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Who were those people anyway?


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I've never been fond of "muggles" to describe non-geocachers. I'm seeing that use drift in new directions. This pleases and interests me.

 

From the beginning I saw variations, usually to "muggers" or "mugglers". Recently I've seen "mugs", "mugsters" "moguls"(?!) "mobsters"and "munglers". Curious.

 

You seeing anything new in the "muggle" line?

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I am fine with the original "muggles," but the variant "mugglers" grates on me. The term should stay as a noun.

 

In my logs, I try to be creative with the word. For example, in a log on a cache near a pet exercise area, I've written that "I had to time my grab in between the many passing muggles who were walking their doggles." For a cache at a natural spring, people filling up water bottles became "juggles."

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I've never been fond of "muggles" to describe non-geocachers. I'm seeing that use drift in new directions. This pleases and interests me.

 

From the beginning I saw variations, usually to "muggers" or "mugglers". Recently I've seen "mugs", "mugsters" "moguls"(?!) "mobsters"and "munglers". Curious.

 

You seeing anything new in the "muggle" line?

 

A guy in my area once put out a new cache and said to "watch out for muggers". It was pretty funny, and after comments from the first few finders (and even notes posted by observers who didn't look for the cache), the page was edited. :D Ultimately, I think the variations come from people who have no idea the term comes from Harry Potter.

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...term comes from Harry Potter.
AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RAGE!!!! ANGER!!!! HULK SMASH!!!!!!*

 

Popularized in the US by Harry Potter. Existed in the UK many, many years before Harry Potter.

 

*Sorry, I just didn't sleep very well last night.

I think it's accurate to say that it comes to us from Harry Potter, as in, via Harry Potter. I doubt it would be used in our game if it weren't for the books.

 

The term existed before the books, then was used in the books, then was used in our game because folks had learned the term from the books. So in that way it did come from the books.

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...term comes from Harry Potter.

AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RAGE!!!! ANGER!!!! HULK SMASH!!!!!!*

Popularized in the US by Harry Potter. Existed in the UK many, many years before Harry Potter.

*Sorry, I just didn't sleep very well last night.

 

How's the anger management work going, CM? :D

 

 

Yep... I've heard most of those variants, particularily "muggler" and yes, they grate on my nerves.

 

 

Lep... did you see that lady walking her puggle?

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Never having read the Harry Potter books, I associated muggle with Louis Armstrong and marijuana. The first time I read it (here in these forums I'd guess) I did a small double take. It struck me as odd that geocaching would move from "stash" to "cache" because of the drug connotations, but pick up "muggle". Too obscure a drug reference to matter.

 

As time goes by, the Harry Potter connection may be fade, and the word reassociate to its older/other meanings.

 

 

"Civilians" I like it.

Edited by Isonzo Karst
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Recently I've seen "mugs", "mugsters" "moguls"(?!) "mobsters"and "munglers".

Here in New England, muggle is still pretty much the word people use, though mugglers is quite often used, but that makes me think of a robber.

 

The ones you mention are funny, but I haven't heard any of them used around here. Mugs and mogul are the funniest. When I think of moguls, I think of skiing over the bumps or a couple black cars pulling up with a tall businessman in a dark suit getting out, a couple security guards on each side.

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But, what do "muggles" call us geocachers? Mentals? crazy folk? they who walk round in circles thinking they don't look suspicous whilst staring intently at one spot (in referance to trying to spot a micro in an urban environment)

Edited by Ant89
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I don't use the word much myself, but I must admit I do use it from time to time.

 

The thing that (mildly) grates me is when I see a log that says something like "Found a few muggles at ground zero with GPSrs also looking for the cache!" If they are looking for the cache with a GPSr, they are cachers not muggles!

 

My kids were making fun of me for using that word, so I replaced it with "civilians"

 

If I am with my daughter (who is also a LOST fan) then they are "Others"

 

I'm going to start calling them the Others myself, when out and about. My wife is a huge Lost fan and will get a big kick out of that. :rolleyes:

Edited by rob3k
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Though Nerd existed since the 1950's it was popularised in the 1970s, by the TV show Happy Days.

 

Now Muggle is taking its place in the lexicon as 'the uninitiated or unknowing one'

 

I expect there were people who wanted the word Nerd to just go away, back in the 1970s and 80s, as the use of Muggle appears to generate resistance now. Sorry if you don't like it, it's wide use has already established it as the de-facto term for non-cachers.

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I am fine with the original "muggles," but the variant "mugglers" grates on me. The term should stay as a noun.

 

In my logs, I try to be creative with the word. For example, in a log on a cache near a pet exercise area, I've written that "I had to time my grab in between the many passing muggles who were walking their doggles." For a cache at a natural spring, people filling up water bottles became "juggles."

 

We have lots of caches along the neighborhood greenways in our city. In warmer weather you have to watch out for the jogglers and jigglers as much as the muggles. :rolleyes:

 

I like "Civilians" also

 

Joe

I like girls, I like them a lot.

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I got such a kick out of this misspelling in a local hider's cache page that it has largely replaced "muggle" in my own lexicon:

 

Also, watch for mugles and other people!!(Mugles are people that want to destroy the cache or take the cache.)

 

Here come the mugles tootin' on their bugles. Unless they're walking a dog. Then they become a "muggle with doggle".

 

This all brings to mind a passage in the biography of J.R.R. Tolkien describing Oxford University life in the early 1900's:

 

They also used among themselves a curious slang, which converted breakfast to brekkers, lecture to lekkers, a sing-song and a practical joke to a sigger-sogger and a pragger-jogger, and the Martyr's Memorial to the maggers memugger.
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You seeing anything new in the "muggle" line?

 

No, but I wanted to mention that I was just looking at a cache in Puerto Rico and the first log read:

 

Super facil! El area es bien tranquila, pero hay un parquesito al lado, cuidado con los muggles.

 

Kind of makes me wonder how far it's gone into the vernacular of various places.

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I'm a purist. Muggle is the correct term and any other term is the result of people not taking care in the use of the English language and showing a lack of knowledge of literature.

 

There is a resistance movement. It consists of me and Flask. I always disliked the term and refuse to use it.

I call them non geocachers, passersby, people, anything but m%@gles.

 

I once suggested CLAMS or Cache iLlliterate And unaware Members of Society. I thought it was good, but it never caught on.

 

At one time the common term for a m#g%led cache was "plundered".

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OK - so what did 'muggle' mean and where/when was it used before Harry Potter???

 

Personally, I'd never heard the word before starting geocaching, and I've never read Harry Potter, so i wouldn't have known 'muggle' was used in it, appart from being told on this forum.

 

Annie

 

From Wikipedia

 

The word "muggle" or "muggles" is now used in various contexts in which its meaning is similar to the sense in which it appears in the Harry Potter series of books. Generally speaking, it is used by members of a group to describe those outside the group, comparable to "civilian" as used by military personnel.

 

"Muggle" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003, where it is said to refer to a person who is lacking a skill.

"Muggle" is used in informal English by members of small, specialised groups, usually those that consider their activities to either be analogous to or directly involve magic (such as within hacker culture; and Pagans, Neopagans and Wiccans) to refer to those outside the group.

"Muggle" (or geomuggle) is used by geocachers to refer to those not involved in or aware of the sport of geocaching. A cache that has been tampered with by non-participants is said to be plundered or "muggled".

The NBC science fiction drama series Heroes features a dog named Mr. Muggles, who is owned by the Bennet family. The writers of the show have stated that the dogs name is an allusion to the Harry Potter series as, like Harry, Claire Bennet has been adopted by a family who does not have any special abilities.

On TV Tropes, "Muggle" is used to describe non-powered humans or Earthlings appearing in a science fiction or fantasy story (ie. humans in the X-Men comic books, Earthlings and non-Plumbers in Ben 10, "micronians" in Robotech, etc.).

The word "Muggle" is also a slang term referring to marijuana or a marjuana smoker.

 

From Dictionary.com

 

Main Entry: muggle2

Part of Speech: n

Definition: a common person, esp. one who is ignorant or has no skills

Example: There are muggles in every computer class.

Etymology: 1920s

Usage: slang

 

The word was around WAY before Harry potter.

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From Dictionary.com

 

Main Entry: muggle

Part of Speech: n

Definition: a common person, esp. one who is ignorant or has no skills

But... but... That means I'm a muggle! :blink:

 

Heh heh...

 

I always thought so.

 

;)

 

 

P.S. I like the term "Interloper" or just look at them and scream like they do in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

 

bodysnatchers.jpg

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There is a resistance movement. It consists of me and Flask.

 

Please add me to the list of members of the resistance!

 

Just remember, as the numbers in your resistance grup grow, your ability to agree on the pizza toppings will decrease. :blink:

 

I hate when that happens. That probably explains why most resistant movements of the people and for the people end up being dictatorships. We in the USA merely slowed down the inevitable but the last two administrations have made great strides.

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I'm afraid we are stuck with muggles but I don't like it because it sounds childish and makes me feel like a wizzard.

 

I don't like using civilians either. To me anyone, that includes cachers and non cachers, are all civilians if they are not in the military.

 

I really like Others and not just because of LOST. If you ain't part of any group then you are an "Other".

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I'm afraid we are stuck with muggles but I don't like it because it sounds childish and makes me feel like a wizzard.

 

The only 'wizzard' I know of is Rincewind.

 

I don't like using civilians either. To me anyone, that includes cachers and non cachers, are all civilians if they are not in the military.

 

And to say your cache was 'civilianed' has a certain oddness to it.

 

I really like Others and not just because of LOST. If you ain't part of any group then you are an "Other".

 

Then your cache has been 'othered' or you need to adopt other terms (and then explain them to people who use 'muggle' and 'muggled'.)

 

While Muggle didn't originate with Harry Potter, Rowling just picked out the word as it felt like the right fit, the use has already transmogrified from noun to verb usage. One root word.

 

"There's a muggle watching us." - An individual

"We're in muggle central, best pretend to tie your shoe while looking under the bench." - A class.

"The cache has been muggled." - Past participle, indefinite meaning - could be gone, damaged, defiled or just moved from hide.

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