Pop-culture shibboleth?

Hey, y'all, check out this really interesting question at Ask MetaFilter:

Is there a word or a term for a pop-culture handshake?

If I wave my hand and tell you 'these aren't the droids you're looking for,' you might repeat me and walk away. If I say "Do you know how many time zones are in the Soviet Union" you might respond with something along the lines of "it's ridiculous, it's not even funny." People can go on for minutes just quoting the Simpsons at each-other.


We've absorbed a lot of pop culture, enough so that responding in reference comes easily and freely. Surely there must be some sort of term for this.

These are my pre-coffee suggestions.

If you're a MeFite, drop a few suggestions? If not, maybe comment here if you have some, and I'll comment again over there pointing at your suggestions?

A happy, a grar, and an nnnngh

First, the happy! silveraspen has bestowed upon me a SNOWFLAKE of my very own! Now I can be unique just like all the other snowflakes. *mwah*

ETA: omg another snowflake! (This one's anonymous; perhaps it's gone undercover.) If this keeps up, I'll have a flurry soon! Good thing I have a robe and fuzzy slippers and eggnog (and rum) in the house.

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Next, the grar! To everyone on my friendslist, all of whom I love DEARLY and would do ANYTHING for, please remember that there is no way in hell that all of your readers know what fandom you might be talking about at any given time. Please drop a hint in the post's subject line, or at least mention it in the post.

"Fanwriter X just posted story Y and it's awesome and YOU MUST GO READ IT!" And, the fandom is...?

"OMG I'm almost caught up - just one more episode!" Of... what?

"I can't rec this vid highly enough." Sounds great! WHAT THE HELL IS IT?!

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And finally, the nnnngh: Guys? We live in an age of unparalleled access to information. In fandom, especially, there is simply no way you can't find everything you need to know about actors, characters, episode titles, what-have-you, for your current fandom, with the most minimal of efforts--SUPER-ESPECIALLY if you belong to communities that are focused solely on that fandom that are high-traffic.

If one more person spells the name of White Collar's Neal Caffrey as either "Neil" or "Caffery," I swear to GOD I will write a perl script that punches people in the face over the internet. (To avoid being cyber-punched, here are some good places to look for info: your show's official website, the IMDB, any number of pro reviews and articles, and, in the case of White Collar, they put his name up in great big letters on a freeze frame in the pilot.)

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Hope everyone is having a delightful holiday season!

Hello, Dexter Morgan

Tonight's Dexter:



Wut.



The preview for next week's Dexter season finale:



Wut.



In conclusion:



Wut.