# why is a putz a wally? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 27, 2004, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815 "2004-08-27T17:22:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/1 "2004-08-27T17:22:58Z")
Why is this :wally called “wally” in the code to make it? Who is Wally and is he a :wally ? Oh, and is he winking? Do people, or this Wally person, wink when they say putz? ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/2 "2004-08-27T17:28:59Z")
It’s called a Wally after WallyM7, a longtime poster who passed away about three years ago. He used to call people who annoyed him a “putz.” Zev Steinhardt ---
**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:** [August 27, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/3 "2004-08-27T17:34:50Z")
WallyM7 was a much beloved poster who died under sudden, tragic & morbid circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/4 "2004-08-27T17:52:37Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > WallyM7 was a much beloved poster who died under sudden, tragic & morbid circumstances. Why does this make me think I’m being woooooshed? ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/5 "2004-08-27T18:24:54Z")
> [@Trigonal Planar](#): > > Why does this make me think I’m being woooooshed? You’re not being whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/6 "2004-08-27T18:36:32Z")
Woosh-free answer: “wally” means “putz”, roughly, in British English. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/7 "2004-08-27T18:44:13Z")
[UNWOOSH](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=387378) ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/8 "2004-08-27T18:52:03Z")
It the appropriate thread to hijack : I discovered the words “wally” and “putz” for the fist time on this board. I asked my dictionnary what it thought about these words, but it had no clue about “putz”. It knew “wally” on this other hand, and translated it with french equivalents that are rather mild as insult. On the other hand, using the “wally/putz” smileys seems to be frowned upon outside the pit, generally speaking. So, I’m wondering : are this words harmless or utterly offensive? If you call your spouse a putz or a wally, will s/he smile or will s/he fill the divorce papers? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/9 "2004-08-27T19:03:04Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Woosh-free answer: “wally” means “putz”, roughly, in British English. This may or may not be true but it is irrelevant. The Wally was indeed named after a poster on these boards who wrote with great style and passed away several years ago. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/10 "2004-08-27T19:16:43Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Woosh-free answer: “wally” means “putz”, roughly, in British English. An interesting bit of synchronicity which I wondered if somebody was going to pick up on. Usually associated with “total” as in “Quit being a total wally”. Nevertheless, it is coincidental in this case, as WallyM7 existed and was the inspiration for the smiley. IIRC, he died shortly after I joined the board. Now, to hijack a bit, what in the heck is the etymology of “wally” in the British sense? I didn’t find it in a quick check of the AUE superlist, and a dictionary entry only gives it as derived from the name “Walter”. Why should a “Walter” be synonomous with “idjit”? Did somebody think Walter Raleigh was a :wally ? ---
**Author:** ![odaran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e0b2c6/32.png) [@odaran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/odaran)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/11 "2004-08-27T20:48:22Z")
When someone said that they might have been being whooshed, I thought I would take a look to see if this was real or not. I was amazed at how much Wally touched so many lives and regret that I have never had the chance to know the man. I was looking at some of the memorial threads and could almost feel the pain that you the knew him must have felt in the loss. I tried to look at some of the links that were in the threads, I.E. Wally tries cybersex, and unfortunetly they seemed to be broken. But from what I gather, he was a good man that everyone seemed to love. I know that I am not contributing much here but it is just something I had to say. FYI: The UNWOOSH link got me: [quote] vBulletin Message Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms. [/quote ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/12 "2004-08-27T22:23:55Z")
Nothing to be whoosehd about. The sudden, unexpected death of WallyM7 led to the closest thing I’ve ever seen to an online wake on this board. Wally’s classic insult was “putz!” However, he often used it as more of a term of exasperation rather than real anger – hence the eye-wink. And yes, **Wally tries cybersex** was perhaps the best single post in the history of SDMB. I believe it finally disappeared forever in the second great server crash. ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/13 "2004-08-27T22:36:19Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > And yes, **Wally tries cybersex** was perhaps the best single post in the history of SDMB. I believe it finally disappeared forever in the second great server crash. Or it could have been deleted because it was [plagiarized](http://www.epinions.com/content_1138991236). ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/14 "2004-08-27T22:46:13Z")
[QUOTE=odaran] FYI: The UNWOOSH link got me: [quote] vBulletin Message Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms. [/quote[/QUOTE] Strange. It’s just a link to the results of a board search for username WallyM7. I wonder if it only works for me because I did the search? If so, I apologize. [Here’s a link to all threads started by Wally](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=387699) Again, if not work, me sorry. Me just humble unfrozen caveman Doper. 🙂 ---
**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 27, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/15 "2004-08-27T22:53:57Z")
There is a fair amount of controversy over **WallyM7**. Among other things, no one ever met him in person, no report of his death appeared in the newspaper in the area where is was supposed to have lived and no funeral homes had a record of a memorial for him. He was said to have died in a freak industrial accident that surely would have been reported somewhere but the people of the Dope couldn’t find a trace of it. This was very possibly a faked death, a common thing in cyber space. Whether the man really died or the man retired his character, he did entertain a lot of people while he was here. Haj ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/16 "2004-08-27T23:09:50Z")
Moved to ATMB. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/17 "2004-08-28T02:39:14Z")
> [@drhess](#): > > Why is this :wally called “wally” in the code to make it? Who is Wally and is he a :wally ? > > Oh, and is he winking? Do people, or this Wally person, wink when they say putz? Isn’t Wally the one calling you a putz? :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tygerbryght](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/18 "2004-08-28T05:41:40Z")
> [@Rufus Xavier](#): > > … > > [Here’s a link to all threads started by Wally](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=387699) > > Again, if not work, me sorry. Me just humble unfrozen caveman Doper. 🙂 I saw a lotta threads, but none with the title, “Wally Tries Cybersex”. HowEVer … ya know, there’s the saying that “nothing is ever lost once it’s on the web”? 🆒 Courtesy of Google, [link removed by TubaDiva, copyright issues] And people wonder why we keep telling them Google is their friend. :wally ---
**Author:** ![SnakeSpirit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snakespirit/32/7271_2.png) [@SnakeSpirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakeSpirit)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/19 "2004-08-28T05:51:21Z")
Funny, nobody mentioned the meaning for “Putz.” I’m sure you are all familiar with this Yiddish term, however… ---
**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, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815/20 "2004-08-28T15:40:37Z")
> [@tygerbryght](#): > > I saw a lotta threads, but none with the title, “Wally Tries Cybersex”. HowEVer … ya know, there’s the saying that “nothing is ever lost once it’s on the web”? 🆒 Once again, “Wally” plagiarized that piece. Not so cool actually. Haj [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-putz-a-wally/261815.md?page=2)