# How laughable words and phrases become mainstream. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2018, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-laughable-words-and-phrases-become-mainstream/809168 "2018-02-20T04:04:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-laughable-words-and-phrases-become-mainstream/809168/21 "2018-02-22T20:52:30Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > Or take another currently relevant example: “wardrobe malfunction”. When this was first used to describe Janet Jackson’s accident during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, everyone agreed that it was an idiotic choice of words. Now it’s normal and people use it without any irony. There’s even a [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardrobe_malfunction) on the topic: “A wardrobe malfunction is accidental exposure of a person’s intimate parts due to a temporary failure of clothing to do its job.” “Intimate parts”? Why don’t they just say tit? ---
**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:** [February 22, 2018, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-laughable-words-and-phrases-become-mainstream/809168/22 "2018-02-22T21:11:36Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > “Intimate parts”? Why don’t they just say tit? While the original wardrobe malfunction involved the exposure of a female nipple, the term has now been extended to cover exposure of other naughty bits. In fact, it could probably be extended to even non-exposure like a wedgie or a cameltoe. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-laughable-words-and-phrases-become-mainstream/809168/23 "2018-02-22T22:07:42Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > Or take another currently relevant example: “wardrobe malfunction”. When this was first used to describe Janet Jackson’s accident during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, everyone agreed that it was an idiotic choice of words. My recollection is that everyone (well, a lot of people) thought it was a lie, that the exposure was planned. (She was wearing a nipple shield under the bra, after all.) I don’t recall that the phrasing was ridiculed. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-laughable-words-and-phrases-become-mainstream/809168/24 "2018-02-22T22:18:12Z")
Speaking of “food security”…do most people really even have it, despite being poor or wealthy? I mean, unless you have been stockpiling canned food, water, arms, etc in an underground shelter to avoid the outcomes of “the gubmint getting uppity”, a nuclear apocalypse, a zombie apocalypse or some “The Stand” type plague, most of us don’t really have much “food security” if the electricity were out for an extended period of time, or for forever. ---
**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:** [February 22, 2018, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-laughable-words-and-phrases-become-mainstream/809168/25 "2018-02-22T22:25:19Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Speaking of “food security”…do most people really even have it, despite being poor or wealthy? > > I mean, unless you have been stockpiling canned food, water, arms, etc in an underground shelter to avoid the outcomes of “the gubmint getting uppity”, a nuclear apocalypse, a zombie apocalypse or some “The Stand” type plague, most of us don’t really have much “food security” if the electricity were out for an extended period of time, or for forever. See post 13. That’s why there are grades of food security. If you’re only going to be missing meals if there’s a nuclear war, you have high food security. If you’re reduced to eating Ramen if you lose a couple days pay because you have no sick days left, you have low food security. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-laughable-words-and-phrases-become-mainstream/809168/26 "2018-02-23T13:51:46Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > My recollection is that everyone (well, a lot of people) thought it was a lie, that the exposure was planned. (She was wearing a nipple shield under the bra, after all.) I don’t recall that the phrasing was ridiculed. Yeah, um, that’s not why women wear nipple shields. At all. Do you wear undies because you expect someone to run up and pull your pants down in public? ---
**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:** [February 23, 2018, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-laughable-words-and-phrases-become-mainstream/809168/27 "2018-02-23T14:13:00Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Yeah, um, that’s not why women wear nipple shields. At all. It wasn’t a [nipple shield](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/618EkNfMbmL._SY355_.jpg) like this one. It was an elaborate piece of metal jewelry covering the nipple that was clearly meant to be seen (although normally to be displayed in private to an audience of one rather than in a football stadium). Image here: [http://img.thedailybeast.com/image/upload/v1492202599/articles/2014/02/01/super-bowl-s-nipplegate-fiasco-10-years-later-the-pop-diva-the-boob-and-the-outrage/140131-stern-nipplegate-tease\_phnwlm.jpg](http://img.thedailybeast.com/image/upload/v1492202599/articles/2014/02/01/super-bowl-s-nipplegate-fiasco-10-years-later-the-pop-diva-the-boob-and-the-outrage/140131-stern-nipplegate-tease_phnwlm.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2018, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-laughable-words-and-phrases-become-mainstream/809168/28 "2018-02-25T03:20:52Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It wasn’t a [nipple shield](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/618EkNfMbmL._SY355_.jpg) like this one. It was an elaborate piece of metal jewelry covering the nipple that was clearly meant to be seen (although normally to be displayed in private to an audience of one rather than in a football stadium). > > Image here: > > [http://img.thedailybeast.com/image/upload/v1492202599/articles/2014/02/01/super-bowl-s-nipplegate-fiasco-10-years-later-the-pop-diva-the-boob-and-the-outrage/140131-stern-nipplegate-tease\_phnwlm.jpg](http://img.thedailybeast.com/image/upload/v1492202599/articles/2014/02/01/super-bowl-s-nipplegate-fiasco-10-years-later-the-pop-diva-the-boob-and-the-outrage/140131-stern-nipplegate-tease_phnwlm.jpg) to be fair nipple jewelry like Ms Jackson was wearing are also called nipple shields [spoiler][nipple shields[/spoiler]](https://store.painfulpleasures.com/body-jewelry/nipple-rings/nipple-shields.html). this page is SFW in terms of images, not sure about the entire site, so spoilered just to be sure [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-laughable-words-and-phrases-become-mainstream/809168.md?page=1)