# Who/what the Hell is "Og"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 28, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564 "2005-07-28T12:24:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/1 "2005-07-28T12:24:30Z")
It’s possible I’m the last person on the SDMB not to know this, but what does “Og” mean? I’ve noticed that some posters will use the word “Og” in places where most people would say “God”. Maybe there’s already an old thread explaining this; unfortunately the search feature won’t accept a two-letter word as a search term. I’ve also had no luck doing a regular Google search. So, please indulge me. I see four possibilities: 1. There’s an actual religion that worships a deity called “Og”, and some Dopers practice this religion. 2. It’s a reference to some hilarious and/or profound book, comic book, song, theatrical extravaganza, movie or other product of popular culture, or is slang that comes from some kind of fandom (like “Ghu”). 3. Some Dopers have an inhibition against writing the word “God” and use “Og” as a substitute (the way some people write “G-d”). 4. It’s just a pointless, irritating affectation. So, let’s settle this. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/2 "2005-07-28T12:30:27Z")
I direct you to [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=320298) in ATMB. Tis a glossary of Dope terms. Og is explained there. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/3 "2005-07-28T12:36:12Z")
So the answer ia 4 and a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/4 "2005-07-28T13:19:14Z")
OG everywhere! OG in wind. Og in sky. Og in good, rich soil of Earth. OG in most of sandwiches from Subway, but not those with olives. OG hate olives. Believe in OG you must, or OG SMASH! Also, OG does taxes on side, good rates. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/5 "2005-07-28T13:23:30Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > OG everywhere! > OG in wind. > Og in sky. > Og in good, rich soil of Earth. > OG in most of sandwiches from Subway, but not those with olives. OG hate olives. > Believe in OG you must, or OG SMASH! > Also, OG does taxes on side, good rates. "Og be with me, Og within me, Og behind me, Og before me, Og beside me, Og to win me, Og to comfort and restore me. Og beneath me, Og above me, Og in quiet, Og in danger, Og in hearts of all that love me, Og in mouth of friend and stranger. " – St. Patrick, slightly modified ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/6 "2005-07-28T14:09:19Z")
\*A mi-ighty fortress is our Og Is invoking the name of Og less blasphemous than certain common epithets? \*Sun to the tune of Martin Luther’s… oh hell, the intro do Davey and Goliath. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/7 "2005-07-28T14:49:49Z")
You will know when Dopers are in the majority in the USA when you start seeing “In Og We Trust” printed on every US coin. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/8 "2005-07-28T14:56:58Z")
The other day my wife brought home some crackers from the store. A banner on the front of the package proudly proclaimed, “Now made with **0g Trans Fat**.” It took me several minutes to realize that in this case 0g meant “zero grams” instead of a reference to the SDMB Diety. ---
**Author:** ![dlack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@dlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dlack)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/9 "2005-07-28T15:00:33Z")
This isn’t the only message board to use “Og.” I’ve seen it on other boards where people who say they don’t believe in “God” still seem to want to speak to some divine power. I have no idea where it really originated. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/10 "2005-07-28T15:54:21Z")
> [@dlack](#): > > I have no idea where it really originated. Well, here on SDMB, it really did start when people started mocking (teasing?) a poster who routinely typed “og” instead of “of.” Or do you doubt **Dexter** ’s explanation? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/11 "2005-07-28T16:02:56Z")
Thanks! So, it’s just a stupid in-joke. Can we stop it now? > [@](#): > > You will know when Dopers are in the majority in the USA when you start seeing “In Og We Trust” printed on every US coin. My dream is that, if Dopers were in the majority, we’d stop seeing a watered-down religious message on the money and see more of _E Pluribus Unum_. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/12 "2005-07-28T16:11:29Z")
No. E Pluribus Cecil. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/13 "2005-07-28T16:14:14Z")
There was a period when the board was down, and we used a temporary board as a sort of quick fix. This one came with a smiley that showed a face smashing whatever’s next to it with a hammer. Known informally as “smashie” this emoticon is (so far as I observed) the origin of the phrase OG SMASH. Despite discussion, Smashie did not follow us to the renewed boards. I think we got “smackie” instead, though we might have alreay had that one. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/14 "2005-07-28T16:36:52Z")
Out of curiousity, **dlack** , on what other message boards did you see it? It might be interesting to see if the usage can be traced back to here. We certainly have a strong influence on some other message boards (Fathom and the Unaboard, for instance, which have a large overlap of membership with us), and I doubt one can find any message board which doesn’t have at least one member in common with us. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/15 "2005-07-28T16:41:06Z")
I happened to be perusing the Psalms book of the Bible this weekend, and I came upon this passage, which made me giggle and think of y’all: > [@David in Psalms 136](#): > > 17 To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: 18 And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: 19 Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever: 20 And **Og** the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever: So Og is the famous king of Bashan. But he was smote by The Lord. Who’s mercy endureth forever. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/16 "2005-07-28T17:39:37Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > E Pluribus Cecil. So Cecil is a sort of Frankenstein’s monster? A patchwork man? ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/17 "2005-07-28T17:57:05Z")
And aren’t “Og and Magog” in Revelations? ---
**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:** [July 28, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/18 "2005-07-28T18:13:51Z")
The phrase “Og smash” goes back at least to March 1998 when [it showed up on Usenet](http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.humor.oracle/browse_thread/thread/c41f011279e95f08/900ff24933391685?lnk=st&q=%22og+smash%22&rnum=23&hl=en#900ff24933391685): > [@](#): > > The Internet Oracle has pondered your question deeply. > Your question was: > > \> For computer removable drive: > > \> What is the different of these two removable cartridge drive, Iomega > \> zip 100 and Syquest SparQ? > > And in response, thus spake the Oracle: > > } Og here. Og know answer. Og tell you answer: > } > } Og take big spiky club. Og smash SparQ drive. SparQ drive hard. SparQ > } drive not break in many pieces. SparQ drive not fun. > } > } Og smash zip drive with big spiky club. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/19 "2005-07-28T18:23:19Z")
“Og” stands for “tired, nerdy joke”. ---
**Author:** ![dlack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@dlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dlack)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564/20 "2005-07-28T18:54:20Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > The phrase “Og smash” goes back at least to March 1998 when [it showed up on Usenet](http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.humor.oracle/browse_thread/thread/c41f011279e95f08/900ff24933391685?lnk=st&q=%22og+smash%22&rnum=23&hl=en#900ff24933391685): In that spirit: > **[Internet Oracle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Oracle,_The)** > > The Internet Oracle (historically known as The Usenet Oracle) is an effort at collective humor in a pseudo-Socratic question-and-answer format. > A user sends a question ("tellme") to the Oracle via e-mail, or the Internet Oracle website, and it is sent to another user (another "incarnation" of the Oracle) who may answer it. Meanwhile, the original questioner is also sent a question to answer. All exchanges are conducted through a central distribution system which makes all users anonymous. Unansw... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-what-the-hell-is-og/314564.md?page=2)