When it comes to isms, Ferris Bueller, not Trotsky, probably has the most memorable line: “-Ism’s in my opinion,” he said, “are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself.”
Okay, so we can debate whether he’s right or wrong some other time. The fact is, there are lots of –isms out there, and not all of them are doctrines or philosophies. Take bruxism, for example. That’s teeth grinding, something I do when I sleep that causes headaches and all kinds of other problems. (Yes, I have a night guard…woe is me.)
The great thing about the suffix is you can slap it on the end of many roots and/or combinations of syllables, and presto! you’ve got a new word. The Web is filled with funny definitions of some great, made-up isms, like Robotulism, which is defined on this site through a faux newspaper report: “And in Detroit, another six dozen industrial welders succumbed to Mrs Dorfmann’s canned beans today, bringing the total costs to…”
Or how about how this site came up with a new definition of feudalism, using it in a sentence this way:
In a democracy it’s your vote that counts; in feudalism, it’s your Count that votes.
So I thought it would be fun to come up with a list of our own new isms. Drop ‘em down in the comments below. I’ll post the 10 best and we’ll turn the voting over to you all. By this time next week, we’ll have a champion Ismist and a great, new word to announce. Who knows? Maybe one will even wind up on a future mental_floss tee. Stay tuned.
Comments (33)
Comment
- subscribe /
- give a gift /
- terms of service /
- about /
- contact us /
- write for us /
- ad info /
- subscriber services /
- press /
- privacy policy /
- rss /
© 2012 Mental Floss Inc. All Rights Reserved. Mental Floss is a registered trademark owned by Felix Dennis. mentalfloss.com is a trademark owned by Felix Dennis.
Disclaimer: All submissions made to mental_floss become the property of Mental Floss Inc and may be used without further permission by the submitter and without compensation to the submitter. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not submit anything to mental_floss.
Retchism – The science of drinking to excess
posted by Chris on 3-18-2009 at 6:47 am
Bushisms: Complete malpronunciations of words like “mispronuciate,” “strategy,” and “nuclear.”
posted by Joel on 3-18-2009 at 9:03 am
Ironically, I misspelled mispronunciate.
posted by Joel on 3-18-2009 at 9:04 am
flossism, the belief that mental_floss is the only true web site on the net
posted by Karl on 3-18-2009 at 10:05 am
Cronyism: key word of the McCain campaign
posted by Angie on 3-18-2009 at 10:38 am
First Impressionism: the belief that initial reactions to people are reliable. Maybe on a t-shirt, “Be careful, I believe in first impressionism.”
posted by Tony on 3-18-2009 at 10:51 am
You might design the text in some way similar to Impressionist paintings, too.
posted by Tony on 3-18-2009 at 10:56 am
Obviously there is Buellerism, which is not believing in -isms.
posted by Walter on 3-18-2009 at 11:02 am
tryingwaytoohardism – the condition of attempting and failing to post a humorous comment to a mentalfloss post.
posted by Chris on 3-18-2009 at 11:05 am
Potterism: Have you accept his Harryness as your personal savior?
posted by Laurel on 3-18-2009 at 11:30 am
memeism – characterized by people who follow every Internet meme in existence. People who suffer from this -ism are often found to speak lolcat language and dance strangely.
posted by Jennifer on 3-18-2009 at 11:43 am
Foshizzlism – The belief that You Got That Right.
posted by Johnny Cat on 3-18-2009 at 11:57 am
Fonzieism – The belief that you are the coolest man on the planet.
posted by David Miles on 3-18-2009 at 12:05 pm
Perspicacityism-the unordained practice of worshipping practitioners of keen intellect
posted by Orange on 3-18-2009 at 1:20 pm
Farblism – The study of doing things strictly for the purpose of confusing or annoying others.
posted by Don B on 3-18-2009 at 1:21 pm
skism (pronounced as “schism”)-the popular Victorian sport of ski jumping over canyons created by family feuds. Fans will remember Reverend Marcus Hockengwesper, the only man to ever clear the I Think You’re Too Good for My Daughter Gulch in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.
posted by Alex on 3-18-2009 at 1:23 pm
Urkelism: Creating socially awkward situations yet being incredibly self-assured in your intelligence. DID I DO THAT? Yes, yes I did. :)
posted by Amy on 3-18-2009 at 1:55 pm
Urkelism: The act of creating incredibly awkward social situations yet being extremely confident in your intelligence. DID I DO THAT?? Yes, yes I did. :)
posted by Amy on 3-18-2009 at 1:59 pm
Pelosiism: Complete lack of common sense and logic.
posted by Teej on 3-18-2009 at 2:21 pm
Obamism: The hopeful belief that the President can singlehandedly save the country, the economy and the world. Soon.
ReCAPTCHA: allowing leftists
posted by RhondaB on 3-18-2009 at 2:29 pm
Fefifofumism – theory that the basketball team with the tallest players usually wins.
posted by Jim B on 3-18-2009 at 2:58 pm
Printism: the belief that newspapers are the best way to receive the daily news.
posted by Shelly on 3-18-2009 at 3:18 pm
‘j’-ism. A belief in the primacy of the spermatozoa….and I definately don’t want it on a T-shirt.
posted by TXCherokee on 3-18-2009 at 3:27 pm
Regarding the above. I apologize for the crudishness, but I had to let my inner juvenile out just this one time.
posted by TXCherokee on 3-18-2009 at 3:30 pm
Hypocrism: The belief that all beliefs are unfounded.
posted by JD on 3-18-2009 at 3:37 pm
Recidivismism: The belief that history repeats itself.
posted by JD on 3-18-2009 at 3:44 pm
Antithesism: Founded on the principle that opposites attract.
posted by JD on 3-18-2009 at 3:46 pm
Prismism: A belief in the importance of reflecting one’s true colors.
posted by JD on 3-18-2009 at 3:47 pm
Ismism the belief in beliefs
posted by NJ on 3-18-2009 at 4:03 pm
Yabadabadooism – the bedrock of all beliefs
posted by Jim on 3-18-2009 at 5:36 pm
Yabadabadooism – the bedrock of all belief
posted by Jim on 3-18-2009 at 5:39 pm
maidenformism – the foundation of all belief
posted by Denise on 3-19-2009 at 1:07 pm
quarterism – The theory that with 2 quarters, you can party like its yo birthday
eagleism – the theory that u can check out anytime u like but u can never leave
posted by MM on 3-31-2009 at 5:32 pm