# "He's A Real Braniac" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 6, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564 "2010-05-06T21:55:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/1 "2010-05-06T21:55:45Z")
Have you heard anyone say that about anyone lately? There used to be a super-hero called that (real name J’onn J’onnz, IIRC), and it got me to wondering how many other comic book names made it into our slangluage? Also made me wonder if people are thinking they’re just changing the word “maniac”. Let’s see: Superman, of course. The Flash (Whatever adjective or noun you want to use) and then the word “-boy” or “-girl” Iron Man (the triathlon) Any more? Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/2 "2010-05-06T21:58:45Z")
J’onn J’onnz’s super-hero handle is the Martian Manhunter, not Brainiac. Brainiac would be either the android supervillain who shrunk Kandor (of which there are several versions) or Brainiac Five of the Legion of Super-Heroes. All they really have in common with JJ is that B5 and most versions of Brainiac are green-skinned. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/3 "2010-05-06T22:00:53Z")
Saying “Shazam!” to indicate a sudden change started with Captain Marvel in the forties, but was greatly helped along by Gomer Pyle. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/4 "2010-05-06T22:07:30Z")
Jeeps & Goons. Mutt 'n Jeff. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/5 "2010-05-06T22:08:14Z")
I’ve heard “hulk out” used to describe someone losing their temper in a spectacular manner. Kryptonite has long been a brand of bicycle locks. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/6 "2010-05-06T22:15:37Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Brainiac would be either the android supervillain who shrunk Kandor (of which there are several versions) or Brainiac Five of the Legion of Super-Heroes. All they really have in common with JJ is that B5 and most versions of Brainiac are green-skinned. Some clarifications and expansions on this: Brainiac is sometimes an android, sometimes not (more often not, I think - currently not)\*. Brainiac 2 has been a named individual since the late 80s (Vril Dox - sometimes Vril Dox II, when that’s been Brainiac 1’s birth name - Brainiac’s son/adopted son/clone), Brainiac 3 has been set since 1996 or thereabouts (Lyrl Dox, Vril’s son), and there’ve been two named Brainiac 4’s - the first was B5’s mother (post Zero Hour, pre-‘threeboot’), currently the name is attributed to his father. To the topic at hand - ‘Holy X Batman’ has taken on a life outside being Robin’s catchphrase…although as the 60s Batman TV show, which raised the use of it to an excruciating artform, fades into the more and more distant past, it’s disappearing. I’ve seen ‘Captain America’ used in non-comic contexts, to refer to either the patriotic type, or the completely unpatriotic type (for the irony). - [He only became an android after making several appearances, because of a naming coincidence with a home computer kit - DC changed him to an android to allow the two companies to tie the character to the kit](http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/11/30/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-79/). ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/7 "2010-05-06T22:17:15Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > J’onn J’onnz’s super-hero handle is the Martian Manhunter, not Brainiac. Brainiac would be either the android supervillain who shrunk Kandor (of which there are several versions) or Brainiac Five of the Legion of Super-Heroes. All they really have in common with JJ is that B5 and most versions of Brainiac are green-skinned. Thanks for the correction, **Skald**! Glad I wasn’t on Jeopardy or had a bet with someone,! 😉 Q ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/8 "2010-05-06T22:21:52Z")
Wow, you guys sure know your super heroes/villains. My son used to say “Dad’s hulkin’ out again, Mom”, when I’d get on him about his grades.🙂 Would Wimpy qualify? Goofy? Jughead? Q ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/9 "2010-05-06T22:23:52Z")
People also sometimes say, “same bat time, same bat channel.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/10 "2010-05-06T22:24:45Z")
I have doubts that the slang term “braniac” originated with the DC Comics character. Anyone have documentation? ---
**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:** [May 6, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/11 "2010-05-06T22:27:00Z")
Tad Dorgan coined or popularized: hot dog (some dispute here) dumbbell (as in “He’s a real dumbbell”) Dumb Dora hard-boiled (as in “hard-boiled detective”) dogs (feet) for crying out loud! the cat’s pajamas H.T. Webster coined “milktoast,” meaning a weak-willed man from his cartoons about “The Timid Soul,” named Casper Milquetoast. [Here’s a favorite of mine.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Timidsoulwebster.jpg) Al Capp coined “Sadie Hawkins Day,” which still seems to be around. “Kryptonite” has been used to mean “a weakness.” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/12 "2010-05-06T22:30:36Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I have doubts that the slang term “braniac” originated with the DC Comics character. Anyone have documentation? From the Oxford English Dictionary: > [@](#): > > brainiac /0ˈbreɪnɪak/ noun. N. Amer. colloq. L20. > [ORIGIN from the name of a superintelligent alien character of the Superman comic strip; a blend of brain and maniac.] > > An exceptionally intelligent person; an expert. > > P. Bronson It might be a…mistake to turn our culture over to a gang of brainiacs. I had similar doubts, which is why I’d already looked it up. Incidentally, Merriam-Webster agrees, but their date for the origination of the term–1982–gives me pause. I suppose they’re only going back to the first non-comic book use they could find. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/13 "2010-05-06T22:31:36Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I have doubts that the slang term “braniac” originated with the DC Comics character. Anyone have documentation? Is the [Mirriam-Webster Dictionary](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brainiac) good enough? [The Online Etymological Dictionary](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=brainiac&searchmode=none) agrees, saying that the meaning “smart person” didn’t appear until the 1980s, long after the comic book character. There was also a computer building kit by that name, but by 1980, only the Superman villain would be known. ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/14 "2010-05-06T22:33:03Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > I’ve seen ‘Captain America’ used in non-comic contexts, to refer to either the patriotic type, or the completely unpatriotic type (for the irony). Also the unofficial handle of Marine Captain Dave McGraw - given by the marines under his command for his posing and histrionics - from the non-fiction book and tv miniseries “Generation Kill.” ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/15 "2010-05-06T22:33:43Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I have doubts that the slang term “braniac” originated with the DC Comics character. Anyone have documentation? [It’s called ‘probable’ by the American Heritage Dictionary, and taken as fact by Harper Collins.](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/brainiac) He wasn’t the first use of the name (as the link I give earlier states, DC was beaten by the computer kit by a couple years), but evidence suggests he’s the origin of the use as a slang term. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/16 "2010-05-06T22:34:53Z")
“Wonder Woman” is a term used to describe any woman who is very busy, productive or successful. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/17 "2010-05-06T22:36:10Z")
Hah, 3 replies, 5 different cites. Nice. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/18 "2010-05-06T22:41:29Z")
Poindexter, a “braniac” character from “Felix the Cat”, was also a pejorative term for an intellectual boy. Maybe it’s still used, but I’m not sure. Nimrod was applied ironically by Bugs Bunny to Elmer Fudd. However, many people who missed Sunday school (probably because they were home watching cartoons) didn’t get the irony (“Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the lord”) and just thought Bugs was calling Elmer an idiot. Today nimrod is slang for idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/19 "2010-05-06T22:45:16Z")
Oh, and according to Cecil himself, “Jeep” came not from the acronym GP for general purpose vehicle, but from the Magic Jeep character from Popeye. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564/20 "2010-05-07T03:44:49Z")
It’s likely that Wimpy in Popeye influenced that use of the term (it directly derived from “wimpish,” but at a time when the cartoon was popular). More directly “Wimpy” was for a time a name for a hamburger. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-a-real-braniac/538564.md?page=2)