Bamboozle

Bamboozle

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Updated Jul 04, 2018 at 08:34AM EDT by Y F.

Added Mar 23, 2017 at 03:40PM EDT by Adam.

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About

Bamboozle is a word which means "to deceive by underhanded methods" and "to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely."[1] It became popular slang on Reddit's /r/me_irl in late 2016 in posts that asked for upvotes, as users made posts that said if the post gets a certain amount of upvotes, they will perform an action. In such posts, posters include "no bamboozle" to make it known their promise is sincere.

Origin

According to Merriam-Webster, the first known use of "bamboozle" was in 1703. According to Wikitionary,[2] it's an extension of the 17th century vernacular word "bam," which means to trick or con. In 1710, famous author Jonathan Swift wrote an article on "the continual Corruption of our English Tongue" in which he complained about the word "bamboozle." In internet history, the word first appeared on Urban Dictionary [3] on October 23rd, 2003 and gave a similar definition to the Merriam-Webster dictionary (shown below).


TOP DEFINITION bamboozle To be tricked or cheated. been bamboozled. by Pro-fes-i-nal October 20, 2003

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In Pop Culture

Before gaining traction online, the word had some notable uses in popular culture. For example, in the Friends episode "The One With the Baby Shower," the character Joey prepares to audition for a new game show called "Bamboozled." Ross and Chandler help him by pretending to be contestants and though the game's rules seem needlessly complex, they all get very into the game (shown below).



There was also an alternative rock music festival named "The Bamboozle"[6] that went on annually from 2003-2012 in New Jersey. Both a board game[4] and a trivia-question app[5] have the name "Bamboozle."

Doggo Usage

The word also grew popular as a slang word used in Doggo and Stop It Son You Are Doing Me a Frighten images as a word for "confuse."


I sware doggo You do me one concern and i-will bamboozle you to heck and back fascinating mr. spock weee have to do the bamboozle. maneuver to boldly bork where no doggo has borked before oborkiamdoggo.com life is like a box of chocolates canft do it an eat like the I can bork wind blows a bamboozler is bamboozierdoes-2.. abou do a say borkborkiamdoggo.com

me_irl Usage

"Bamboozle" became a popular word on me_irl in posts asking for upvotes following a December 15th, 2016 post by user lordtuts[7] that claimed if his post got over 10,000 upvotes, he would get the next day's top post on me_irl tattooed on his butt. The post gained over 72,000 upvotes. However, lordtuts did not follow through with his promise. On December 17th, he made another post calling the subreddit fools for thinking he'd get a tattoo on his butt for "fake internet points." He then called the subreddit "easily bamboozled" (shown below).



This started a wave of using the word "bamboozle" on the subreddit in posts promising actions in exchange for upvotes, as posters assured subreddit users that they would not "bamboozle" them as lordtuts did. This also inspired the creation of /r/NoMoreBamboozles, a subreddit devoted to monitoring such upvotes-for-action posts.[8] On March 22nd, user WhyNotFerret[9] posted a contract to me_irl to ensure a reduction in bamboozles.


Amendment To Reduce Bamboozles Henceforth, all posts promising an action based on the number of upvotes the post recieves must include a MAXIMUM CASE CLAUSE. This forces the poster to consider the maximum amount of effort, money, etc. he or she is willing to commit, and prevents cases where the poster receives too many upvotes and must withdraw said promise. If such a post is created WITHOUT a MAXIMUM CASE CLAUSE, it will be officially considered a BAMBOOZLE. Perhe me irl constitution, this amendment will be ratified if it receives a minimum of 5,000 upvotes, and at least 100 "me too thanks" comments within 24 hours of the amendment's submission. ** ME TRU This amendment contains a Dat Boi watermark to ensure authenticity

Various Examples


Sage Adice If this Post gets 1o,000 upvotes I will draw the top comment on the wall at ive streanm it. No bamboozle If this gets 250,000 upvotes this will be the most upvoted post on reddit NO BAMBOOZLE If this gets 27 upvotes I will write the bee movie script on sticky notes no bamboozle If His ets wi l personaly thank fV Bamboozle Registry 1. u/lordtuts 2. u/salec1 3. For every upvote this post gets, I will pet my dog once! No Bamboozle! No maximum amount of pets!

Search Interest

External References

[1] Merriam Webster – Bamboozle

[2] Wikitionary – Bamboozle

[3] Urban Dictionary – Bamboozle

[4] Board Game Geek – Bamboozle

[5] Google App Store via WAYBACK MACHINE – Bamboozle – Trivia Quiz Game

[6] Wikipedia – The Bamboozle

[7] Reddit – lordtuts post

[8] Reddit – /r/NoMoreBamboozles

[9] Reddit – No Bamboozlement Contract

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