Today's word is "pimp." Though "pimp" is part of common words like "pimpmobile," "pimp-slap," "pimptastic," and "pimple," its meanings have gone far beyond the ken (and the Barbie) of a 32-year-old fogey like myself. Even through thorough academic research, I can't figure out what in the bejesus the name of MTV's Pimp My Ride means. If it doesn't mean "Sell my car into the nookie-bookie business," then I'm lost.
But the real inspiration for today's entry is something I read in the archives of In Passing--a terrific Berkeley blog of overheard conversations. Here's the passage, narrated by In Passing's Eve, that caught my wordluster's eye:
"So you think he's playing both girls?"
--Guy 1 sitting behind me in lecture this morning
"Hell yeah, is the pimp catholic?"
--Guy 2
*silence*
"...Pope! Is the POPE catholic?! Dude, you got the phrase wrong."
--Guy 1
"Uh, NO. Think about it, the pope can't get any action."
--Guy 2, indignant
"Nevermind..."
--Guy 1, sounding like he'd like to pound his head against the desk
I can't think of a sentence that's more worthy of spreading through the language like a VD than "Is the pimp Catholic?" Please, dear readers, do what you must to insinuate those four words into the vernacular. Use this question both to shame the clueless and inquire about ho-havin' small businessmen in your neighborhood. Or maybe you could raise other thought-provoking questions like "Is the poop Catholic?" and "Is the pump Catholic?"
By the way, according to Wordcount, "pimp" is the 32,495th most used word in English. Now you can't say you didn't learn anything about pimps today.
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