Welcome to your first lesson in Sifner vocabulary.
Over time I've developed a bunch of slang, curses, and shorthand that peppers my speech- both written and spoken! Usually, I just make this shit up in my head, and that's where it stays. Sometimes, though, I use it in casual conversations with friends, forgetting that it isn't common knowledge. So, since this literally just happened yesterday- here we go!
Lesson 1: Fridge Praise
Let’s talk about Fridge Praise.
Fridge Praise is the phrase for the mental image I get whenever someone praises something I’ve done – especially any creative thing, like writing, video creation, stripping, or photography. (I don't actually do one of the things on that list.)
My mental image at that moment, the second of THE PRAISE, is of a sitcom Mom staring down at the kid who has completed the ABSOLUTE worst stick figure drawing. It's that moment of her being ESPECIALLY EFFUSIVE – praises the fuck out of it, gold stars all around! And she deems it worthy of being clipped to the fridge. Keep in mind I'm not talking about the emotional aspects of this scenario- yes it's your mom she loves you, you're learning/trying, etc.
That's not the point.
I think part of me is just not into things being blown into a huge deal ( no parades, no fancy weddings, no pageantry if you please, sir!), so when folks go to THAT DEGREE: That “Oh my god this is the BEST X” “OMG that Y is SO.AMAZING.”
I don't know.
It just hits me as being incredibly fake. Maybe it's a reflection on how loosely people treat language these days- I’m not smart enough to expand on this- just thinking of folks that always LOVE or HATE something, full stop.
“Oh, that game is THE BEST, GREATEST OF ALL TIME.” blah blah blah.
So sometimes if I do a neat thing and you praise me, there's a part of me that won't quite believe it- especially if it's effusive.
It isn't personal.
Anyway, if you reached the bottom of this post, gold star- you’re amazing!
(See what I mean?)
