# Will the terms "Fail"/"Epic Fail" survive? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 13, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564 "2010-11-13T16:17:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/1 "2010-11-13T16:17:05Z")
I sure hope so; “Fail” is a surprisingly versatile word. Unfortunately, I can also see it falling out of fashion just like “groovy”, “Daddy-O”, “Gag me with a spoon,” etc. Heck, it wasn’t long ago that you couldn’t walk two steps w/o bumping into an “Emo” kid, but nowadays I haven’t heard that phrase in months. ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/2 "2010-11-13T16:35:17Z")
“Fail” has been a word for most of the past millennium. It is popular recently, but does it mean anything now that it didn’t before? ---
**Author:** ![prettydorky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@prettydorky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prettydorky)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/3 "2010-11-13T16:35:57Z")
I hope not. It grates on my nerves somethin’ fierce. “Your haircut is a fail” … It’ll go one of two ways- die out like some that you mentioned, or work its way in like “totally” and “Really!” ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/4 "2010-11-13T16:38:30Z")
The one I hope doesn’t continue for much longer is “totes.” HATE IT. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/5 "2010-11-13T16:54:31Z")
Catchphrase fail! ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/6 "2010-11-13T17:46:52Z")
Do people actually say ‘epic fail’ in speech? Not heard it said too often, it’s more something to write. Doesn’t work at all as a phrase to speak IMHO. Not that I have a clue how the kids are speaking to one another these days. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/7 "2010-11-13T18:02:40Z")
I hate “my bad” and it hasn’t gone away. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/8 "2010-11-13T18:52:15Z")
I hear people say it in speech, but it usually marks them as a nerd even nerdier than myself. It’s like people who say, “I can has \_\_\_\_\_?” or use the fake-swears from Battlestar Galactica or whatever it is that guy from Big Bang Theory says. Bazinga or something. It will fade away soon enough. All the annoying stuff will. And then there will be new annoying stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Pedro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pedro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pedro)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/9 "2010-11-13T19:42:42Z")
Fail is ok, but people who say “full of fail” or its evil twin “full of awesome” need to die in a fire. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/10 "2010-11-13T20:38:49Z")
Not! ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/11 "2010-11-13T20:40:37Z")
> [@heathen\_earthling](#): > > “Fail” has been a word for most of the past millennium. It is popular recently, but does it mean anything now that it didn’t before? It’s being used as a noun now. That’s what’s new. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/12 "2010-11-13T20:43:22Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > Do people actually say ‘epic fail’ in speech? Not heard it said too often, it’s more something to write. Doesn’t work at all as a phrase to speak IMHO. It was in common verbal use by my roommate in the late-'90s. ‘Dude! That was _epic!_’ ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/13 "2010-11-13T20:52:02Z")
Epic Fail FTW!!! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/14 "2010-11-14T00:50:48Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > It’s being used as a noun now. That’s what’s new. [Etymonline](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=fail) disagrees: “The noun (e.g. _without fail_) is from late 13c., from [O.Fr](http://O.Fr). _faile_ “deficiency,” from _falir_.” ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/15 "2010-11-14T04:30:31Z")
Win and fail are likely here for a good long while. Fail is full of win. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/16 "2010-11-14T06:42:06Z")
Like, totally. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/17 "2010-11-14T08:14:17Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > Do people actually say ‘epic fail’ in speech? Not heard it said too often, it’s more something to write. Doesn’t work at all as a phrase to speak IMHO. > > Not that I have a clue how the kids are speaking to one another these days. Oh yea, all the kids say it these days. I hear it all the time and I hate it because it’s total weaksauce. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/18 "2010-11-14T08:26:55Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > **Will the terms “Fail”/“Epic Fail” survive?** > Like, totally. Cool. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/19 "2010-11-14T08:54:14Z")
I hope not. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564/20 "2010-11-14T14:24:25Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > The one I hope doesn’t continue for much longer is “totes.” HATE IT. I’ve never heard or read this idiom before. How is it used & what does it mean? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-terms-fail-epic-fail-survive/560564.md?page=2)