Jump to content

Muggles


Recommended Posts

Is there anybody else out there that is rubbed the wrong way by the term "muggles" :mad: ? Shouldn't the cachers of the world coin their own term for non-cachers? Let's stop using a term stolen from Harry Potter :wacko: for crying out loud. Let's have some nominations and vote on something original. I have used "those not in the know" and "wanna be" a few times.

 

Fire up your imaginations and let's find something that belongs to us. This is our sport and we need our own lingo. Let's hear it cachers.

Link to comment

Is there anybody else out there that is rubbed the wrong way by the term "muggles" :mad: ? Shouldn't the cachers of the world coin their own term for non-cachers? Let's stop using a term stolen from Harry Potter :wacko: for crying out loud. Let's have some nominations and vote on something original. I have used "those not in the know" and "wanna be" a few times.

 

Fire up your imaginations and let's find something that belongs to us. This is our sport and we need our own lingo. Let's hear it cachers.

I like "muggles". It seems to fit nicely.

Link to comment

Ding!ding!ding!ding!!! Congratulations on the first post of this subject for the year 2011!! :lol:

 

Based on the many previous threads involving the term and possible alternate terms (such as "Wrastro'd", which never really took off as I'd hoped), a majority of us probably agree with you about the term being corny and even embarrassing, but you can't turn back time...we are stuck with it. You have to admit, I hope, that at least it is better than the mangled term, "muggler".

Link to comment

Muggles is fine. Whether or not it came from Harry Potter, or jazz musicians from the 1920's or Indonesian cab drivers working in Macau, it doesn't really matter. It has become the most common term for non players around here. About all the alternatives I've heard seem forced, stilted, or made up. But for snake's sake, never, never "mugglers".

Oh yeah, Moose Tracks, although, around this time of year Peppermint usually graces our freezer.

Link to comment

Is this topic on it's 358th go around, or did I miss a few??

 

Since 357 discussions did not get it changed, I don't hold out high hopes for his one.

 

I like the discussion best where the guy was just mortified that he played a game that used the term. He just thought it had to be changed NOW.

 

If you don't like the term, don't use it. Make up your own if you like. We won't stop you. We even promise not to tell your friends that the game you play has such "uncool" terms associated with it. It's our little secret. ;)

Link to comment

I think muggle is lame too. I usually just say something like "a hiker/biker/family/fisherman/group of kids/people passed me as I was searching for the cache."

 

I used to think the term was funny (and sometimes it is), like the term plunderer. But I don't use them in my logs. I don't want to put myself in some secret club that calls non cachers a silly word.

Link to comment

Is there anybody else out there that is rubbed the wrong way by the term "muggles" :mad: ? Shouldn't the cachers of the world coin their own term for non-cachers? Let's stop using a term stolen from Harry Potter :wacko: for crying out loud. Let's have some nominations and vote on something original. I have used "those not in the know" and "wanna be" a few times.

 

Fire up your imaginations and let's find something that belongs to us. This is our sport and we need our own lingo. Let's hear it cachers.

 

Wow, is it Wednesday already? :)

Link to comment

Good luck with that. :anibad:

 

BTW, the word muggles been around long before Harry Potter. <_<

 

P.S. This topic come up every few weeks or so.

 

P.S.S What is your favorite ice cream flavor? :mmraspberry:

 

muggle

 

"marijuana, a joint," 1926, originally mainly from New Orleans, of unknown origin.

Link to comment

How about a term that more directly describes the none-cachers. Something like...

 

GeoTard

 

That is offensive on so many levels.

How so?

 

Retard means to be delayed. It can also mean to make slow or delay the development or progress of an action or process. GeoTard implies one who has not yet discovered Geocaching. Are we not delaying the discovery of Geocaching for those we try to hide our actions from?

Link to comment
Retard means to be delayed. It can also mean to make slow or delay the development or progress of an action or process. GeoTard implies one who has not yet discovered Geocaching. Are we not delaying the discovery of Geocaching for those we try to hide our actions from?

I gently suspect that although it has a neutral dictionary entry, the term has become quite pejorative in today's usage when used to describe a person. In much the way that "a bundle of sticks, twigs, or branches bound together and used as fuel, a fascine, a torch, etc." has taken on new, pejorative meaning, it's not a term I would spend energy fighting for. To argue otherwise is I think being intentionally too clever by half.

Link to comment

I have to admit, "muggles" is kind of goofy but I don't find it as goofy (or annoying for that matter) as the 9367 acronyms that get used around here. Frankly, I just HATE those

 

Especially ones made up by a single cacher and used in their logs and cache descriptions. You sit there trying to figure out what the heck they mean!

Link to comment
Retard means to be delayed. It can also mean to make slow or delay the development or progress of an action or process. GeoTard implies one who has not yet discovered Geocaching. Are we not delaying the discovery of Geocaching for those we try to hide our actions from?

I gently suspect that although it has a neutral dictionary entry, the term has become quite pejorative in today's usage when used to describe a person. In much the way that "a bundle of sticks, twigs, or branches bound together and used as fuel, a fascine, a torch, etc." has taken on new, pejorative meaning, it's not a term I would spend energy fighting for. To argue otherwise is I think being intentionally too clever by half.

 

Working in a school district I can relate that 'Retarded' is a label which is strongly out of favor. While a student may have mental retardation, that is the only capacity in which the root of the word is used -- a student is never referred to as being retarded.

 

I find with 'muggle' I am understood, without requiring further elaboration.

 

Don't like it? Don't use it - perhaps use 'the uninitiated' which doesn't sound quite as negative as GeoTard.

Link to comment

I use muggles sometimes in conversation here and force myself to use it when logging caches sometimes.

 

Sometimes I just say saw a dude fishing by the river who saw me and I showed him the cache so he didn't get all weird and steal it after we left since he caught me in the act at the location. Or we met some campers while out at this place who would have thought that cache was at a campsite...

 

Non-cachers I use a lot as well. Muggle to me implies that someone is trying to steal the cache (cache has been "muggled"). And not all non-cachers are there to ruin the cache. They just don't know about this. The campers we found were all into helping me find the cache (we never did). The fisher person was all about trying to understand what this was and curious about the container and content when he saw there was no threat inside and happy to know others might be at his secret spot looking for this thing.

Link to comment

Ding!ding!ding!ding!!! Congratulations on the first post of this subject for the year 2011!! :lol:

 

Based on the many previous threads involving the term and possible alternate terms (such as "Wrastro'd", which never really took off as I'd hoped), a majority of us probably agree with you about the term being corny and even embarrassing, but you can't turn back time...we are stuck with it. You have to admit, I hope, that at least it is better than the mangled term, "muggler".

 

We could start referring to non-geocachers as "veeners".

Link to comment

Ding!ding!ding!ding!!! Congratulations on the first post of this subject for the year 2011!! :lol:

 

Based on the many previous threads involving the term and possible alternate terms (such as "Wrastro'd", which never really took off as I'd hoped), a majority of us probably agree with you about the term being corny and even embarrassing, but you can't turn back time...we are stuck with it. You have to admit, I hope, that at least it is better than the mangled term, "muggler".

 

We could start referring to non-geocachers as "veeners".

That's taken. How about "Souvies"?
Link to comment

I know I am new to Geocaching but I honestly found the use of the word "muggles" quite funny. To me it shows that people have a sense of humor. I say if you don't like the term simply don't use it. If others who are speaking to you use the term, politely let them know that you find that word offensive, I am sure that most people would understand and respect your wishes and not use the word while speaking to you. I don't know maybe I was raised funny.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...