# Movies that changed our language **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323 "2011-08-27T22:16:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/41 "2011-08-28T22:00:41Z")
Beam. A support in a building. A ray of sunlight. To be obviously happy. Or to transfer matter over a distance by breaking down the molecules into energy patterns and replicating the matter. . ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/42 "2011-08-28T22:09:55Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Valley speak predates the movie Valley Girl. Before the movie Valley Girl came out, [the song Valley Girl](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufYYOXiEtxM) by Moon Zappa unleashed the lingo on the public at large. Yep. 1982. The movie was obviously named after the song. It was my senior year of high school but I lived on the West Side of Los Angeles and we had been bagging the Valley kids for years and making fun of how they talked. It was the Zappa song that brought it from an L.A. area joke into popular culture. I remember going away to college and telling my schoolmates that “yes, they really do talk that way.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/43 "2011-08-28T22:18:08Z")
> [@brocks](#): > > Sorry, I thought it was pretty clear that I was referring to the Thackeray quote. And what was your point in quibbling over the Thackeray quote unless to argue that the phrase “perfect storm” was born of the novel/movie? Just argument for argument’s sake? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Doughnut\_Thief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Doughnut\_Thief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Doughnut_Thief)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/44 "2011-08-28T22:24:06Z")
meow it’s getting nerdy ---
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/45 "2011-08-28T22:32:05Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > And what was your point in quibbling over the Thackeray quote unless to argue that the phrase “perfect storm” was born of the novel/movie? Just argument for argument’s sake? :dubious: Jesus, calm down. The point was that your cite of Thackeray was bogus. Your cite of Webster came in a later post which I hadn’t read when I was responding, and in any case, it did not make Thackeray un-bogus. On the contrary, it confirmed that it was bogus, by saying that the first known use of the modern sense was nearly 70 years later. If you can’t handle a very civil disagreement any better than this, maybe this forum isn’t for you. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/46 "2011-08-28T22:34:59Z")
I can’t wait until the SDMB movie. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/47 "2011-08-28T22:45:06Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > When I hear “Bird of Prey” I think of Klingons. :dubious: When I hear “bird of prey” in the context of Star Trek, I think [Romulans](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Romulan_Bird-of-Prey_%2823rd_century%29). For me, raptor = bird of prey (non-Star Trek version). And _Velociraptors_ are [this big](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vraptor-scale.png), not [this big](http://steelcloset.com/2010/04/19/velociraptor-awareness-day/). ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/48 "2011-08-29T01:02:05Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Not so much one movie, but the word \*\*Vamp \*\*was coined for Theda Bara. Her character in _A Fool There Was_ (1915) was called The Vampire, and by her next film, the cast and crew were affectionately referring to her as Vamp–the term stuck and started being used by the late teens to mean an evil, sexually voracious woman. > > Similarly, **It**. Elinor Glyn coined “It” in a short story and novel to mean sex appeal, personality, magnetism. Clara Bow starred in the film version of _It_, became the It Girl, and, well, Bob’s your uncle. Hijack: Jeez, haven’t seen _that_ username in ages! I hope you’re doing well. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/49 "2011-08-29T01:27:17Z")
> [@Darwins\_Finch](#): > > And _Velociraptors_ are [this big](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vraptor-scale.png), not [this big](http://steelcloset.com/2010/04/19/velociraptor-awareness-day/). There’s more than one[kind of Raptor.](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/4/4a/20100820190356!Utahraptor_scale.png&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Utahraptor_scale.png&h=463&w=1026&sz=57&tbnid=JiYvHLkGsQUAOM:&tbnh=51&tbnw=112&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dutah%2Braptor%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=utah+raptor&docid=iV3N1fdwXIHueM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lOpaTvCkC6GysAKD06WRDA&ved=0CDsQ9QEwBQ&dur=574) ---
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/50 "2011-08-29T13:54:28Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Beam. > > A support in a building. A ray of sunlight. To be obviously happy. > > Or to transfer matter over a distance by breaking down the molecules into energy patterns and replicating the matter. > . Warp - twisted! or faster than light? ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/51 "2011-08-29T14:02:08Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > There’s more than one[kind of Raptor.](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/4/4a/20100820190356!Utahraptor_scale.png&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Utahraptor_scale.png&h=463&w=1026&sz=57&tbnid=JiYvHLkGsQUAOM:&tbnh=51&tbnw=112&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dutah%2Braptor%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=utah+raptor&docid=iV3N1fdwXIHueM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lOpaTvCkC6GysAKD06WRDA&ved=0CDsQ9QEwBQ&dur=574) More than one kind of dromaeosaur, perhaps, but still only two species of _Velociraptor_ (unless you’re Gregory S. Paul). And the ones in the JP series weren’t either of them. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/52 "2011-08-29T14:11:13Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > There’s more than one[kind of Raptor.](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/4/4a/20100820190356!Utahraptor_scale.png&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Utahraptor_scale.png&h=463&w=1026&sz=57&tbnid=JiYvHLkGsQUAOM:&tbnh=51&tbnw=112&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dutah%2Braptor%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=utah+raptor&docid=iV3N1fdwXIHueM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lOpaTvCkC6GysAKD06WRDA&ved=0CDsQ9QEwBQ&dur=574) [No kidding!](http://www.battlestarprops.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/raptor-concept-2-watermarked.jpg) I wonder if they were named after the birds or the dinosaurs, or both. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/53 "2011-08-29T14:29:36Z")
How about “Time Warp”? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/54 "2011-08-29T14:45:58Z")
> [@Hogfather65](#): > > Warp - twisted! or faster than light? Neither. The correct answer is “Zone”. Though that one’s from video games. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/55 "2011-08-29T20:59:51Z")
Here’s an old one. [Gaslighting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting), a term meaning to trick someone so they doubt their own sanity, came from the movie “Gas Light”. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/56 "2011-08-29T23:12:32Z")
After 1998 there was a significant uptick in men named Donnie being told to “shut the fuck up.” ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/57 "2011-09-02T06:47:50Z")
**10** introduced the concept of rating people’s attractiveness, and eventually rating a lot of things, on a ten-point scale. (And the funny thing is, the title is not quite accurate. Moore’s therapist asks, “How would you rate this woman on a scale of one to ten?” and he says “Eleven.”) ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/58 "2011-09-02T10:56:49Z")
For Raptor I still think bird of prey - it would never occur to me to think anything else (till I read this thread) I don’t have anything else - except to say that I found out last week that The Bard was the first one to coin the term “Fencing” (the sport) - at least according to wiki. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/59 "2011-09-02T13:55:52Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Wayne and Garth also gave us ultimate response to “No Way!”…Way. Though I’m not sure if that would be considered catch phrase territory. Bill and Ted did it first. [Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096928/quotes?qt=qt0412338) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323/60 "2011-09-02T14:01:13Z")
“Stepford” as an adjective, popularized by both Levin’s book and the subsequent movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-changed-our-language/594323.md?page=4)