# please explain "pwned!" to an old geezer **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2008, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301 "2008-06-26T13:55:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/1 "2008-06-26T13:55:30Z")
So, I see this term being tossed about here on the SDMB, most recently here: [Fox News get pwned!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=473235). Please explain meaning, etymology, and current usage to an old geezer. (That would be me, I’m afraid…) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/2 "2008-06-26T13:58:50Z")
“P” is a common miskey for “O.” so much so, that “pwned” was a frequent typo for “owned” and became slang for that word. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/3 "2008-06-26T14:00:24Z")
Check out [this](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pwnd) explanation from Urban Dictionary. I’ve often turned to them for explanation of similar items. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/4 "2008-06-26T14:01:54Z")
[QUOTE=Northern Piper] So, I see this term being tossed about here on the SDMB, most recently here: [Fox News get pwned!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=473235). Please explain meaning, etymology, and current usage to an old geezer. (That would be me, I’m afraid…) [/QUOTE] Nothing to it – it is the word “owned”, modified by a common typographical error. “Owned”, in turn, comes from such expressions as “The Yankees owned the Red Sox for decades” – “owned” meaning “bested” or “dominated”, expecially in competitive contexts. The meaning of “owned/pwned” has diffused a bit over the last decade or so … it can mean that someone got over on someone else in a mild way: “_Owned! They got the last cup of coffee. Now you have to make the next pot._.” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/5 "2008-06-26T14:06:34Z")
I’ve also seen it used in contexts where someone was defeated by circumstances - often arising out of their own stupid action - rather than by individuals. In fact, the Fox News thing is one of these - nobody in particular has ‘owned’ them - they just made a public example of their own fallibility. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/6 "2008-06-26T14:22:14Z")
I’m a geezer myself, and do not use the term - I can’t even figure out how to pronounce it. But the gaffe by Fox was so egregious that the term just seemed to be _le mote juste_. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/7 "2008-06-26T14:25:16Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I’ve also seen it used in contexts where someone was defeated by circumstances - often arising out of their own stupid action - rather than by individuals. In fact, the Fox News thing is one of these - nobody in particular has ‘owned’ them - they just made a public example of their own fallibility. [/QUOTE] Good point. The subtext is that getting defeated by circumstances AND doing it in front of a camera/audience/in public really makes it an “pwned” moment. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/8 "2008-06-26T14:27:28Z")
And this whole time I thought it was short for pawned, as in, the chess piece. Because every other piece is more powerful than the pawn, so if you hand somebody a whoop ass, you were the queen, and they were the pawn. Ignorance fought. [QUOTE=BrotherCadfael] I’m a geezer myself, and do not use the term - I can’t even figure out how to pronounce it. But the gaffe by Fox was so egregious that the term just seemed to be _le mote juste_. [/QUOTE] Geek squad was on Jeopardy the other day, and they pronounced it like owned, with a p… powned, if you will. Makes much more sense now. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/9 "2008-06-26T14:40:37Z")
[QUOTE=bordelond] Good point. The subtext is that getting defeated by circumstances AND doing it in front of a camera/audience/in public really makes it an “pwned” moment. [/QUOTE] **Bordelond** FTW 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/10 "2008-06-26T14:43:52Z")
[QUOTE=Mathochist] **Bordelond** FTW 😃 [/QUOTE] :smack: but 😃 at the same time. Wish I were witty enough to have done that one purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/11 "2008-06-26T14:47:31Z")
I don’t get it? ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/12 "2008-06-26T15:34:58Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] Geek squad was on Jeopardy the other day, and they pronounced it like owned, with a p… powned, if you will. Makes much more sense now. [/QUOTE] I move that we start pronouncing it “pooned”, as if it was Welsh. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/13 "2008-06-26T15:39:52Z")
But then it would be just like replacing “pawn” with “vagina” in my previous personal definition. ETA: Umm… or something. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/14 "2008-06-26T15:43:17Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I’ve also seen it used in contexts where someone was defeated by circumstances - often arising out of their own stupid action - rather than by individuals. In fact, the Fox News thing is one of these - nobody in particular has ‘owned’ them - they just made a public example of their own fallibility. [/QUOTE] I think a more accurate descriptor for that sort of thing is often “FAIL!” or possible “epic fail”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/15 "2008-06-26T16:07:16Z")
[QUOTE=BrotherCadfael] But the gaffe by Fox was so egregious that the term just seemed to be _le mote juste_. [/QUOTE] Gaudere’s Law applies even in French, it would seem. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/16 "2008-06-26T16:09:07Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] Geek squad was on Jeopardy the other day, and they pronounced it like owned, with a p… powned, if you will. Makes much more sense now. [/QUOTE] I’ve always understood it to be pronounced just like “owned”. When you speak it then your tone and volume of voice should convey the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/17 "2008-06-26T16:18:05Z")
[It’s a contentious topic.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=431129&highlight=pwned) ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/18 "2008-06-26T16:28:58Z")
[QUOTE=MikeS] I move that we start pronouncing it “pooned”, as if it was Welsh. [/QUOTE] Some people do. Me, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/19 "2008-06-26T16:34:20Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] Geek squad was on Jeopardy the other day, and they pronounced it like owned, with a p… powned, if you will. Makes much more sense now. [/QUOTE] For what it’s worth, Cartman on _South Park_ also pronounced it something like “powned” or “pone’d,” in a video game centric episode awhile back. Part of me, though, can’t help but wonder how long it was that the term was in common usage before a human voice actually _spoke it out loud._ ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301/20 "2008-06-26T17:57:04Z")
I recently heard that the first instance of “pwned” was a typo in a dialog box in the original PC version of Warcraft (1994). Does anybody have any idea if there is any truth to this? Does anybody remember seeing it, or have a copy they can fire up on an old machine and see if it’s true? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-pwned-to-an-old-geezer/454301.md?page=2)