In addition to basic Buffydom terms and words and phrases in the episodes, I have also included fanfic and fandom terms that are used frequently in the Buffyverse and some pertain to the internet in general if they fit into the fandom. Please let me know if I forgot anything. *G* In the interest of not reinventing the wheel, there are a few references here whose definitions are borrowed from The Buffy Guide. Those that are used from that source are marked. Thanks! Please choose a letter for a short cut to the word you're looking for: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O |
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| Abbott and Costello | Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were the most popular comedy team of the 1930's and 40's, famous for the screamingly funny "Who's On First?" routine. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Go Fish) |
| A Charlie Brown Christmas | A Charlie Brown Christmas was the very first animated prime-time special to feature Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the characters from Charles Schultz's comic strip Peanuts. First broadcast on December 9, 1965, it has become a perennial favorite, shown every year on television around Christmas time. It also featured the debut of "the Snoopy dance." (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Passion) |
| a deal you can't refuse | In the 1972 film The Godfather (based on Mario Puzo's 1969 novel), "an offer you can't refuse" is a phrase used by Don Vito Corleone, the title character. It meant an offer of help from his extensive crime family, usually illegal, and refusal would most likely result in retribution against the person to whom the offer was made. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| A dream is a wish your heart makes | Who would've thought the Master would quote Walt Disney? That's a line from Disney's 1950 movie Cinderella, and also the title of a popular song from that movie written by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Nightmares) |
| Advent of Septus | The Anointed will rise from the ashes of the Five on the evening of the thousandth day after the Advent of Septus. Sometime in April 1997. |
| AFK | Away From Keyboard |
| AH | Initials for Alyson Hannigan, the actress who plays Willow Rosenberg. |
| Alfalfa | A southwest Asian perennial herb (Medicago sativa) having compound leaves with three leaflets and clusters of usually blue-violet flowers. It is widely cultivated as a pasture and hay crop. |
| Al Franken | Al Franken is a comedy writer and actor with a political bent, who is best known for his work on Saturday Night Live and the NBC sitcom Lateline, and his book Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot. (B1) |
| Alternate Universe | See "AU" |
| Amy Yip | Sexy model and actress from Hong Kong. (see profile here) Mentioned by Xander Willow & Buffy's game of "Anywhere but Here" in The Dark Age. |
| AN | Abbreviation in fanfiction that stands for "Author's Note." |
| Angst | Literally defined, angst is "A feeling of anxiety or apprehension often accompanied by depression," but in the fandom, it is used to describe depressing fics. |
| Anne Rice | Novelist who writes about vampires in her Vampire Chronicles. Her vampires are more romantic and poetic, not necessarily all as evil as BtVS vamps. |
| Archive fic | An amusing way to present information or to go along with information. Generally used when posting to lists. |
| ASH | Initials for Anthony Stewart Head, the actor who plays Rupert Giles. |
| ATM | At the moment |
| A Summer Place | A Summer Place was a hugely popular 1959 movie, made in Scandinavia, which starred Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee. Its theme song (written by Max Steiner) was a number one hit the year of the movie's release, and has since become the stereotypical example of "muzak." (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| AtS | Angel, the series |
| AU | fanfiction abbreviation standing for "Alternate Universe." This means that the fic veers significantly from canon, usually changing the species or powers of the characters and/or the universe/world the fic takes place in. This sometimes includes Wishverse fics. |
| B/A | Buffy/Angel |
| bacchanals | A drunken or riotous celebration. (Mentioned in The Dark Age.) |
| Badfic | A very bad fanfiction. These are sometimes written to be deliberately horrible and amusing, but fics that are not intended to be badfics are sometimes placed in this category. |
| The Bay City Rollers | The Bay City Rollers were a pop group from Scotland that enjoyed enormous success in the mid-70s among teenaged girls due to their good looks and a string of accessible top-ten bubblegum hits. Their biggest hit was "Saturday Night," which hit number one in the U.S. in January 1976. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) Mentioned by Giles in The Dark Age. |
| Be seeing you... | The card that Giles finds in Ethan's shop at the end says "Be seeing you," which was a catchphrase used in the 1967 British TV series The Prisoner, which was about a retired secret agent who is kidnapped and imprisoned in a bucolic but mysterious village. Despite its outwardly friendly nature, the phrase's consistent use by the agent's captors gave it a distinctly sinister tone. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| Beta | or "Beta Reader." Literally, the letter "B" in Greek. In fanfiction, this means the person who proofreads a fic before it is posted. |
| Betel Nuts | seed of the betel palm; chewed with leaves of the betel pepper and lime as a digestive stimulant and narcotic in southeastern Asia (source) |
| bezoar | Pre-pre-historic parasite. The mother hibernates underground, laying eggs. The offspring then attach themselves to a host, taking control of their motor functions through neural clamping. The mother of the eggs in the basement under the school in Bad Eggs. Also, picked up in the fandom as a term for rude or otherwise flamey people. |
| <BG> or *BG* | Big Grin |
| Binding Rituals | The purpose of this spell is to rid a person of the negative energies of someone who is mentally or emotionally abusing anyone. It doesn't harm. It simply keeps the person from harming his/herself or another. (First mentioned in IRYJ) |
| Bizzaro World | In DC Comics' Superman comics, Bizarro-world is an evil alternate universe where everything is a twisted, negative mirror-image of the real world. The Bizarro-world concept was recently re-popularized by the 1996 episode of Seinfeld entitled "The Bizarro Jerry." (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| Blue Lagoon | Cordelia: "It's one thing to be dating the lame, unpopular guy, but it's another to be dating the Creature from the Blue Lagoon." Xander: "Black Lagoon. The Creature from the Blue Lagoon was Brooke Shields." He's right. One
is from a famous 1954 horror movie starring Richard Carlson and Julia
Adams,
the other is a cheesy 1980 "teenagers
come of age while romping around a desert island mostly naked" movie
starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. Don't get them confused.
(Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Go
Fish) |
| BRB | Be Right Back |
| Brother Luca | Not seen on the show, only mentioned by Jenny. He was sending global emails out regarding the end of the world events in (PG). |
| B/S | Buffy/Spike |
| Blog | An online journal |
| Boca del Infierno | See "Hellmouth" |
| Bogart | The slang term "to Bogart" has come to mean hoarding something for oneself. It was made famous by the Little Feat song "Don't Bogart That Joint," which told of hoarding a marijuana joint in one's mouth in much the same way that film star Humphrey Bogart would simply let a cigarette dangle from the corner of his lips for long periods of time. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Killed by Death) |
| Bovril | an extract of beef (given to people who are ill, beef tea |
| Boxer Rebellion | The Boxer Rebellion, during which Spike killed a Slayer, was an anti-Westerner uprising in China that took place from 1900 to 1901. Resentful of the economic power and social condescension practiced by Europeans and Americans living in China around the turn of the century, the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi encouraged her subjects to rise up. This led to a group of armed Chinese calling themselves "The Fist of Righteous Amity" smashing up western-controlled train stations and businesses and eventually actually murdering Westerners. A coalition of Western forces including the U.S. Marines fought the Chinese back to Peking and imposed harsh terms of surrender upon them. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| Brethren of Aurelius | see "Order of Aurelius" |
| The Bronze | Cordelia: The Bronze. It's the only club worth going to around here. They let anybody in, but it's still the scene. It's in the bad part of town. (WttH) The Brone is a club in Sunnydale that is a reoccuring meeting place in all seven seasons of BtVS. |
| BTW | By The Way |
| BtVS | Buffy the Vampire Slayer |
| Buffyverse | The slang, fanfiction and general world of the fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It pretty much encompases everything. |
| Burning Man in Black Rock | The Burning Man festival, which Ms. Calendar attended over the summer, is a "temporary art community" set up every summer in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada by Larry Harvey's Burning Man Organization, which presents visual arts, music, performance art, and other full-involvement artistic expressions. 1998 is the festival's 14th year. For more information on the festival and the organization, visit the Burning Man Project's official website. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| Buster Keaton | Buster Keaton (1895-1966) was, along with Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, one of the biggest names in comedy during the silent film era. He wrote, directed, and starred in a large number of comedy films, both short and long, in the 1920's (The General (1927), Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928) and The Cameraman (also 1928) are among the best known and loved), and his innocent charm and brilliant slapstick style made him one of the most popular and influential comedians of all time. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (FHT) |
| Call of the Wild | 1903 novel by Jack London (1876-1916) |
| canon | This is anything that is written into the show, either seen, spoken or referred to. |
| Captain and Tennille | The Captain and Tenille are a married pop music duo (Toni Tenille sings and the Captain—whose real name is Daryl Dragon—plays the keyboards) who are most famous for their soft-rock hits "Love Will Keep Us Together" (1975) and "Do That To Me One More Time" (1979). Brian recently had the opportunity to see them in person when they did an interview at the TV network he works for, and Xander's right—Tenille totally wears the pants in that relationship. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| Carebear | The Care Bears were a series of collectible teddy bears introduced by Hasbro in the 1980's and quickly spun off into a huge entertainment empire including clothing, comic books, and cartoons. (There was even The Care Bears Movie in 1985!) The Care Bears were supposed to represent all that was good and pure and fluffy and saccharine in the world. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| casa | Spanish word for "house." (Mentioned in Dead Man's Party) |
| Catwoman | In DC Comics' Batman comics, Catwoman is a sexy cat-burglar, the alter ego of Selina Kyle. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| CC | In Buffyverse, this usually stands for Cordelia Chase. It also can stand for Conventional Couple. This is a couple that was actually together in the show, such as Willow/Oz or Buffy/Angel. |
| Celtic sea maidens | "Sea Maidens" were also called "Sea Sprites" or "Morgans." Morgen (Also known as Morgana or Morganna) is the Celtic goddess of the sea, fate, death and rebirth. (Mentioned by Giles in TP.) |
| Challenge (or Challenge fic) | A challenge is a plot outline or idea given to someone else to write a fic around. The result is a Challenge fic. |
| chronic fatigue syndrome | chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is usually diagnosed when the patient has severe chronic fatigue of six months or longer duration with other known medical conditions excluded by clinical diagnosis, and Concurrently have four or more of the following symptoms: substantial impairment in short-term memory or concentration, sore throat, tender lymph nodes, muscle pain, multi-joint pain without swelling or redness, headaches of a new type, pattern or severity, unrefreshing sleep, and post-exertional malaise lasting more than 24 hours. (More here) |
| Circle of Kayless | Magical human circle needed to bind Moloch. (IRYJ) |
| Clark Kent | Clark is a mild-mannered journalist and, of course, Superman. (Buffy compares herself to him in NKAB.) |
| Con | This stands for a convention that is based on a fandom. |
| Conventional Couple | This is a couple that was actually together in the show, such as Willow/Oz or Buffy/Angel. |
| Cordettes | Group of rich, popular females at Sunnydale High, named after Cordelia Chase, who was, for most of high school, the ring leader of the group. |
| Cotswolds | A range of low hills in southwestern England |
| CRD | Calax Research and Development. Third largest employer in Sunnydale till it closed down last year (1996), per Xander (his uncle used to work there). It's the place where Dave and Fritz build the robotic version of Moloch, The Corruptor. |
| Crossover | fanfiction that crosses over more than one show or subject. (Example: A fic about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter is a crossover fic.) This also refers to episodes of the show in which Buffy appears on Angel or Angel appears on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. |
| CWC | A fanfiction abbreviation meaning, "Curse, What Curse?" It is used to disclaim in fic that Angel's curse will be ignored in the story. |
| Cyrano | In Cyrano de Bergerac, the classic 1897 play by Edmond Rostand (1868-1918), the title character (a soldier with a romantic soul and a gift for words but who is deformed with an immensely long nose) helps his dim-witted fellow soldier Christian romance the lovely Roxanne by giving Christian the right words to say to Roxanne, even though he is desperately in love with Roxanne himself. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| Darkfic | A fic which contains a lot of pain, torture, angst or all three. Generally not happy reading. |
| DB | Initials for David Boreanaz, the actor who plays Angel. |
| Dead Man's Party | The episode title, "Dead Man's Party," is a reference to the 1985 Oingo Boingo song of the same name, which is indeed fitting — the song includes lines such as "Going to a party where no one's still alive." (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| Debarge | DeBarge was an eighties pop group. Made up of Eldra, Mark, Randy, Bunny, and Bobby DeBarge. |
| Denial fic | A fic that clearly ignores that a certain event happened on the show. |
| Disclaimer | Literally, a disclaimer is a repudiation or denial of responsibility or connection or a renunciation of one's right or claim. In fanfiction, it's the same thing. It's a statement in the header information of a fanfiction announcing that the writer does not own the characters and is not profiting from the fiction they are writing. |
| Dorothy Hamill | Ice skating gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. (Mentioned by Buffy in What's My Line, Part 1) |
| Dreidel song | A dreidel is a
small top shaped like a cube with Hebrew letters on each of its four
side faces, tapering to a point at the bottom and with
a little handle at the top. It is a traditional gift given to Jewish
children during the holiday of Hannukah, and has long had a song associated
with it, the lyrics of which are as follows: I have a little dreidel, Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, It has a lovely body, Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel,
|
| Dr. Laura | Dr. Laura is Dr. Laura Schlessinger, a New York psychologist and author who hosts a nationally syndicated radio program on which she tries to solve listeners' emotional problems. She has her own website at http://www.drlaura.com. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (IOHEFY) |
| Elseword | See "AU" |
| Emily Dickinson | Emily Dickinson was an American poet who was virtually a recluse at her home in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she wrote more than a thousand verses infused with emotional depth and subtlety. The first volume of her poetry was not published until 1890. (Mentioned by Owen in NKAB.) |
| En garde | French phrase used to warn a fencer to prepare for a match. |
| Epstein-Barr | Epstein-Barr virus, frequently referred to as EBV, is a member of the herpesvirus family and one of the most common human viruses. In the United States, as many as 95% of adults between 35 and 40 years of age have been infected.When infection with EBV occurs during adolescence or young adulthood, it causes infectious mononucleosis 35% to 50% of the time. (More here) |
| Evita | Evita was the nickname of María Eva Duarte de Perón (1919-1952), a relatively obscure Argentinean actress who married political leader Juan Perón. When Perón was elected President of Argentina in 1946, she amassed a huge political following as an outspoken champion of women and the poor, and pretty much co-ran the country with her husband. She also gained a reputation as a self-centered prima donna. After her death, the dictatorial Perón rapidly lost his popularity, and he was driven out and forced to flee the country in 1956. A famous musical based on Eva Perón's life, called Evita, was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and turned into a 1996 movie starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| Exorcist | The Exorcist is a classic 1973 horror film. (Mentioned in Teacher's Pet and again in I Only Have Eyes for You.) |
| Fandom | The people and things that make up the fans and creations of fans for certain shows, movies, books, etc. |
| Fanfiction | also known as fanfic and fic. It is fiction written by the fans of prexisting characters from shows, books, movies or television. |
| Fanon | This refers to a fact that is created by the fans/fanfic writers and is generally accepted as fact about the characters or an unspoken truth in the show. (Example: It is generally accepted that Angelus and Spike had a sexual relationship before Angel was cursed with his soul. It has never been said directly but has been insinuated throughout BtVS and AtS.) |
| FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions |
| Farrah | Referring to Farrah Fawcett, 1970s model and actress. |
| Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! | In the 1960's, the king of scandalous (at least for that time), trashy, decadent movies filled with violence and scantily-clad, large-breasted women was Russ Meyer. One of the most famous Russ Meyer movies was the 1962 opus Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Passion) |
| Feedback | Letting a writer of fanfiction, video creator, webmaster, etc. know what you think of what they've created. |
| Femslash | This refers to "Female Female," referring to two women in a relationship in a slash fic. |
| FF | This refers to "Female Female," referring to two women in a relationship in a slash fic. |
| Fic | Short for fanfiction. |
| Flame | This is when a fic writer or generally anyone in the fandom (and outside of it actually) is viciously attacked for what they have said or written. The person who is attacking them is known as a "flamer." |
| Flamewar | A fight with a group of people using flames. |
| Fluff | A fic that's happy, containing no conflict. (This also is used to refer to the yahoogroup for BtVS, "BA_Fluff.") |
| foot-binding | In traditional Chinese culture, small feet were considered a sign of extreme femininity and thus was a highly sought-after attribute in potential wives. To make themselves more attractive to men, women therefore practiced the painfully torturous ritual of binding their feet tightly with cloth to stunt their growth and keep them small. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Dead Man's Party) |
| Friar Tuck | Friar Tuck was the monk in the legend of Robin Hood. The reference is off since it was Little John not Friar Tuck that Robin Hood used the quarterstaff to fight. |
| Führer | German word for "leader." Adolf Hitler reference. |
| FYI | For Your Information |
| <G> or *G* | Grin |
| Gandhi | Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948), also known by the title "Mahatma," was an Indian activist and spiritual leader. His creed of satyagraha, or passive resistance to injustice (the Indian word means "truth force"), was adopted later by Martin Luther King, Jr. among others. His tireless and peaceful efforts on behalf of the underprivileged led to the independence of India in 1947 after centuries of unjust British rule. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Mentioned by Buffy in Anne.) |
| Gavin Rossdale | Leader singer of the band, Bush. Mentioned by Buffy in her game with Willow, "Anywhere but Here" in The Dark Age. |
| Gen | fic |
| Gene and Roger | In reference to the famous film critics, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert |
| Gidget | Referring to Sandra Dee in the 50s movie, Gidget. |
| Giga Pet | When the Japanese Tamagotchi, a "virtual pet" which was in fact a small electronic device one carried in one's pocket and "fed" and generally paid attention to lest it died, became an instant fad and sold out literally in hours here in the U.S. in 1996, Tiger Electronics came up with their own version called the Giga Pet, which was more easily available and just as popular. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Mentioned in Bad Eggs) |
| GIP | Gratuitous Icon Post (used mainly for LJ) |
| Goodbye, Picadilly. Farewell, Leicester Bloody Square. | This is a paraphrase of a line from It's a Long Way to Tipperary, a British World War I marching song. Lyrics (and the melody) can be found here. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Mentioned by Spike in Becoming II.) |
| Greek sirens | The sirens were mermaid-like beings living on the rocks in one area of the mythological seas around Greece. The sirens had some of the most beautiful voices in the world. Their songs would lure men towards them, only to dash their ships against the rocks, or drown them as they dove overboard to join the sirens. When Odysseus wanted to pass them, he plugged the ears of his men and had himself bound to the mast. When the Argonauts passed them, they had Orpheus sing to drown them out. (Mentioned by Giles in TP.) |
| GWA | Gut Wrenching Angst. See "Angst" |
| Helen Keller | Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968) lost both her hearing and her sight to a fever when she was two. With the help of a remarkable teacher named Anne Sullivan, she learned to communicate and even speak, graduated from Radcliffe College with honors in 1904, and went on to be a lecturer and activist, crusading for women's rights and the rights of the disabled. A famous movie about her and Anne Sullivan, called The Miracle Worker, was released in 1962, starring Patty Duke as Helen Keller. (Duke played Anne Sullivan in the 1979 TV remake of the film which starred Melissa Gilbert as Helen.) (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| Hellmouth | Giles: Yes. The Spanish who first settled here called it 'Boca del Infierno'. Roughly translated, 'Hellmouth'. It's a sort of, um, portal between this reality and the next. This vampire hopes to open it. (TH) |
| Het | fiction written about a heterosexual relationship between two characters and generally contains smut. "Het" is short for heterosexual. |
| homerically | Homer is the possibly non-existent ancient Greek poet who wrote two of the most enduring works of literature in history, The Iliad and the Odyssey. Both works form one enormous tale of truly epic scope, and thus, even though he may not have existed, Homer's name has become synonymous with such a grand scale. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Killed by Death) |
| Hulk | Reference to the huge, green Marvel Comic character, The Incredible Hulk. (Mentioned by Tom in Reptile Boy.) |
| Human Torch | The Human Torch was one of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four. |
| if he asks you to play chess | This is a reference to Ingmar Bergman's 1956 masterpiece The Seventh Seal, which tells the story of a weary knight named Antonius Block (played by Max von Sydow) who is challenged by Death to a chess match, the stakes being his life. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Killed by Death) |
| if I see a floating pipe and a smoking jacket | The floating pipe and smoking jacket is one of the most famous images from the 1933 film version of The Invisible Man. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Killed by Death) |
| I'm dead as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore. | This is a misquote from the 1976 film Network, an Oscar-winning satire written by playwright Paddy Chayefsky. At one point in the film, a network anchor, played by Peter Finch, yells, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" The phrase became a popular slogan for years. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (IOHEFY) |
| IMHO | In My Humble Opinion |
| IMO | In My Opinion |
| Incubi | A male evil spirit supposed to descend upon and have sexual intercourse with women as they sleep. (WttH) |
| In other words, this was no boating accident | Xander is doing a lousy impression of Richard Dreyfuss as Hooper in the 1975 movie Jaws. Not only does he sound more like Roy Scheider, who played Sheriff Brody in that movie, but the line is actually "This was no boat accident!" (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Go Fish) |
| I, Robot. You, Jane. | I, Robot is the title of a famous 1950 collection of short stories about robots by Isaac Asimov, and "Me Tarzan, you Jane," was a catchphrase made popular in the 1930's by the series of movies based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| I saw that movie! Even the priest died. | see "Exorcist" |
| It makes D.C. look like Mayberry | D.C. refers to Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital, known as the Murder Capital of the World for its extremely high murder rates. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mayberry, North Carolina, was the amazingly wholesome setting of the amazingly wholesome sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, which ran from 1960 to 1968, as well as its spin-off series Mayberry R.F.D. (1968-1971) and the 1986 TV movie Return to Mayberry. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Mentioned by Mr. Trick in FHT.) |
| I Touch Myself | Huge hit for the Australian band Divinyls in 1991. |
| Jack Palance vampire movie | In the club at the end of Act 2, the movie playing on the TV is the 1973 TV movie Dracula, directed by Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis and starring Jack Palance. Ford lip-synchs to Palance's uniquely breathy delivery of the line: "So, you play your wits against mine. Me, who commanded armies hundreds of years before you were born." (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| James Spader | James Spader is an actor. Mentioned by Cordelia in WttH. |
| Janus | The god of gates and doorways, depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions in Roman Mythology. |
| JM | Initials for James Marsters, the actor who plays Spike. |
| Joan Collins | Joan Collins is a British actress, known for playing a villianous roles. |
| John Cusack | John Cusack is an actor. Mentioned by Willow in her game with Buffy, "Anywhere but Here" in The Dark Age. |
| John Tesh | John Tesh is an actor. Mentioned by Cordelia in WttH. Buffy called him "The Devil." |
| John Wayne | John Wayne was an actor (Marion Michael Morrison, 1907-1979). Known as "The Duke." Popular for being a hero in over 200 Western movies. (Buffy calls Kendra "John Wayne" in WML2) |
| Jo-Jo, the Dog-Faced Boy | Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy was one of the many "curiosities" exhibited by showman P.T. Barnum (1810-1891). (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| Jossed | When fanfic author speculates on what caused a plothole in the show and then are shown to be wrong later on the show. (Reference to creator, Joss Whedon.) |
| K.C. and the Sunshine Band | K.C. & the Sunshine Band were one of the biggest stars of the disco era in the late 1970's. They had a string of #1 hits (most of which seemed to have the word "boogie" in them — "Boogie Shoes" and "I'm Your Boogie Man" among them), and were nominated for nine Grammy awards. Although they still record and tour, they remain best known for their 70's hits "That's The Way (I Like It)" and "Get Down Tonight." (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (FHT) |
| Kelkor | a mischief demon, mentioned by Jenny in IRYJ. |
| Kerfuffle | An argument or debate on some fandom topic, sometimes resulting in flames. |
| Keyser Söze | In the 1995 movie The Usual Suspects, Keyser Söze was the name of a legendary master criminal whose name was on the lips of everyone who'd witnessed one of his crimes, but who the police couldn't even begin to find. At the end of the movie, it's revealed that he was right under everyone's nose the entire time. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (TPS) |
| Kleptes-Virgo | Virgin thief, referring to Natalie French, the She Mantis in (TP) |
| "La Boheme", by Puccini | The opera playing in that fateful scene when Giles returns home is La Bohème, the perennial favorite by Giacomo Puccini which was first performed in 1896. The part we hear is "O soave fanciulla," from the end of Act One, when the hero, Rodolfo, and the heroine, Mimì, first declare their love to each other. As Giles walks up the stairs, Rodolfo sings: O soave fanciulla, o dolce viso Oh! lovely girl! Oh, sweet face
Ah, tu sol comandi, amor! Ah! Love, you rule alone! while Rodolfo sings: Fremon già nell'anima Already I taste in spirit ( (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Passion) |
| Laker Girls | The cheerleaders for the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. |
| Laura Ashley | Clothes Designer who died in 1985. |
| Live Journal | See "LJ" |
| List Mommy | See "Moderator." Also called "List Mom." |
| LJ | Short for the blog (online journal), Live Journal. |
| Locutus of the Borg | In the third-season finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation, an episode entitled "The Best of Both Worlds," Enterprise Captain Jean-Luc Picard was captured by the Borg, an emotionless cyborg race bent on universal assimilation, and turned temporarily into one of them. In his converted state, he was known as Locutus of the Borg. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Xander calls Giles "Locutus of the Borg" in PG) |
| LOL | Laugh Out Loud |
| Lost Weekend-ing | The Lost Weekend is a classic, powerful 1945 film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman, about the effects of alcoholism on one man's life. Based on a novel of the same name by Charles R. Jackson, the movie won Academy Awards® for best picture, best actor (Milland), best director (Wilder) and best screenplay (Wilder and Charles Brackett). (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Mentioned by Buffy in TDA.) |
| Lurker | A person who reads fanfic, mailing lists, message boards or blogs, but does not comment, feedback or actively speak within the group. |
| Macho Man | Macho Man was a hit song by the Village People in 1978. (Sung by Buffy in The Witch.) |
| Machiavellian | The Italian philosopher Nicolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was one of the most influential of Renaissance thinkers. His most famous work was the 1515 treatise The Prince, in which he says that to remain in power and be truly effective, a ruler must reject traditional morality and use his power ruthlessly — for instance gaining a reputation for stinginess instead of generosity, or to be severe rather than merciful when administering punishment. As a result, the term "Machiavellian" has come to describe the practice of achieving one's goals by whatever means necessary, whether those means are moral or not. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Mentioned by Giles in Bad Eggs.) |
| Manchester United | Manchester United is a British soccer team. In the late 90's they have been perennial challengers for the Premier League championship, and were the home of a slew of international soccer stars like French scoring machine Eric Cantona (who retired in his prime in May 1997 to pursue an acting career) and Mr. Posh Spice himself, David Beckham. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Mentioned by Spike in Becoming II.) |
| Man, this sucker wobbles, but he won't fall down! | Weebles, a toy produced by Kenner, were egg-shaped figures which, due to the weights inside them, could not be anything other than the right way up. That was their selling point — "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down" was their well-known advertising slogan throughout the 1970's. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Xander quote in Dead Man's Party) |
| Marie Antoinette | Queen of France, 1755 - 1793. Cordelia's little speech in history class gives her eloquently skewed view of the French Revolution, a violent uprising in France that began in 1789 in which the lower- and middle-classes in France demanded equal rights from King Louis XVI and the land-owning aristocracy. Rather than make any concessions that could have saved the monarchy and appeased the French people, King Louis' Austrian-born queen, Marie-Antoinette, convinced her weak-willed husband to hold out and seek aid from foreign governments. When Austria and Prussia declared war on France in 1792, she passed secrets to those armies, hoping that they would defeat the "rabble" that had essentially deposed her and her husband. The Revolutionary government tried and convicted the royal family of treason, and both King Louis and Marie-Antoinette were executed at the guillotine in 1793. Her famous quote, "Let them eat cake,"was not, as Cordelia believes, a generous gesture, but rather her response to the peasants' complaints of bread shortages: cake was a cheaper and much less nourishing food item than bread, and so her statement becomes dismissive rather than magnanimous. (Part of source: Buffy Guide) |
| Martha Stewart | Martha Stewart is famous for being a homemaking expert, writer, and television personality who has been called a “lifestyle guru.” Recently, she was accused of making false statements, obstructing justice and committing securities fraud (2004). Her trial is still in process. (Mentioned in FHT.) |
| Mary Kay | Mary Kay is a cosmetics company that was started by Mary Kay Ash in 1963, and which has now grown into a multimillion dollar international corporation. The company gained quite a bit of unwanted notoriety in the 1980's when they came under heavy scrutiny for the cruelty of their product testing on animals. (Part of source: Buffy Guide) (Xander calls the bug man (from The Order of Taraka) "Mary Kay" when he's under the guise of selling cosmetics to Cordelia in WML2) |
| Mary Sue | A character who is blantly the author's fantasy self in a fanfic. The person is usually unstoppable, unbelievably irresistible or beautiful and/or powerful. Many times this is an original character, but can sometimes be in the form of an existing chracter. These are thought to be authorial masturbation or self indulgent. |
| Masai of the Serengeti | The Masai are a chiefly pastoral people of Kenya and parts of Tanzania. Serengeti is in Tanzania. Mention in The Pack by Giles for their theories about animal possession. |
| The Merchant of Venice | Written sometime between 1596 and 1598, The Merchant of Venice is classified as both an early Shakespearean comedy (more specifically, as a "Christian comedy") and as one of the Bard's problem plays; it is a work in which good triumphs over evil, but serious themes are examined and some issues remain unresolved. (More...) |
| Minion | subordinate official, obsequious follower or dependent |
| Miss Edith | One of Drusilla's dolls. |
| MM | This refers to "Male Male," referring to two men in a relationship in a slash fic. |
| Mod | See "Moderator" |
| Moderator | A person who has some measure of control over a message board or mailing list. Also called a "mod." |
| Mommie Dearest | "So mommie dearest is really... Mommie Dearest." Mommie Dearest was a 1981 film version of Christina Crawford's autobiography, which detailed the harrowing abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her mother, the famous movie actress Joan Crawford. Faye Dunaway starred as Joan Crawford, and Diana Scarwid played the young Christina. |
| Mormon | While it is a commonly held preconception that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or Mormons, practice polygamy, in fact this is no longer true. The practice of multiple marriages among Mormons was ended by a document called the Manifesto, issued by Church president Wilford Woodruff in 1890 in response to pressure from the United States government. Reports of polygamous practices occasionally crop up in the news, but it is not a practice that is any longer officially allowed by the Mormon Church. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Ted) |
| Mr. Belvedere | Mr. Belvedere was an American sitcom which ran from 1985 to 1990. It starred British actor Christopher Hewett as a British society butler who takes a position as nanny and housekeeper for a wacky American family, the patriarch of which was played by baseball announcer Bob Uecker. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Dead Man's Party) |
| Mr. Gordo | Buffy's stuffed pig. First mentioned by name in What's My Line, Part 1. |
| Neg, Negly | negative (WttH) |
| Neiman Marcus | Neiman Marcus is an upscale department store. |
| Newbie | A new fan or new person to mailing list or message board. |
| NonShipper | This refers to a person who is not a fan of a certain 'ship. It also can refer to the fic itself, that it is not about a certain relationship within the fandom. |
| Oedipus | Buffy, Xander & Willow's performance in the talent show (in The Puppet Show) is taken from the tragic Greek play, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (496-406 B.C.). The play is about a man who unwittingly kills his father and marries his mother. |
| OMG | Oh My God |
| One True Pairing | See "OTP" |
| Orb of Thesulah | Spirit vault for rituals of the undead. It summons a person's soul from the ether and stores it until it can be transferred. It's used in the Restoration spell to recurse Angel with his soul. |
| Order of Aurelius | Order of Aurelius or the Brethren of Aurelius were a vampire group who protected and found the Anointed One. They all wore rings bearing a sun and three stars. They were founded sometime before the twelfth century by Aurelius. It is unknown besides vampire lineage who Aurelius actually was, only that he wrote about prophecies and his brethren. Aurelius prophesied that the brethren of his order would come to the Master and bring him the Anointed. |
| Order of Taraka | |
| Original Character | This is a character written into the fic that is not canon and was usually created by the fic writer. |
| OTP | One True Pairing. This is used in fandoms when they believe there is only one "true" mate for a given character. (Example: Tribute to Buffy the Vampire Slayer's OTP is Buffy/Angel.) |
| Pairing | This is a fanfiction term that describes what couples are used in fanfiction. So if the pairing is B/A, that means the fic is has Buffy and Angel as a couple. |
| PDA | Public Display of Affection |
| pink ranger | In the color-coded children's series Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, the role of Pink Ranger was originally filled by Amy Jo Johnson, as Kimberly Hart, from 1993 to 1995. The reference is actually an in-joke, as SMG's stunt double, Sophia Crawford, used to be Johnson's stunt double on Power Rangers. Johnson left the series in 1995, after playing Kimberly in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie, but reprised the role in 1997's Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. Interestingly, she now has a costarring role as Julie Emrick on the WB's Felicity. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Buffy calls Kendra "pink ranger" in WML2) |
| Plotbunny | A story idea that doesn't go anywhere, but the author feels the need to write it. Possibly inspired by John Steinbeck: "Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen." |
| Pos | positive (WttH) |
| POV | Point of View |
| Primals | A sect of animal worshipers that believe that humanity, consciousness, the soul, is a perversion, a dilution of spirit. To them the animal state is holy. They are able, through trans-possession, to draw the spirit of certain animals into themselves. (Described by Giles in The Pack.) |
| Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly | In her nightmare sequence, Willow is dressed to sing the part of Cio-Cio-San, the title character of Giacomo Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly. The selection is the famous love duet from the end of Act I, as Cio-Cio-San prepares to spend her wedding night with her new American husband, Pinkerton. Aldo, as Pinkerton, sings: Bimba
dagli occhi pieni di malia, Child, from
whose eyes the witchery is shining, At which point Willow, as Cio-Cio-San, is supposed to sing: Somiglio I come like After singing the line "Ora sei tutta mia," Aldo Gianfranco gestures to Willow as though it's her turn to sing, but in the piece they're singing he actually has three more lines to sing (which he eventually does) before it's the soprano's turn. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Nightmares) |
| PWP | A fanfiction abbreviation meaning, "Plot, What Plot?" Also defined as "Porn Without Plot." It is used to disclaim in fic that the fic will probably be mainly fluff or smut. |
| Razorbacks | Name of the Sunnydale High School sports teams. The Sunnydale Razorbacks. |
| Rebecca of Sunnyhell Farm | Spike refers to Buffy as "Rebecca of Sunnyhell Farm" in WML2. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm was a hugely popular 1903 children's book by kindergarten teacher Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856-1923), which told of the adventures of spunky little farm girl Rebecca Rowena Randall, sent from Sunnybrook Farm by her widowed mother to live with her aunt and uncle in town. It was turned into a play and later into at least three movies, including a 1917 silent version starring Mary Pickford and a hit 1938 version starring Shirley Temple. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| Redrum | Reference to the movie "The Shining" (1980), based on the novel with the same name by Stephen King. "Redrum" is "murder" spelled backwards. |
| Retcon | Retroactive continuity. This is a plotline in the show, either a plotline or a character, that is written differently than previously portrayed. (Example: Cordelia's change in personality from the beginning of BtVS through AtS is sometimes considered to be retconned.) |
| Ringwald | Reference to Molly Ringwald, actress. Famous for movies 80s (most written by John Hughes) such as Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles. (Mentioned by Buffy in WML2) |
| RL | Abbreviation standing for "Real Life" used in fanfic notes and blogs. It means life outside of the Internet. |
| Roofie | Roofie is a common slang term for Rohypnol (a brand name for the drug flunitrazepam), the so-called "date rape drug," which is all too frequently put to bad use by guys who slip it to their unknowing dates, then take advantage of the girl's subsequent tranquilized daze. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Mentioned by Buffy in BBB.) |
| ROTFL | Rolling on the Floor Laughing. Also seen as ROFL or ROTFLMAO (Rolling on the Floor Laughing My Ass Off) |
| Round Robin | A round robin has two definitions. The first is based in the show. In episode _____, Buffy, Xander and Willow call their mothers to tell them they are staying at each other's houses all night, thus freeing them up for world savage. The second definition is in fanfiction when a group of writers get together to write a fic. They write a part, pass it on, write another part, etc. |
| RST | Resolved Sexual Tension |
| Sabrina | A teenage witch who has appeared in Archie comics, as well as a sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart. (TW) |
| Samurai | The Japanese feudal military aristocracy or a professional warrior belonging to the Japanese feudal military aristocracy. |
| Scooby Gang | Refers to the cartoon, Scooby Doo, Where Are You?, (Hanna Barbera 1969-1972). Recently Sarah Michelle Gellar, who plays Buffy, starred in the movie version of the cartoon with her husband Freddie Prinze, Jr. A second movie is being made and is expected to come out in 2004. |
| Scully | Refers to the character, Dana Scully in X-Files, who is the skeptic of supernatural occurences, while her partner, Fox Mulder, is the believer of the theories. (Pack) |
| 'Ship | See "’Shipper." |
| 'Shipper | Shipper refers to the relationships on the shows and what you're a fan of. If you like Willow and Tara together, you would be considered a Willow/Tara Shipper. The group of people and fanfiction involved is collectively referred to as the "Ship." |
| Shwarma | Middle Eastern meat dish, often served in a pita. (TP) |
| Sigmund Freud | The Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1865-1939) is known as "the father of modern psychoanalysis." His theories revolutionized the field of psychiatry by introducing such now-common concepts as unconscious repression, defense mechanisms, and the ego and the id. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Mentioned by Xander in Ted.) |
| Sillyfic | Simply put - a fic that's silly. It's usually written as lighthearted amusement, sometimes satirical in nature. |
| Single-White-Femaled | In the 1992 movie Single White Female, Bridget Fonda plays a woman whose roommate, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, starts to copy her lifestyle and her look, and eventually tries to kill her in an insane attempt to completely take over her life. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (FHT) |
To be made into a vampire. A vampire's "sire" is the one who created him/her. Buffy: To make you a vampire they have to suck your blood. And then you have to suck their blood. It's like a whole big sucking thing. Mostly they're just gonna kill you. (WttH) |
|
| sitch | situation. Mentioned by Buffy in WttH. |
| sit 'n' spin | A Sit-N-Spin is a toy (especially popular back in the 70's) consisting of a rotating base around a stationary central column. Children sit on the base and spin themselves around until they get dizzy. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Becoming II.) |
| SMG | Initials for Sarah Michelle Gellar, the actress who plays Buffy Summers. |
| Slash | fiction written about a homosexual relationship between two characters. A "slasher" is someone who either writes or reads this particular sort of fanfiction. |
| Slayer | In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer. (WttH) |
| Slayerettes | Buffy: You guys don't have to get involved. Xander: What d'ya mean? We're a team! Aren't we a team? Willow: Yeah! You're the Slayer, and we're, like, the Slayerettes! (TW) |
| Snark | To bitch or be rude about something. (Also called being snarky.) |
| Songfic | A fic which is inspired by a song or is filled with song lyrics to support the prose. |
| Spider Sense | Referring the the Marvel Comic book superhero, Spiderman. |
| Spoiler | A bit of information about one of the shows that has not been aired yet or for someone who has not yet seen the show. If someone has this information or has read about it, they are considered to be "spoiled." It is considered polite in most fandoms to give a "Spoiler Warning" if you're about to impart information that has not yet been revealed on the show. |
| Spuffy | Referring to a relationship between Buffy and Spike. Fans of the B/S 'ship are known as "Spuffers." |
| Squee | Referring to a sound of happiness or excitement. |
| Squick | Used in fandom as something that makes a person uneasy or freaked out. |
| Stepford | This episode was sort of a reversal of The Stepford Wives, Ira Levin's 1972 novel about a Connecticut suburb in which all the wives are perfect, but turn out to be robots. And there's another nifty in-joke in Ted's culinary prowess, as he is most famous for playing Jack Tripper, a cook, from 1977-1984 on the sitcom Three's Company. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Ted) |
| Stooges | The Three Stooges were the famous slapstick comedy team who recorded 190 film shorts between 1934 and 1959. Moe Howard (born Moses Horwitz) and Larry Fine (born Louis Feinberg) were in all of them, and most featured either Curly Howard (born Jerome Horwitz) or Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz)—both Moe's brothers—as the third Stooge. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) |
| Succubi | A female demon supposed to descend upon and have sexual intercourse with a man while he sleeps. (WttH) |
| Sunnydale | A town in Sunnydale, two hours from Los Angeles, also sits on the mouth of Hell. Buffy: It's two hours on the freeway from Neiman Marcus? (WttH) |
| TBC | To Be Continued |
| Tea cozy | a padded cloth covering to keep a teapot warm. (Mentioned by Buffy in Anne.) |
| Technopagan | A Technopagan is a pagan who embraces technology. |
| The 'A' | The A-Team was a comedic action series which ran on NBC from 1983-1987, starring Mr. T, George Peppard, Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz. (Many appreciative thanks to Rod, who runs the Alyson Hannigan Appreciation Society, and to Tigger and Ryan for bringing the A-Team connection to our clueless attention. We missed it.) (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Go Fish) |
| Deep End of the Ocean | Pat tells Buffy that her mom was reading Deep End of the Ocean, the critically acclaimed and best-selling 1996 debut novel by Jacquelyn Mitchard about the harrowing problems a family faces when their youngest son is kidnapped. A few months after this episode aired, the movie version entered theaters. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Dead Man's Party) |
| The Greatest Love Of All | "The Greatest Love Of All," sung by Cordelia in The Talent Show (TPS) was a Whitney Houston hit (1986). |
| Thelma and Louise | 1991 movie starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon. |
| Three times a Fish Guy | The song "Three Times A Lady," written by Lionel Ritchie, was a big hit for his old band the Commodores in 1978, and features the famous chorus "Once, twice, three times a lady." (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Go Fish) |
| The Three Musketeers | This is a reference to Alexandre Dumas' classic novel, The Three Musketeers. Athos, Porthos, and Aramis along with Musketeer wannabe D'Artagnan battle to save Louis XIV from Cardinal Richlieu. |
| The Order of Taraka | Bounty hunters and assassins sent after Buffy by Spike in WML1. |
| The quality of mercy is not Buffy. | Another Xander misquote, this time of Portia from act 4, scene 1 of
Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice:
The quality of mercy is not strain'd, |
| The Yankees | New York's American League baseball team |
| TMI | Too Much Information |
| Todd Oldham | Todd Oldham is a designer based in New York. (Mentioned by Cordelia in Angel.) |
| Tony Robbins | (AKA Anthony Robbins), world renowned motivational speaker. (Mentioned by Buffy in What's My Line, Part 1) |
| TPB (or TPTB) | "The Powers that Be." The "powers" as they are also known refer to the higher beings that control the Slayer and the fight between good and evil. They are a semi-subsitute for a religion base in BtVS. TPB play a much larger part in AtS than they do in BtVS. This also sometimes refers to the original writers/creators/directors of the show. |
| TTFN | Ta-Ta for Now |
| TTYL | Talk to you Later |
| UC | Unconventional Couple. A couple that was not seen on the show as being a couple. (Example: A fic about Buffy/Faith as a couple is unconventional.) |
| Uncle Tom | This is a reference to the 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, the famous first novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896). The novel's title character is a pious and faithful slave whose overeagerness to win the approval of his white masters has made his name synonymous with obsequious subservience to authority by minority members. (Source of definition: Buffy Guide) |
| UST | Unresolved Sexual Tension |
| Vampires | The undead. Vampires are demons are demons that feed off blood to live. Giles: The books tell the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed, infected by the demon's soul. He bit another, and another, and so they walk the Earth, feeding... Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind. Waiting for the animals to die out, and the old ones to return. (WttH) |
| <VBG> or *VBG* | Very Big Grin |
| Vessel | Giles: It comes once in a century, on this night. The Master can draw power from one of his minions while it feeds. Enough power to break free and open the portal. The minion is called the Vessel, and he bears this symbol. (TH) The vessel was the vampire, Luke. |
| Vignette | Literally, a short, usually descriptive literary sketch. A short story dealing with a single subjet or a limited time frame. |
| Watcher | A person who trains and prepares slayer (WttH) |
| Watcher's Council | Council of people headquartered in England who control and train the Watchers. They also monitor the work of the Slayer, record history and provide information to the Watcher |
| WB | Welcome Back |
| Werewolf | A person transformed into a wolf or capable of assuming the form of a wolf. In the Buffydom, a werewolf is transformed the day before the full moon, the day of the full moon and the day after the full moon. |
| What's My Line | What's My Line was a hugely popular Sunday night game show that ran on CBS from 1950 to 1967. Hosted by John Charles Daly, it was one of the earliest successes for Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, the duo who have since brought us such enduring game shows as The Price is Right and Family Feud. In What's My Line, contestants were given clues and had to try to guess the unusual occupation of the mystery guest, or to guess a product associated with them. (Source of definition: Buffy Guide) (Mentioned by Buffy in What's My Line, Part 1) |
| where the humans are jumpin' and the cotton is high | Mr. Trick is misquoting "Summertime," the lullaby sung by Clara to her baby in the beginning of George Gershwin's 1935 "folk opera" Porgy & Bess. The actual lyrics are as follows: Summertime and the livin' is easy.F ish are jumpin' and the cotton is high. Yo' daddy's rich and yo' mama's good lookin'. So hush little baby, don't you cry. One of these mornin's, you're gonna rise up singin'. You're gonna spread yo' wings and take to the sky. But til that mornin' ain't nothin' can harm you. With yo' daddy and mammy standin' by. (Source of definition: Buffy Guide) (FHT) |
| Whirligig | A carousel; a merry-go-round, something that continuously whirls (Trivia: There's also a whirligig beetle.) |
| Whole nine yards | Many theories have been put forth to answer Buffy's question, but no one seems to know the real and true answer, if there is one. The two explanations we've heard more than any others: Nine yards is the length of a belt of bullets for an old-fashioned machine gun, and so soldiers would be ordered to "give 'em the whole nine yards." Nine yards is the length of fabric used to make a burial shroud. (Source of definition: Buffy Guide) (Mentioned by Buffy in What's My Line, Part 1) |
| Winged Monkeys | Referring to The Wizard of Oz. The winged monkeys were pets of theWicked Witch of the West. (Pack) |
| Wild Bunch | Violent 1969 western movie. |
| Wildfeed | The Wildfeed is the feed from production companies to networks, that runs in advance of the network broadcast. |
| WIP | Work in Progress. A fic that is unfinished. |
| Wishverse | This comes from the 3rd season episode, "The Wish." It is fic that stems from this particular episode or revolves around a wish being granted by a vengenance demon, usually Anya. |
| "With A Little Help From My Friends" is the name of a song from the Beatles' 1967 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Joe Cocker recorded a popular cover of the song in 1968 which was later used as the theme song to the television show The Wonder Years. (Source of definition: Buffy Guide) | |
| W/O | Willow/Oz |
| Woodstock | Woodstock, which Spike attended, was a musical festival held in a farmer's field in Woodstock, NY, the weekend of August 15-17, 1969. Featuring such acts as Jimi Hendrix, Ravi Shankar, and the Grateful Dead, the event immediately came to symbolize the bohemian atmosphere and hippie culture of the free-love late 1960s. (Source of definition: Buffy Guide) |
| WTF | What the fuck? |
| W/X | Willow/Xander |
| Xena | Lucy Lawless plays the character of Xena in the action show Xena: the Warrior Princess. (Mentioned by Willow in Halloween.) |
| Yoda | Yoda was the wizened, ancient Jedi master who taught Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return Of The Jedi (1983), the second and third movies in George Lucas' Star Wars trilogy. (Source of definition: Buffy Guide) |
| You're soakin' in it, bud | A reference to a series of commercials made in the 1970's starring Jan Miner as Madge the manicurist, who would surprise her clients by informing them that they were soaking their hands in Palmolive dishwashing detergent. (Definition Source: Buffy Guide) (Go Fish) |
| Zombies | A snake god of voodoo cults in West Africa, Haiti, and the southern United States. A supernatural power or spell that according to voodoo belief can enter into and reanimate a corpse. |
