David Angell and History of 'Boink'
Richard Fontana
on 11 September 2001 was David Angell, the producer of the television
show _Frasier_. Angell may have played a key role in history of the word
'boink'.
The history of 'boink' = 'have sex with', which later also came to have
the meaning 'social gathering of Usenet newsgroup participants' (and
which we've had some AUE discussions about in the past),
seems to be tied closely to television, and indeed I'm not sure the word
has ever really been used without there being some consciousness of an
association with television (in this I think it is different from the
similar-sounding BrE word "bonk", which may well be the remote
ancestor or at least kin of "boink"). In its entry for "boink" =
"social gathering", the Jargon File mentions the shows _Soap_,
_Cheers_ and _Moonlighting_ as claimed popularizers of the word; I myself
associate it very closely with one or more episodes of _Moonlighting_ in
1985, in the show's first season I think. _Cheers_ (1982-1993) both
predated and outlived _Moonlighting_ (1985-1989); _Soap_
was a much earlier show (1977-1981).
Searching in the expanded Usenet archives at Google, I found the earliest
use of "boink" in the relevant sense was, in fact, in a discussion about
_Moonlighting_:
From: ste...@ism70.UUCP (ste...@ism70.UUCP)
Subject: Re: ABC...Moonlighting
Newsgroups: net.tv
Date: 1985-09-12 05:43:00 PST
Boink. Boink. Boink. Boink. Boink. Boink. Boink. Boink.
(This was the line used by Bruce Willis's character in the episode
containing the first (only?) use of "boink" on _Moonlighting_.)
But it seems likely now that _Cheers_ used it first, though not very long
before. Les Charles, one of the creators of _Cheers_, said, in remarks
delivered at the memorial service for David Angell (and his wife, who
also died in the September 11th incident): "And lest we forget, if he'd
never done another thing in his career, David Angell would have earned
immortality as the man who added the word boink to the English language."
It looks like Angell worked as a writer for _Cheers_ mainly in 1983 and
1984, i.e., the first few seasons of the show; he then went on to work as
story editor and producer. Presumably any use of 'boink' attributable to
Angell's writing would have been during 1983-1984, predating the 1985
use on _Moonlighting_. I've not yet seen any concrete evidence that
'boink' was ever used on _Soap_ other than what's said in the Jargon File
entry.
A bit of searching in the Google Usenet archives provides some more
information. The Jargon File just says this of 'boink':
After the original Peter Korn `Boinkon' Usenet parties, used for almost
any net social gathering, e.g., Miniboink, a small boink held by Nancy
Gillett in 1988; Minniboink, a Boinkcon in Minnesota in
1989; Humpdayboinks, Wednesday get-togethers held in the San Francisco
Bay Area.
"Boinkon", actually "BoinKon", was supposed, I'm sure, to
suggest the *con (convention) names of those science
fiction fan conventions attended by dwe^H^H^Henthusiasts, though
I know little about that. Anyway, in a 1994 posting by Peter Korn on
ba.singles, he explains that the first "BoinKon" was held on Saturday,
March 21, 1986; apparently Korn was then an undergraduate at Berkeley. He
says:
Next came BoinKon II in Oregon, May 29th & 30th, 1986; followed by
the South Bay miniBoink, a BoinKon in Texas, etc. Less than a year
later the term "boink" started being applied to all planned gatherings
in *.singles, no matter what their size. The next party *I* threw
was "Son of BoinKon" on June 25th, 1987.
Interestingly, it looks like the early uses of "boink" in the "sex" sense
on Usenet, all after 1986, were at first mainly in the *.singles
newsgroups. The proximity of the date of the first "BoinKon" to the
heyday of _Moonlighting_ and the specific use of "boink" on _Moonlighting_
in 1985 should be noted.
What would be useful to know is whether Les Charles is right: whether
Angell really *did* coin "boink" (perhaps in conscious imitation of BrE
"bonk"); I don't think anyone here has ever produced evidence of its use
prior to the mid-1980s. The fact that the word was used at all on these
shows reflects, I think, the existence of greater constraints (perhaps
socially rather than governmentally imposed) on American TV show writers'
use of language prior to the 1990s. The early show _Soap_ was
controversial in part because of its frank references to sex (at a time
when much of the US was culturally lurching towards social as well as
political conservatism), and as I recall even _Cheers_ was somewhat
controversial at first for this reason.
--
Richard Fontana
Douwe Egbert
"Richard Fontana" wrote:
>
> What would be useful to know is whether Les Charles is right: whether
> Angell really *did* coin "boink" (perhaps in conscious imitation of BrE
> "bonk"); I don't think anyone here has ever produced evidence of its use
> prior to the mid-1980s. The fact that the word was used at all on these
John Madden frequently used "boink" for its onomatopoeic value
when explaining (gridiron) football plays on TV, pre-1985. At the
time, it had no other signification.
I suspect your observation about "boink" being an imitation of
BrE "bonk" is accurate. "Bonk" was already in innocent use in the US
as a synonym for "bump" or "bang" (as in "I bonked my head going
though the doorway") and wasn't as startling and new as "boink".
I certainly would have made the same choice if I were looking
for a new naughty-but-nice word to use on American TV --
something new and funny-sounding.
--
D E
Steve Hayes
wrote:
>One of the airplane passengers killed in the World Trade Center attacks
>on 11 September 2001 was David Angell, the producer of the television
>show _Frasier_. Angell may have played a key role in history of the word
>'boink'.
>
>The history of 'boink' = 'have sex with', which later also came to have
>the meaning 'social gathering of Usenet newsgroup participants' (and
>which we've had some AUE discussions about in the past),
>seems to be tied closely to television, and indeed I'm not sure the word
>has ever really been used without there being some consciousness of an
>association with television (in this I think it is different from the
>similar-sounding BrE word "bonk", which may well be the remote
>ancestor or at least kin of "boink").
When did "bonk" appear in British English with that meaning?
The first time I heard it, it meant to have an erection ("on the bonk").
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/steve.htm
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
Ben Zimmer
Steve Hayes wrote:
>
> On Sun, 16 Dec 2001 16:32:47 GMT, rfon...@wesleyan.edu (Richard Fontana)
> wrote:
>
> >One of the airplane passengers killed in the World Trade Center attacks
> >on 11 September 2001 was David Angell, the producer of the television
> >show _Frasier_. Angell may have played a key role in history of the word
> >'boink'.
> >
> >The history of 'boink' = 'have sex with', which later also came to have
> >the meaning 'social gathering of Usenet newsgroup participants' (and
> >which we've had some AUE discussions about in the past),
> >seems to be tied closely to television, and indeed I'm not sure the word
> >has ever really been used without there being some consciousness of an
> >association with television (in this I think it is different from the
> >similar-sounding BrE word "bonk", which may well be the remote
> >ancestor or at least kin of "boink").
>
> When did "bonk" appear in British English with that meaning?
First citation in OED2:
1975 Foul Mar. 9/4 (caption) Rita is currently being bonked
by the entire Aston Villains defence!
The rest of the citations come from 1984-87, right about when "boink"
was getting airplay in the States...
--Ben
Fabian
"Ben Zimmer" <bgzi...@midway.uchicago.edu> wrote in message
> > When did "bonk" appear in British English with that meaning?
>
> First citation in OED2:
>
> 1975 Foul Mar. 9/4 (caption) Rita is currently being bonked
> by the entire Aston Villains defence!
>
> The rest of the citations come from 1984-87, right about when "boink"
> was getting airplay in the States...
Around that time (the eighties), the Sun newspaper was promoting that word
as a euphemism for fuck.
--
--
Fabian
Don't you believe insanity claws?
Mike L
Egbert wrote:
[...].
>
>I suspect your observation about "boink" being an imitation of
>BrE "bonk" is accurate. "Bonk" was already in innocent use in the US
>as a synonym for "bump" or "bang" (as in "I bonked my head going
>though the doorway") and wasn't as startling and new as "boink".
>
'Boink' in that sense has been going for ages. My first child, b.1976, for a
while imagined it was the word for what I call a cucumber, since her British
grandmother used to pretend to hit her on the head with one, at the same time
saying 'Boink!' There was no neologistic feeling about the word itself: I feel
sure it was in use in my childhood both in UK and in Aus.
Mike.
Mike Page
Hayes) wrote:
>
>When did "bonk" appear in British English with that meaning?
>
>The first time I heard it, it meant to have an erection ("on the bonk").
I first heard it on 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again', a wireless
programme, sometime in the late 1960s. The phrase was 'bonking
away like a steam engine'.
Mike Page, BF(UU)
Let the ape escape for e-mail
John Holmes
"Mike Page" <da...@pagedm.orang.fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3c20a706....@news.freeserve.net...
> On Mon, 17 Dec 2001 04:16:10 GMT, haye...@yahoo.com (Steve
> Hayes) wrote:
>
> >
> >When did "bonk" appear in British English with that meaning?
> >
> >The first time I heard it, it meant to have an erection ("on the
bonk").
>
> I first heard it on 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again', a wireless
> programme, sometime in the late 1960s. The phrase was 'bonking
> away like a steam engine'.
I think that must be where I first heard it too. Do you suppose Bill
Oddie or someone invented it?
--
Regards
John