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Thread: Starfleet Slang Dictionary

  1. #46
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    Smile

    Couple more;
    Wee-beasties: (n) current
    Nanites (or nanotechnogy). “Sir, we have to release some wee-beasties to find the problem in the ODNs.”

    Deck the Hols: (v) current
    To use a holodeck or holosuite for a ceremonial event (complete to the details of: appropriate place, people, music, and ‘atmosphere’.) “Lt. Brandson’s birthday is in two days, have an engineering team deck the hols in number three tomorrow.”


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  2. #47

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    How about MCoys reference..... "Kobayashi Maru" meaning its all over

    And kirk in startrek 3 "Kobayashi Maru has set sail for the promised land" meaning prepare for step 2?



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  3. #48
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    Wink

    Today’s slang word is:“Crazy Ivan” (n) current

    This is the Starfleet fleet term for a change in heading that causes a slight photon distortion to be projected from a cloaked vessel. i.e. “We thought we had lost the warbird , but he turned chicken and we caught him pulling a crazy ivan.” This happens when the course change is too tight for the cloaking device to keep up or the cloak is in need of repair and alignment. The term is borrowed from earth navies of the western powers whose Warsaw Pact opponents did not have sensors that could see directly behind them, the did a circular turn to check what might be following them.


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    "Seatbelts?!?! Why would we need those on a starship?" Starfleet's first bridge designer

    [This message has been edited by warmon4 (edited 01-20-2001).]

  4. #49
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    "Crazy Ivan?"

    Warmon4, don't take this personally (because it's not - I'm not just picking on the new guy, honest!), but I'm going to use this as an example of what not to do and why.

    Nope, doesn't work. It's an obscure term at best now - I don't think it'll last 375 years.

    Military slang tends either to enter the common vernacular and lose their origins (like the Royal Navy terms "Letting the cat out of the bag," or "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey") or die off completely. Those that hang around do so because they have some measure of currency. When they're a reference to an enemy, they're almost always a sterotype of that specific enemy.

    Even if the term did continue in use, the usage you give is backwards. A Crazy Ivan is an attempt to detect a concealed pursuer, not a telltale trace left by a concealed vessel.

    This is one thing that many SF writers get wrong, especially in TV where there is rarely a quick and reasonable way to tell the audience what a new term means. As Gamemasters (or Narrators), we don't have that restriction - we can provide handouts or maintain webpages to keep our players informed, or simply tell them when it comes up in play.

  5. #50
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    With my players, Crazy Ivan would work just fine. I know if I told the tactical officer that the bad guy was pulling a Crazy Ivan, he'd know exactly what I meant. It might not be a common phrase in the actual 24th century, but it would survive in my game's 24th century. YMMV

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  6. #51
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    Exclamation

    I do agree that the term “Crazy Ivan” would be a bit obscure, but it does have many things going for it as a slang word.

    First off it is a true naval term that was used though out the cold war, at least 25 years. That is a relatively long time for any slang word of such a technical nature. If you know the military well officers love history and read and learn all the time about battles and tactics of the past.

    Second not only did it make it into military history, but it made it into 2 types of formats of popular entertainment of the time period, 3 if you count a video game. The book is quite good and I think Clancy would rank highly in military writers of the cold war. Also a very popular movie of the time period was made and that helps it longevity. Another link to these 2 is sensor officers would love it especially after the Romulans started to use the cloak. If you remember, Jones the sonar {sensor} operator pretty much saved the day by being able to track an untraceable foe. That type of thing would at least keep the book alive in Starfleet’s data banks.

    The last thing that makes it the most authentic is that it is WRONG. I did it on purpose. The true link would have been “knuckle”. What is a knuckle? Well it is swirl cavitation made when a sub turns too sharply at too high a speed. This cavitation can be used to fool sonar and torpedoes, but they know you are out there and pretty close where you were. That is why I think “crazy ivan” rings so true. The real term based on submarine terms would have been “making a knuckle”. The term “crazy ivan” was twisted so badly that it really is not even the right slang for it. Time can do this. Reread what I posted and you will see the twist.

    “crazy ivan” ;This is the Starfleet fleet term for a change in heading that causes a slight photon distortion to be projected from a cloaked vessel. i.e. “We thought we had lost the warbird , but he turned chicken and we caught him pulling a crazy ivan.” This happens when the course change is too tight for the cloaking device to keep up and/or the cloak is in need of repair and alignment. The term is borrowed from earth navies of the western powers whose Warsaw Pact opponents did not have sensors that could see directly behind them, the did a circular turn to check what might be following them.

    If you don’t believe time can twist a word. What does the term “Dragoon” mean to you. Well if you said manga robots yes you are right, but it did not start there. First it was a Type of short barreled, muzzle loading wheel lock from central Europe, in the 17th century I believe. Next it was the term for heavy Calvary. This term was used up until right before The US civil war. After that it was the nickname for the Colt's cap and ball pistol of the 2nd generation, 6 shots and heavy caliber was introduced with that model. Swiss-Morag company as a name for their armored cars and wheeled personnel carriers reused it again; The US Marines’ Lav25 is based of one of them. Then later a manga artist must have thought the word sounded cool in English and now it is a manga show. So to watch a word that should have been dead with the invention of the flintlock stayed alive to span 4 centuries. Pretty good for a word as silly as Dragoon. Yes I spend too much time reading military stuff when I should spend more time on Trek . Thank you Owen for commenting on the post , at least I know a few of you are out there read what I type.



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    "Seatbelts?!?! Why would we need those on a starship?" Starfleet's first bridge designer



    [This message has been edited by warmon4 (edited 01-21-2001).]

  7. #52
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    Originally posted by warmon4:
    Today’s slang word is:“Crazy Ivan” (n) current
    Although "Crazy Ivan" has a nice ring to it, why not twist it a little further and change it to "crazy rommie" or "crazy cent(urion)"?


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  8. #53
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    Arrow

    Or make up a backstory that coined this Federation/Starfleet phrase, "Crazy Ivan," like a Romulan Commander Ivanok who pulled this stunt in one of the many Federation-Romulan skirmishes prior or during to the Tomed Incident.

  9. #54
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    Is it just me or are some of these slang terms insulting? I would think that those coming from Starfleet or the Federation would be less deragotory to the races and planets that make up the Federation.

    In Voyager the term "vulky" was meant to show that the Doctor's holo-son had been hanging around with the wrong element, in this case Klingon teenagers, and picked up their attitude to other races.

    In DS9 Kieko seemed to find it shocking that O'Brien would call a Cardasian boy a "spoonhead" even though she knew of his past with them.

    Some of my players have been reading these posts and using some of the terms in game. This was fine until last night's game when one player thought he was being very clever when he said another player's idea was a "snowheaded" one. Of course two players who play Andorians were quick to take insult.

    I handled the situation by having the CO of the station require the player's character to attend counseling sessions. For game play I fined him all the experience points he earned for that game and explained to him privatly afterward that while some races may appear as cliched personality types, Star Trek as Gene Roddenberry saw it, was accepting of all types of characters for what they contributed to whole. Racial conflict was unheard of and racial insults were not used except among extremists.

    With that said I'd like to contribute some terms that have been used in my campaigns.

    Tree lighting (expression) A ceremonial start up of a warp core, or a cold reignition after repair. "I don't care how impossible it is, light the tree lieutenant."

    ZeeG Walk (noun) A particularly difficult task to accomplish. The opposite of a cake walk. "Tell the Captain this isn't the ZeeG Walk he thought it would be... it's worse."

    Kitomirth (noun) A casual meeting of people to discuss subjects of importance outside of their usual mileu. "Admiral Sullivan usually holds a Kitomirth in the mess hall by calling certain officers over for a cup of coffee."

    O-C (adj)A standby officer ready to handle ops or conn when the PCs leave for an away mission or are injured. "Quick get Lt. Thal to sickbay and someone find an O-C officer to man that station and scan the phenomenon." (originally inspired by FASA's Bridge Specialists but B-S officers inspired too many snickers from players)

    Kesler line (expression) Search for system problem by disassembling all components; eliminating all possible causes for a problem to find the true cause. "The security team swept the entire deck and Kesler lined the emissions to their source." (Inspired by Tony Kesler whose character Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Kesler never allowed any puzzle or trap to get the best of him and was famous for taking apart everything he could get his hands on to find out how it worked.)

    GI (noun or verb) Short for general inquiry of an officer's record or mission debriefing; being reprimanded for actions taken during a mission. "Ensign you should be glad the XO is doing this GI or you'd be facing someone from the Office of the Inspector General.

    Beam Trip (expression) Using a transporter to visit a planet being studied when off duty to get away from the ship for a while. Usually requires permission. "Chief we just want to beam trip down to look at the swamps."

    Stem Bolt (noun) A piece of technology which has become outdated or no longer useful. "After leaving the nebula, the phase inverters were so fried they were just bulky stem bolts on the power couplings but we decied to leave them until we reached Starbase 723."

    Sensor Probe (expression) Crude way saying one is looking at a desirable persons of the opposite sex.

    Scott-taped (verb) Fixed in an unconventional way. "Since I didn't have the proper tool to do a proper job, I Scott-taped it so it would do the job." (Inspired by both Tim Allen and James Dohan)

    Pike (verb)A trap or ambush sprung by an unknown or hostile species. "Our ship approached but we were piked and had to warp out." (Credited to Arnulfo Martinez whose character had ancestors on Pike's Planet.)

    Orbiter (noun) A new crew member who has never been outside Federation space. "The ship crossed the frontier on SD 46789.6 and we had a drink with all the orbiters in Ten Forward."

    Outer Ring (noun)The corridor circling the widest part of a ship which is often used for senior officer quarters as it affords a great view of space.

    Nagus (noun) An officer or enlisted crewmember who is known to stash or produce desirable items or services ie. holodeck time, real liquor, contacts at the next shore leave, etc...

    Squaddy (noun) A term of affection for a recent Academy graduate who has to learn that his squad is now everyone on the ship not just the other players. (tribute to Jimmy Ortiz who is a great roleplayer and who as Ens. Simon Tarquin will make a fine officer)

    Delt/Delta Shift (noun) A term used on someone who is absent for or late to his duty station. Used on ships and stations who operate on three duty shifts. "Who's the delt stationed to transporter room 3?" "Sorry Sir, I believe Lt. Ortiz is on delta shift."

    Blue Note (verb) To make comprehensive and precise sensor recordings, usually with the assistance of or analysis by a scientist of an applicable field.

    Oo-miss; Oo-mix (noun) An attractive person whose appearance, behavior or dress is deliberatly arousing or tantalizing. "The legs on that Oo-miss are really working on me."

    Holo-lose; Hol-ose; Ho-lose (verb) To be deceived or misguided into action by a holodeck program. "The instructor had us holo-lost for the entire day."

    Level 10 (adj) To an extreme degree. (Force fields seem to go up to Level 10)

    Robe-required (expression) An unofficial warning that the attendance at a deeply important religious or ritual event or ceremony requires a sense of formality and sensitivity to the particular culture.

    Drilly (adj) A person who goes out of the way to follow all rules and regulations.

    Sublight Night (expression) A shore leave when characters do everything on impulse. (I apologize for the pun but it is one that my players use.)

  10. #55
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    Lightbulb

    Thank you all for any views you give on my slang terms. As far as that take them as is, twist them .add to them or leave them. I just put them out there as a suggestion of what you might use, but I do thank you for at east reading them.

    As for some of the terms less than being race friendly, I looked back and saw it in my own work {Glow Pig}. I also know the rudest things you can say can also be taken as a term of endearment, when done properly to the right person.
    .
    It you walked up too me and called me a redneck bastard, you would get a bloody lip. If you and I were friends, I would take it as both playful and funny if said in the right tone and at the right moment. Role-playing such a term should be done as carefully. I also think some races might be more than thick skinned at what you call them. I think it was the episode that Wesley went for his exam and met an alien that took kind words as rude. I never let players treat their character as a weird looking human. I could very much see Andorians taking great offence at being called a “snowhead”. Then I could also see a Tellarite taking great pride in being called a “GlowPig”, he also might start and argument that pigs are much better animals the monkeys. That made me think of a new slang term for today

    Ra`ast; {n} current (about 150 years old but still popular} this slur is a shortened Klingon term from a less used dialect of the northern Mountain Range. What the long term originally meant is that a Klingon is week and stupid, but amazingly lucky. The term latter was shortened and twisted and then used as a racial slur against humans. The Klingons of the era never could figure out what the humans were really good for, most races were either stronger or faster or smarter or whatever some were even all of those things. It caught on and moved throughout the galaxy even as far a way as the neihbaright alliance. Humans have never really take offence at the term, being called lucky even that way does not seem to bother most of them. Some times it is even used by other humans i.e. “I just knew I had beaten crewman smith, but the ra`ast was able to draw an inside straight.


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    "Seatbelts?!?! Why would we need those on a starship?" Starfleet's first bridge designer

  11. #56
    "So why did you went into the past and resurrected this thread?"
    "It was an accident."
    "So you're not pretending it was a predestination aradox, a time loop, that you were meant togo in the past."
    "No"
    "Good, we hate those"

    So I'm resurrecting this old thread for one question I have...

    Was, or is there a slang term for very tight carrier landings (or the habit of doing Night landings with Trackers on the Majestic class carrier HMCS Bonaventure (as a note, Bonnie's deck was only 2.26 meters wider than the full wingspan of a Tracker, and carried between 8 and 12 of these)? Akira assigned airwings seem likely to use such a term if the doors are really that tight.

  12. #57
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    Resurrecting this thread makes me think of the single word of slang we use in our game: "space - whatever".

    When RPGing quick everyday lives scenes, or when the players want an equivalent of something commonly used nowadays, they qualify it as "space", like:
    "I go to the mess hall, I'm ravenous, I'll take a space hamburger, then I'm gonna do some space scuba diving on the holodeck."
    Or
    "Ya know, I'd like some sort of string with a weight to trace my way: 'replicator? one space rope with a space mass'".

    OK, that's neither funny nor interesting.
    But that's us

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  13. #58
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    Originally posted by AdmiralACF
    Fergs, flatheads, beagle-ears- Terms referring to Ferengi, usually derogatory.

    Ridge-head - Derogatory reference to a Klingon

    Also for Klingons: Turtleheads; Lump-heads; Rock-heads; Kays
    I'M Captain Kirk!!!!

  14. #59
    In our Enterprise-era campaign, the more xenophobic Human crewmembers aboard Artemis refer to their Centauran counterparts by the derogatory term "hippies" due to their long hair (traditionally indicative of post-Plague Years life expectancy, i.e., the quality of life an individual enjoys) and non-confrontational demeanors.
    Last edited by RaconteurX; 10-12-2002 at 02:12 AM.
    “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”

    -- Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy

  15. #60
    Shouldn't that be a "Crazy Vulcan" (referring to the "Crazy Ivan" comments)... Romulans being Vulcanoids not exactly known for their stable temperaments?


    “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”

    -- Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy

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