# What exactly does og mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 12, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230 "2003-09-12T16:49:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@scule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scule)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/1 "2003-09-12T16:49:11Z")
Call me unhip, or not with it, or whatever, but I have never been able to grasp some of the message board lingo I’ve seen around (never been a fan of abreviations to begin with). My question is this, however: what does **og** mean? I have seen it written, and I gather it is meant to be a substitute for God, or something, because it is always written like “dear og” or “good oG”, or something when someone might have said “dear God” or such. Is this some sort of protest word, or an all inclusive one, or something? Anyone know it’s origins, meaning, whatever? Any help would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/2 "2003-09-12T17:11:55Z")
It was a typo on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/3 "2003-09-12T17:21:58Z")
Hopefully, someone will come along with the link – obviously, it’s not a possible search. What the story is, is that someone typed “son of God” or “wrath of God” or some similar phrase, and accidentally typed “son og God” or whatever. Like the 1920s style DR and “3. Hi Opal!” it became a catch phrase. In point of fact, [A(e)ngus] Og was the Irish god of wisdom, love, and poetry, more or less parallel to Apollo in the Greek pantheon or Freyr in the Norse, and folks have picked up on that alongside the typo to perpetuate references to Og. One common usage, with regard to “wrath og God” has been “Og smash!” or words to that effect. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/4 "2003-09-12T17:25:42Z")
Original Gangsta’. ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/5 "2003-09-12T17:40:43Z")
I burning your Og! Sorry, couldn’t resist 😃 [Link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=103615). ---
**Author:** ![Kempis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kempis/32/19248_2.png) [@Kempis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kempis)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/6 "2003-09-12T20:22:05Z")
I saw the Death Ray post, which was “3. Hi Opal!” post? -k ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/7 "2003-09-12T21:44:42Z")
Og is also a Scottish suffix meaning “Junior”, for example, Rob Roy MacGregor’s son, Robin Og MacGregor. There’s also the famous Angus Og MacDonald, Lord of the Isles who helpled Robert the Bruce gain the Scottish throne. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/8 "2003-09-12T23:34:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kempis \* > \*\*I saw the Death Ray post, which was “3. Hi Opal!” post? > > -k \*\* I may very well be mistaken, but that may have started waaaay back when we were still an AOL BB (keyword: cecil), in which case I doubt we’ll ever see it again (unless AOL has archives from that far back). Like I said though, I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/9 "2003-09-12T23:35:33Z")
Isn’t it also used here as a caveman’s name? “Og not like; Og smash.” Trinogus ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/10 "2003-09-12T23:48:15Z")
In George Orwell’s semiautobiographical novel _Coming Up for Air_, he recalled as a boy in church hearing old men sing “…and Og the King of Bashan” but faulty word division made him think the line was about **D** og the King of Bashan. Here it is — your guide to all things Og: [http://www2.wmin.ac.uk/clemenr/ORACLE/og.html](http://www2.wmin.ac.uk/clemenr/ORACLE/og.html) (Did you know John Dryden wrote poems about him?) [http://www2.wmin.ac.uk/clemenr/ORACLE/oghist.html](http://www2.wmin.ac.uk/clemenr/ORACLE/oghist.html) ---
**Author:** ![slipster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@slipster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slipster)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/11 "2003-09-13T00:23:14Z")
Just to keep things muddled, attention might also be given to Carl Barks’ classic Donald Duck story “Og’s Iron Bed Stead”. Donald, his nephews and (IIRC) Uncle Scrooge go back in time to seek this fabled bit of furniture which is mentioned in Deuteronomy 3. And then, of course, there were those celebrated cave men, Og, Son of Fire, and Og, Son of Og, Son of Fire. They appeared in numerous stories by **Boy’s Life** editor Irving Crump. There was also an Og, Son of Fire radio show in the 1930s. There are allusions to it in George Lucas’ wonderful comedy **The Radioland Murders**. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/12 "2003-09-13T00:39:27Z")
Nanny Og ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/13 "2003-09-13T01:26:22Z")
I seem to recall that the 3. Hi Opal! came about because she did a rant on not liking lists with only 2 items in it… so it started that whenever people couldn’t think of 3 items for a list the third became ‘Hi Opal’ and shortly after it just became common that 3 was _always_ ‘Hi Opal’ despite having more than 2 items on the list. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/14 "2003-09-13T03:01:44Z")
[“And”](http://www.freedict.com/onldict/nor.html) ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/15 "2003-09-13T05:35:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ftg \* > \*\*[“And”](http://www.freedict.com/onldict/nor.html) \*\* Oh, yeah, sure, then, “and” in English is “og” in Norwegian. But “and” in Norwegian is “duck” in English. What do you make of that, then, huh? So, if you want to “get down” in Norway, you go find an “and.” I’m a little confused, but I feel hip. That’s the important thing.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/16 "2003-09-13T05:46:43Z")
This thread is about this message board, so I’ll move it to ATMB. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/17 "2003-09-13T05:47:30Z")
The link is listed, but the story in a nutshell is this: Idiot drops by for some blathering, and due to poor typing skills puts “son og God” repeatedly instead of “son of God.” This leads to people mocking his typing skills – the least of the things he deserved mocking for, but what the heck – asking faux innocently who this “og” is. Others: Obviously Og is a god of some kind. Still others: Due to the name he must be a god of cavemen. Still others: So instead of God smiting you get “Og smash!” And then for a while whenever someone would post something especially annoying or stupid, someone else would post “Og smash!” It was just a goofy typo that people started riffing on, and it’s sort of stuck around. It’s probably safe to say that Og is the unofficial fictional diety of the SDMB. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/18 "2003-09-13T15:59:29Z")
There was another part of that that seems to have fallen into disuse. The same idiot (I think it was the same idiot at least) also blathered something about “that sort og rubbish”, which led to a brief fad of “Og sort rubbish, \ go in bin.” ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/19 "2003-09-13T18:26:11Z")
Now, if only I could figure out where “jump the shark” and “pink unicorn” come from. I’m guessing “pink unicorn” is the quintessential anti-god argument in Great Debates? “I don’t believe in God for the same reason I don’t believe there’s a pink unicorn in the room.” I have no idea about “jump the shark” - maybe something to do with that faked picture of the guy dangling from a helicopter, a shark snapping at his feet? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230/20 "2003-09-13T21:19:36Z")
[http://www.jumptheshark.com/](http://www.jumptheshark.com/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-og-mean/201230.md?page=2)