What does this username (Crowbar of Irony +3) mean?
From this thread.
Malleus_Incus_Stapes says, “I like your new name, even if it took me a few seconds to get it.”
I don’t get it.
I wondered if that was a reference to Openstack. I’ve heard that @Malleus_Incus_Stapes is an anatomical reference.
It is.
But I’m coming up blank on “crowbar of irony”.
Oh, so you’ve heard that too?
Nope, sorry, my ossicles are ossified and I heard nothing.
(Not really, just wasn’t expecting a subtle pun.)
D&D reference, the +3 is a bonus for using a special weapon.
Like a Sword of Lightning +3, it would add 3 to the roll of a dice when used, either for success or damage.
I know I don’t know. Here’s some thoughts in hopes they’ll trigger somebody else’s creativity.
Crowbars are made of iron (steel really). “Ironic” was definitely one of the hot buzzwords of that era. Far beyond its proper dictionary meaning. Everything was ironic. Hipsters were ironic, disliking hipsters was ironic and it was ironic that disliking them was seen as an ironic attitude. So tiresome. But it was, ironically enough, real.
So the obvious “crowbar of iron” as a tool for physical mayhem pretty easily slides cleverly into “crowbar of irony” as a tool for literary Dopertastic mayhem. We were a lot more verbally violent back then.
I think the comment about “critical strike” is a key clue. But not one I can decipher.
What then-current (= 2009) musical groups, hit songs, comics, or online games had a theme or a name or something about “critical strike”? Or had a crowbar as a key piece of game play. Maybe a tool often used in Grand Theft Auto?
For that matter, was there a famous “[whatever] of iron” that was big right then? Kinda like Thor’s hammer was big a couple years ago when the movie came out and all sorts of hammer-themed metaphors and sayings got popular. If a “[whatever] of iron” was hot then, this username may be riffing on that.
The “+3” may be a reference to some kind of musical group. “Leader plus 3” is/was certainly common enough back in Ye Olden Dayes of rock n roll.
I imagine it’s just ironic use of Crowbar and Irony. Probably not this.
Could it be from Order of the Stick? That’s a satirical webcomic that centered on a D&D Campaign.
I guess it’s no longer available online?
It’s still around!
Yay! I read at least half of that. It’s a lot of fun.
I think this image should solve the mystery for everyone.
Clear as mud, ha ha
How does “critical strike” factor into that?
A critical strike in D&D and other RPGs is an attack that does more damage than a standard attack. It is based on chance. Like “10% chance to critical hit.”
This username is 100% an RPG reference, I’m just not sure if it’s an RPG reference in general or referring to a specific RPG or joke about RPGs.
Got it, thanks
However…
The “Crowbar of Irony” name change was reported in 2009, but OpenStack didn’t exist until 2010, so the OpenStack “ironic crowbar” could be a coincidental red herring, or both names/phrases could both refer to something even earlier.
… the plot thickens…
+3 is absolutely a D&D reference- it means you get +3 on attack and damage rolls with that weapon.
It’s actually a really clever username.
Agreed that it’s definitely a D&D reference: Many D&D magic items have the form <noun> of <property>, like Boots of Speed, Sword of Lightning, or Bracers of Protection.
More specifically, it reminds me of notions like the “Clue by four”, a mythical piece of lumber which you can beat people over the head with to knock the stupidity out of them. Crowbars, likewise, are known for not being subtle when used to metaphorically smack someone on the head.