suxx0rs”?)
I use woot, which in my opinion rhymes with boot. Also, I use wootwoot for something extra. Not necessarily extra good, but often in a conversation with friends like this.
“So I just got the mail and there was a letter from my parents”
I like gaming and I hang out with a bunch of gamers and internet addicts so I use a lot of terms that aren’t common. Here are things that either I say or I have heard people say, some of these are used quite regularly.
Pwned. (pooned) Used when you accomplish something or beat another individual.
Lolz. (laws) Used as sarcastic laughter.
Wut. (whut) It’s basically ‘what?’ but as a statement. When strange things happen, like you can’t find the keys you were just holding.
Teh. (teh) Used in sarcastic situations. “Was he scared of TEH GAY?!”
(Oh) Noes. (oh-noz) In fake horror.
W.T.F. (the letters) In situations where you can’t curse or it isn’t worth cursing about.
Hax. (hacks) When you catch a falling object in midair or perform some other task of coolness. Also, it can be used when someone is ‘cheating.’
LOLlerskating. (low-ler-skating) Used to express merriment. “I was lollerskating at that comedy show.” Can be accompanied by a hand movement of two fingers wiggling back and forth.
ROTFLcopter. (rahf-toll-copter) Used when a situation is so pitiful as to be amusing. Can be accompanied by a hand movement of a single finger up in the air moving in a circle.
OGM. (oh gai mod) Used where OMG would be used.
n00b. (newb) When a person is new to a situation or fails to perform a simple task.
Internets/-s. (internets) Used instead of saying ‘internet.’ Has since branched out so that -s is added onto random words.
-x0r/-xx0r/-z0rs/etc. (zor/zors) Added to random words to make them better.
My friends say ‘teh’ like the maori ‘te’ - sounds like ‘tay’. So we are ‘tey leet’, but the bus is also ‘tay Link’. If it’s on time, it’s ‘tay Link-zor’. Somtimes, but not often, it has teh mad navagatrix skill-zorz.
I use: pwned, owned, n00b (yes, it has the zeroes in my head, and rhymes with boob), ___xxorz, teh, hawt (“That girl was H-A-W-T, hawt!”), teh/the suck (“Staples is the suck”).
But I only use these around my geeky friends…which means I use them pretty much all the time.
I use “woot” because it was one of my brother’s nicknames. He used to mimic the sound of a train when he was very little, and that’s what he sounded like.
Woot Woot!!!
Oh yeah… when he checks in to this board, he goes by lawoot.
I’ve been guilty of using woot (always pronounced it like boot).
Picked the words up in MMORPG’s, and the message boards dedicated to them, but they’ve worked their way into my everyday vernacular.
Also been guilty of actually saying “lol” instead of laughing (usually when I’m spending too much time online), as well as “pwned” (pronounce it “poned”) and “n00b” (rhymes with tube) and “teh suxorz” (rhymes with feh).
Started out with just my geeky friends and I using it sarcastically and/or mockingly. Didn’t notice the transition into everyday usage until I found myself trying to explain the origins and meaning of “pwnage” to co-workers.
