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Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. This seemingly-shocking discovery makes a great deal of sense when we consider Carny as the lingua franca of America's twentieth-century underworld. 27 Apr. The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.
According to wikipedia the first instance is in the book "Fall Guys: The Barnums of Bounce" by Marcus Griffin from 1937. In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced KEI-feib; IPA: ) refers to the portrayal of events within the industry as real, that is the portrayal of professional wrestling as not staged or work. | FAQs | ^Source Please note this bot is in testing. Various etymological explanations have been offered for this word, which is often said to have originated in U.S. travelling carnivals and appears to have been coined with morphological and semantic opacity in mind.
I have read the second explanation other places as well. As I was saying, it's a very very hard to trace word because of the nature of it's use. The term "kayfabe" itself may ultimately originate from the Pig Latin form of "fake" ("ake-fay") or the phrase "be fake.". Etymology: Origin uncertain. While tales of upper-class schoolboys using the warning “keep cavey” appear to be literary inventions of the “cripes” and “jeepers” variety, there are accounts of the phrase being used in this fashion among East London Jews between the wars. Kayfabe Inner Dream, Name Number: 6 Meaning: Home, Family, Love, Balance, Harmony, Help, Warmth, Social justice. Alternatively, the medial -ay- has been associated by some with the terminal element used in alterations of existing words in pig Latin (see pig Latin n. 2), as e.g. I've contacted them via email with a correction. 44 ‘He said there was no such thing as kay-fabe any more,’ said Blair, referring to the fact most wrestler secrets were exposed in the 1990s. Leave your suggestions in the comments section and we'll try to create a new working definition.
Another theory claims that there actually was a wrestler called "Kay Fabian" who was mute. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. You may be interested to know that many places credit Steve Austin with coining "Jabroni", whereas Austin credits the Iron Sheik. In relative terms, a wrestler breaking kayfabe during a show would be likened to an actor breaking character on camera. This will be no simple task, in part because I'm not even sure I can define kayfabe myself. Given the seeming uniformity of definitions - including John Lister's terrific discussion of kayfabe's etymology - one might still wonder why we need to revisit kayfabe's meaning in the first place. I kayfabed (to) that chick when I told her I had beaucoups of money; I'm actually a welfare recipient. kayfabed (not comparable) (professional wrestling) Of events within the industry: portrayed as real, and not scripted or staged. freelance Journalist and wrestling enthusiast John Lister. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. 1995 Los Angeles Times (Electronic ed.) Cookies help us deliver our Services.
Referring to events as kayfabe means that they are worked events, and/or part of a wrestling storyline. How could they make that big of a mistake? Like Pro Wrestling Torch's definition, it stresses the role a synthetic language plays in shrouding the various realities surrounding wrestling, but it says virtually nothing about how it is used to create story and character. All Your Kayfabe Friends by from the Album, Death of Kayfabe [Explicit] by from the Album, Pieces Of The Puzzle (DJ Kayfabe Remix) by from the Album, What About the Kayfabe by from the Album, 1964 - Jaanus Kuum - Estonian-Norwegian cyclist (d. 1998), 1966 - Yokozuna (wrestler)|Yokozuna - American wrestler (d. 2000), 1967 - Frankie Fredericks - Namibian sprinter, 1967 - Bud Gaugh - American drummer (Sublime (band)|Sublime, Long Beach Dub Allstars, Eyes Adrift, Volcano (supergroup)|Volcano, and Sublime with Rome), 1967 - Gary L. Gregg - American political scientist, author, and academic, NAMEANING © 2014 about us contact us privacy policy. This doesn't mean that kayfabe doesn't exist, but that its traditional definition - in which wrestlers and promoters believe they can fool marks into believing the product in toto is a shoot - is now totally untenable. Etymology . (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); If you have information about this name, share it in the comments area below! I am by no means the first person to notice the prevalence of this patois, as the penologists John Irwin and Inez Cardozo-Freeman found both Carny and Polari (its English counterpart) present in both the California and Washington state penal systems, despite the fact none of the cant's users had personal histories in carnival work. Interesting: Naz ^Hughes | Ralph ^Pierce | Unsanctioned ^Match | Antony ^Victor, Parent commenter can toggle ^NSFW or ^delete. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the SquaredCircle community, Press J to jump to the feed. Kayfabe appears not long are that term and seems to be somehow related to foreign talent mispronouncing it. This episode starts with Steve's revelation about a "one-night stand" with Hall and Oates and his memories of a previous, disappointing experience with them as well. Hopefully they don't make mistakes like this consistently. It's the word "fake" spoken in a form of pig-latin used by wrestlers and wrestling insiders... don't have a source for that, not sure where I learned it... Afaik it's "be fake". Cageside Seats, for Pro Wrestling and MMA fans, By WallopingWebslinger The term is over a century old. Assuming kayfabe's complexity and cultural importance can be taken for granted, we're still left with a significant definitional problem. Pronunciation . Kayfabe is often seen as the suspension of disbelief that is used to create the non-wrestling aspects of promotions, such as feuds, storylines, and gimmicks, in a similar manner with other forms of entertainment such as soap opera or movie. All of your kayfabe friends have upped and left you. Perhaps it's time to have a definition of kayfabe that fits the current episteme. Yearbk. Something something work, something something shoot, brother... Maybe Hulk Hogan told them it started around his time, Or, well, Ryback..."I made up that word when I was a kid. Term in pro wrestling. Early in the century, terms like "work," "heat," and "job" wheedled their place not only into professional wrestling, but also into the languages of organized crime, hobo jungles, and drug addict subcultures. Will also delete on comment score of -1 or less. With money tight, a carny would call home collect and ask for "Kay Fabian."
ixnay adv., ixnay v., although it is unclear which word (or words) may have served as a model.
Various sources have suggested different origins for the term kayfabe, but the actual origin is not known with certainty. 6 Aug. 10 Kayfabe, pro wrestling's code of secrecy in never revealing that pro wrestling is scripted. With the exception of small children, one would be hard-pressed to find wrestling fans who consider wrestling unscripted and representative of the performers' real life personalities and prejudices. Even the dictionary got worked brother -HH. So I ask you, Cageside Seats readers, what is "kayfabe"? New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Discussing the origins of words and phrases, in English or any other language. However, (even today), wrestlers who unexpectedly break kayfabe are often punished for their actions. Put another way, all art - high or low, fine or coarse - is composed of what the artist allows us to see. Jen was tryin to hook up last weekend, but I had to kayfabe it. One theory suggests that it was derived from a word manipulation of the term "be fake" (à la pig latin and other argots), designed to conceal the true meaning. As wrestling fans, we hear plenty of terms when patrolling the IWC, and one of those terms is "kayfabe." The fact that we haven't an adequate definition for the term, however, belies our confidence. IPA : /ˈkeɪfeɪbd/ Hyphenation: kay‧fabed; Adjective . By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. Many of the leading United States wrestling promoters and performers of this period were of Eastern European origin and spoke a broken or heavily-accented English, perhaps explaining the term’s transformation in pronunciation. Kayfabe Soul Urge, Kayfabe may also derive from another trick used by traveling carnival workers. Unknown, but attributed to US carnival slang ("carny"), usually as a purposefully obscure variant of the admonition "be fake" formed through back slang or mangled pig Latin.
To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps Pig Latin or an alteration for “fake” or “be fake”. kayfabe definition: 1. in wrestling, the practice of trying to make people believe that wrestlers are particular…. But exactly what does it mean? I’d always been content with “it’s just a nonsense sound which had no prior meaning”, but that’s pretty cool. 2001 South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Electronic ed.) The real reason for the outcome of the match is kayfabe. I would contend, in fact, that it is the key term in yoking pro grappling to all the world's performative arts.