# Geeky L337 Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 3, 2003, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692 "2003-12-03T11:22:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BIH\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@BIH\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BIH_Boy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/1 "2003-12-03T11:22:50Z")
I’m so sorry for asking this but is it: PoWn3D or pWn3D Please forgive me for asking but someone put the top choice in an email to mail but i’ve also seen the bottom one somewhere. It does mean “owned” and it’s what the kids use when playing doom online to show they’re great. Can anyone shed more light on this? Why the “p”, what’s the spelling. Or more pertinently why? Just, why? ---
**Author:** ![BIH\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@BIH\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BIH_Boy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/2 "2003-12-03T11:25:54Z")
I mean “in an email to me” not “to mail”. Damn typos ---
**Author:** ![g0d\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@g0d\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/g0d_1)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/3 "2003-12-03T11:27:40Z")
It is ‘pwned,’ originated in online games, because the ‘p’ key is right next to the ‘o’ key and it just caught on after a number of people made the mistake. Pwned. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/4 "2003-12-03T11:34:38Z")
I’m guessing it’s pronounced “pooned,” but I wouldn’t swear to it. I prefer ‘r0xx0rz,’ as in ‘ **p0tt3r** r0xx0rz my b0xx0rz.’ ---
**Author:** ![BIH\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@BIH\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BIH_Boy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/5 "2003-12-03T11:35:30Z")
thanks g0d’ that makes sense. I wondered why it had a 3 in it instead of an “e”, assumed they were trying to be l337-tastic. So now do people typo “owned”? if so it may come full circle. ---
**Author:** ![BIH\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@BIH\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BIH_Boy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/6 "2003-12-03T11:38:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\*I’m guessing it’s pronounced “pooned,” but I wouldn’t swear to it. > > I prefer ‘r0xx0rz,’ as in ‘ **p0tt3r** r0xx0rz my b0xx0rz.’ \*\* Any chance of a translation? What on earth does that mean? Potter rocks my box??? I’m now confused. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/7 "2003-12-03T12:17:18Z")
Potter (a.k.a. the boi, the love thang, my sweet lil sugarfluff) rocks my boxers. Which he does. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/8 "2003-12-03T12:21:33Z")
awww l33t love… ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/9 "2003-12-03T12:23:13Z")
Alternately, there is “Potter is teh r0xx0rz” ---
**Author:** ![Eurograff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Eurograff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eurograff)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/10 "2003-12-03T12:36:44Z")
You might want to try [this column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030110.html) for a short introduction to 1337. ---
**Author:** ![BIH\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@BIH\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BIH_Boy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/11 "2003-12-03T13:58:04Z")
Thanks Eurograff. It’s all a bit clearer now. Apart from Cecils last quoted sentence, that made little sense. I’m probably too old for it. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/12 "2003-12-03T14:03:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BIH Boy \* > \*\*Thanks Eurograff. > It’s all a bit clearer now. > Apart from Cecils last quoted sentence, that made little sense. > > I’m probably too old for it. \*\* You’re not missing much. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![idiotboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@idiotboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/idiotboy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/13 "2003-12-04T21:04:48Z")
Heh…this calls for: [This!!!](http://home.columbus.rr.com/idiotboy/Images/h4x0r5.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/14 "2003-12-05T02:31:19Z")
Cecil’s column was hogwash. Anybody that writes “powned” or a variant thereof is TOTALLY missing the point. The word is “pwn.” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/15 "2003-12-05T02:44:15Z")
r0+ N m1 bOlcz: 1 bLi4//1nG y0U d4//g! ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geeky-l337-question/216692/16 "2003-12-05T05:01:35Z")
I get more exposure to this than I really care to, but in this case _you_ benefit since I can kind of answer your question. It’s “pwn,” as in a mistyping of “own.” Pronounced either “own” or “pawn,” I’ve heard both and there wasn’t a public outcry over mispronunciation. Usage: “I pwned j00,” or simply “pwnd,” mix in a grab-bag of racial epithets, numbers, letters, and stupid as needed. Re: “roxxors teh boxxors.” I’ve heard two different ideas about it, and there are probably more out there. One is that something “rocks your box” (box = your computer) and the “0rz” was added later. The other was that something “rocks your boxers” (your underwear) and the first word was changed for similarity. Hell if I know which one’s correct. Now to a real conflict: “Gibs” vs “jibs”! 😉