Some vocabulary misapprehensions that are curiously widespread in Stranger Things fandom

[cimorene]

1. Definition of doe-eyed : having large innocent-looking eyes
   First Known Use of doe-eyed 1933
   Merriam Webster
   
   doe-eyed (dō′īd′) adj.
   1. Having wide-open, innocent-appearing eyes: doe-eyed children gazing at the shelves of candy.
   2. Credulous and unsophisticated; naive: took advantage of doe-eyed investors.
   American Heritage 5th ed. via Free Dictionary
   
   "Doe-eyed" (not typically used as a noun ie "doe eyes", although obviously that form is possible; the fact that the adjective is almost never seen in the fandom while the noun is incredibly widespread is certainly indicative of something off in people's acquisition of the term) doesn't refer exclusively to the size and color of eyes, but to an appearance of innocence, sweetness or naivety, or metaphorically to actual naivety.



2. two-finger salute, slang
   A rude gesture of anger, displeasure, or dismissal in which the index and middle fingers are raised, with the back of one's hand facing the other person. Primarily heard in UK.
   The car behind me had been honking at me to go faster, so I just held up a two-finger salute when he eventually passed by.
   I threw the customer out of the restaurant when I caught him giving a member of our waitstaff the two-finger salute.
   Farlex Dictionary of Idioms via Free Dictionary
   
   The "two-fingered salute" (also "the forks" in Australia[11]) is commonly performed by flicking the V upwards from wrist or elbow. The V sign, when the palm is facing toward the person giving the sign, has long been an insulting gesture in the United Kingdom, and later in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa[2] It is frequently used to signify defiance (especially to authority), contempt, or derision.[12] It was known in Canada with the meaning "Up yours!" as late as to the generation which fought in World War II, perhaps because of their familiarity with the Victory sign throughout the War years. However, subsequent generations seldom use it, and its meaning in this sense is becoming increasingly unknown in Canada.[13][14]
   
   As an example of the V sign (palm inward) as an insult, on 1 November 1990, The Sun, a British tabloid, ran an article on its front page with the headline "Up Yours, Delors" next to a hand making a V sign protruding from a Union Jack cuff.[15][16] The article attracted complaints about alleged Francophobia, which the Press Council rejected after the newspaper stated that the paper reserved the right to use vulgar abuse in the interests of Britain.[17]
   V sign: As an insult, Wikipedia
   
   You can find an article on Wikipedia called "two-finger salute" about the Polish military and Cub Scout salute. The gesture it describes is not and never has been the meaning of a slang expression, but it seems to be what a fairly large chunk of the Stranger Things fandom (hilariously) think "two-finger[ed] salute" refers to. It seems clear from the popularity in this fandom that it stems from a misunderstanding of the British (et al) expression. 1980s kids probably wouldn't have often used a military or Cub Scout salute (no 'two finger' qualification necessary), which is what people seem to think they are referencing; it obviously does have a meaning - it's just not an especially popular element in the pop culture gesture lexicon of the 1980s (or now).



3. coo (ko͞o)
   v. cooed, coo·ing, coos
   v.intr.
   1. To utter the murmuring sound of a dove or pigeon or a sound resembling it.
   2. To talk fondly or amorously in murmurs: The visitors cooed over the newborn baby.
   v.tr.
   To express or utter with soft murmuring sounds.
   American Heritage 5th. ed via Free Dictionary
   
   When a person coos, their tone of voice is different, what the definitions here and elsewhere are describing as "soft murmuring sounds" or "in murmurs". It's that voice that people use for babytalk and romantic partners. I'm not 100% sure what people have been thinking it means, actually, but a fond tone of voice is my best guess.

Comments

[laurenthemself]

I know someone who uses 'coo' when I think she means more like 'croon' in its sense of a low murmur; could it be like that?

[cimorene]

Maybe a mixture of different misapprehensions. That wouldn't cover all of them, but probably some of them.

[torachan]

Not having watched the show or read any fic, is there a lot of saluting going on? Why would they be using that term anyway?

[cimorene]

Yeah, no, there's not. I'm assuming it's spread from an origin in a British fandom and they just... unquestioningly copy it. I assume they're picturing like a sarcastic salute, which is the only kind I can actually think of, but there's no canon basis at all.

[torachan]

Weird! I could at least understand using that phrase wrongly if they were actually giving some sort of salute in canon and just didn't know what to call it. But for multiple authors to make up both the gesture and phrase... I guess it must have started with one popular fic misusing it and then spreading from there because people liked the sound of it.

[cimorene]

Agree, it's super weird. I didn't notice the popular fic source, and I almost certainly read it! But then it had to misuse it too, so it probably just all blurred together.

[ealgylden]

Stranger Things fandom is so completely riddled with Britishisms that I tend to think the two-fingered salutes everywhere are just native usage by British fans. They automatically use it as they themselves would, forgetting that these characters live in Indiana, children! and then we're back to the "no one uses betas any more" issue that I whined at you the other day, heh, so it goes uncorrected. So much inappropriate Brit-speak! And it grates. The only fandom where I find it just as widespread and even more irritating is 911 Lone Star, due to the whole "it's Texas!" factor.

[cimorene]

Well, that's true, there's egregious mistakes everywhere. I can't fathom how someone can reach adulthood having consumed any American books and media and not realize that Americans don't say "in hospital" or have mums. But I'm pretty sure I've seen it in fic that wasn't by British people too, because I remember puzzling over it at the time.

[ealgylden]

I was never in Harry Potter fandom, but I definitely remember a whole kerfuffle about Americanisms all over the fic, and it being an issue generally agreed to be worked on and fixed, and not just tra-la'ed away. And then fandom bounced off blog platforms and onto social media, and now this WIP I'm reading (...for now) has a "whilst" in every paragraph, I swear. Though I do give the author a couple of points back for correctly using "wary" instead of "weary" (they're not even homophones, whyyyy).

Oh, and the one with the AGA! Steve and Robin buy a house (with cash! Real estate was cheaper in the '80s but it wasn't free) and it has an AGA. Noooo, author, no. It maybe has an avocado fridge still in the kitchen, but no house in suburban Indiana in 1986 that a 20-year-old can afford (even a rich one!) has an AGA. Not unless it's haunted by the angry ghost of the Anglophile chef who had it installed, and an exorcism is a condition of the sale.

[cimorene]

Oh! But also, plenty of times the context didn't make sense for them to use it the British way, like... they weren't angry or hostile.

[ealgylden]

Huh, that is weird. I haven't seen that usage, only the correct British one. It's not like those kids aren't flinging their middle fingers around in the show, so you'd think people would notice: just one finger, not two.