Thanksgiving Is Ruined

The Personal is Political. The Political is Personal.

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?
June 15, 2007
 
language creep: the evolution of the "bro deal"

Here comes the new (to me, anyway) use of a phrase that could become very useful for discussion of current events. Phrase below, in context, in bold:

Let me get this straight, you play along with this scandalous appointment with full knowledge that you are not even close to being qualified and certainly not the best choice for the position, and now you're upset that "public service" is sooooo not fair?

This was an insider bro-deal from the get-go and if Mr. Griffin was not aware of that then that alone is testament that he is lacking the facilities to hold the position.


Above taken from discussion here, at 7:23 p.m., 6/14.

From what I can see, the phrase "bro deal" previously has been used mainly in two subcultures.

One involves bikes. See, e.g., here, here, here and here.

The other, and maybe more established use, seems to be within the subculture of surfers.

See, e.g., here and here.

See also the lyrics to Guttermouth's "Surf's Up, Ass----":

The seas are polluted with medical waste
And on the Fourth of July I got sprayed with mace.

But I got a bro deal on a stick, you see.
That's the way it goes in HB.
That's the way it goes, ass----.



A variant of the phrase seems to be the "'way bro' deal."


Increased crossover of the phrase into use to characterize events in the USA's political world could be a very effective shorthand.

In its new context, the phrase seems to encapsulate so many useful, layered meanings.

The phrase's associations encompass not only insider trading or secret use of inside information, and also the preference given to members of the "family" (as in "Fredo") or "brothers," who by definition understand each other to share and value certain similar traits and to exclude or undervalue other traits.

There's a sort of clubby, comfortable, boyish, "cazh," adorable, aspiring jockishness to it that comes close to encapsulating just what is it that makes today's government so different, so appealing.